Octavius
Masculine · “eighth”
Octavius is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 3,687 boys against 15 girls since 1880.
Octavius means eighth, and the Romans really did number their children — Quintus, Sextus, Septimus, Octavius, right down the line.
How old is the name Octavius?
Octavius first appears in US birth records in 1911 — 114 years ago. The typical Octavius alive today was born around 1995, making them about 30 years old. About 3,500 people named Octavius are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Octavius most popular?
Octavius peaked in 1987, reaching #914 nationally. Today it ranks #2056, 1,142 places below that high. See the whole 1987 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From octo to Octavius
The story of Octavius
Gaius Octavius took Caesar's name after the assassination and eventually became Augustus, the first emperor — so the man who ended the Republic was born with a number for a name. October kept its position when the calendar shifted, which is why the eighth month is now the tenth. Octavius appears in American records in current use.
Meaning
eighth
From the Latin octavus, 'eighth', from octo. Octavius was a Roman family name of the kind built on numerals. Roman practice of numbering later children is well documented — Quintus is fifth, Decimus tenth. The Latin is ordinary and the reading undisputed.
How the name formed
- octo
- octavus
- Octavius
Related forms: Octavius · Octavio · Ottavio
Pronouncing Octavius
ok-TAY-vee-us
Four syllables, stress on the second. Latin says ok-TAH-wee-us.
Nicknames for Octavius
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1911
- Most boys named
- 1987106 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #914reached in 1987
- Change vs 2023
- −18.2%72 in 2025, from 88
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Octavius in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Octavius in Latin — same name
- Octavio in Spanish — related form
- Ottavio in Italian — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, California, Florida.
Octaviuss among us
people named Octavius are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 23,723 born in 2025 was named Octavius
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Donavon test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Octavius's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Donavon climbed just as high around 1971, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Donavon's path sketches the road Octavius is walking now.
Octavius sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Octavius is headed
Octavius should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Octavius beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Octavius in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- That the first Roman emperor was named with a number is a first-rate fact.
- The October connection explains a real calendar oddity.
- It is immediately distinctive and will be remembered.
- Four syllables make it very long for everyday use.
- The meaning is simply a number.
- Octavio and Ottavio are the living Romance forms.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Octavius
Masculine · #2056 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Octaviuss are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 3,500 people named Octavius are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Octavius in 2025?
- Octavius ranks #2056 among US boy names in 2025, with 72 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Octavius?
- About 1 in every 23,723 US boys born in 2025 was named Octavius — 72 in all.
- Will my child share the name Octavius with classmates?
- Octavius will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Octavius
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Aylan#2056 · Lake#2056 · Alfie#2056 · Jamar#2056 · Farhan#2056 · Haider#2056 · Everardo#2056 · Hernan#2056
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Octavius? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Octavius and another name?
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Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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