# Octavia (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/octavia/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | girls |
| Origin | Latin |
| Meaning | “the eighth” |
| Pronunciation | /əkˈteɪ.vi.ə/, 4 syllables |
| Nicknames | Tavy |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 24,117 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 139 / 23,978 (99% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 1,323, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From Latin Octāvia, feminine form of the gens name Octāvius, from octavus (“the eighth”).

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 72 | 2,530 |
| 2012 | 81 | 2,332 |
| 2013 | 73 | 2,481 |
| 2014 | 71 | 2,531 |
| 2015 | 175 | 1,361 |
| 2016 | 260 | 1,019 |
| 2017 | 505 | 595 |
| 2018 | 737 | 427 |
| 2019 | 852 | 371 |
| 2020 | 930 | 334 |
| 2021 | 1,238 | 248 |
| 2022 | 1,238 | 247 |
| 2023 | 1,129 | 279 |
| 2024 | 1,074 | 294 |
| 2025 | 982 | 308 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | 5 | 6,220 |
| 1977 | 7 | 4,963 |
| 1978 | 7 | 4,898 |
| 1979 | 12 | 3,504 |
| 1980 | 9 | 4,398 |
| 1981 | 6 | 6,027 |
| 1982 | 6 | 6,178 |
| 1983 | 10 | 4,063 |
| 1986 | 6 | 6,497 |
| 1987 | 5 | 7,800 |
| 1988 | 8 | 5,579 |
| 1989 | 16 | 3,568 |
| 1990 | 11 | 4,902 |
| 1992 | 6 | 8,164 |
| 1994 | 6 | 8,509 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 13 | 2,025 |
| 2012 | 29 | 1,150 |
| 2013 | 16 | 1,774 |
| 2014 | 26 | 1,272 |
| 2015 | 77 | 564 |
| 2016 | 56 | 719 |
| 2017 | 79 | 549 |
| 2018 | 82 | 519 |
| 2019 | 74 | 545 |
| 2020 | 94 | 443 |
| 2021 | 123 | 373 |
| 2022 | 106 | 397 |
| 2023 | 92 | 438 |
| 2024 | 109 | 395 |
| 2025 | 80 | 502 |

## In other languages

- Catalan: Octàvia
- French: Octavie
- Indonesian: Octavia
- Italian: Ottavia

## People named Octavia

- Octavia Spencer, American actress
- Octavia E. Butler, American science fiction writer (1947-2006)
- Octavia Hill, English social reformer (1838-1912)
- Helen Octavia Dickens, American physician
- Octavia Rogers Albert, African-American author of Life history

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.