Given name
Octavia
“the eighth-born child”
In Latin use, Octavia carries the interpretation “the eighth-born child.”
Original LatinOctavius
Meaning & origin
What it means
In Latin use, Octavia carries the interpretation “the eighth-born child.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Latin.
How it developed
Octavia is used as a feminine counterpart of Octavius.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Octavia through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 24,117
- 139 boys · 23,978 girls
- Most popular year
- 2021
- 1,238 babies
- 2025
- 982
- #308 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +72%
- Rising fast
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 982 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 308 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 72.4% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. In 2025, Ohio had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (71). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 12,132 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Octavia’s family of names
In English usage, Octavia has a diminutive in Tavy. Octavia is a feminine form of Octavius. Octavia has a related form in Octaviana.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Octavia has relatives in 6 languages. Lines run from its Latin roots to each of them.
Latinwhere Octavia comes from · 1 name
Nicknames & forms 13
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Ottaviavariant · Italian
- Tavydiminutive · English
- Octavievariant · French
- Octavianavariant
- Octtavialikely variant
- Octaveavariant
- Octaveevariant
- Octaveyvariant
Show 5 moreShow fewer
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 4
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Octavia
- Octavia SpencerAmerican actressborn 1970
- Octavia E. ButlerAmerican science fiction writer (1947-2006)
- Octavia HillEnglish social reformer (1838-1912)
- Hlengiwe MkhaliphiSouth African politicianborn 1973
- Octavia Rogers AlbertAfrican-American author of Life history1853–1889
- Yati OctaviaIndonesian actress and singerborn 1954
- Octavia NasrLebanese-American writerborn 1966
- Octavia RitchieCanadian physician and suffragist (1868–1948)
- Octavia HandworthAmerican actress (1887-1978)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
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