Number 8 by jontintinjordan via Flickr
Editor’s note: This post originally ran on August 8, 2008 and was revised and re-posted on December 27, 2011.
Eight is considered a lucky number in many cultures. Turn it on its side, and 8 resembles the infinity symbol: ∞. In Mandarin, “eight” sounds like the word for “good fortune.”
Thanks to Natalie for suggesting Octavia as our Baby Name of the Day.
Octavia is an old Roman family name. The Emperor Augustus was born Gaius Octavius Thurinus, and the feminine form was bestowed on two of his sisters. Octavia Minor – the second born – married Mark Antony and appears in Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra.
Octavia Minor’s great-granddaughter was called Octavia, too. This unhappy bearer of the name was wed to the Emperor Nero, who divorced, banished and eventually murdered her. In history, at least, the ill-fated noblewoman comes out the victor. Seneca turned her tragedy into a play, and operas by Handel, Kaiser and Monteverdi also tell her tale.
The history of Octavia’s use in the US is curious. From 1880 to 1928, the name consistently appeared in the Top 1000. The era was good to the classics; other names charting in the Top 1000 included Homer, Virgil, Julius, Cassius, and Lucius for boys and Minerva, Cornelia, Claudia, Aurelia, and Valeria, for girls. President Zachary Taylor gave the name to a daughter born in 1816, but she died in childhood.
Octavia left the Top 1000 in 1938, but resurfaced in 1971. She made it as high as #485, then disappeared again after 1999.
A few famous Octavias in recent years have included:
- The evil octopus creature from the cartoon She-Ra: Princess of Power, a He-Man spin-off originally aired from 1985 to 1987. Lest you attribute the name’s rise to the show, it should be noted that Adora – She-Ra’s alter-ego – failed to chart even once;
- Octavia E. Butler, the prominent science fiction author. She published her first novel in 1976 and has worn Nebula and Hugo awards, as well as a MacArthur Foundation Genius Grant;
- The heroine of bestselling author Jilly Cooper’s romance Octavia, published in 1977. Given the titles of some of her other works from the late 70s – Emily, Bella, Harriet, Imogen and Prudence – Cooper’s got a knack for names.
Could it be tied to Robert Graves’ tales of the Roman Empire I, Claudius and its sequel, Claudius the God? Published in 1934, it became a BBC miniseries in 1976. After success in the UK, it aired on PBS’s Masterpiece Theater. The Emperor Claudius was the grandson of Marc Antony and Octavia Minor, and named one his daughters Octavia – the poor thing who married Nero. Maybe – but the recent BBC/HBO miniseries failed to spark additional interest in the name.
Octavia has a long history of use and an appealing sound that would fit right in with Isabella and Olivia, but still stand out. Nickname Tavy is equally distinctive – vibrant and vaguely boyish, but not in a bad way.
Parents searching for a subtle musical appellation could also consider Octavia for her relation to the term octave. If girls are named Harmony and Cadence, why not Octavia?
If you’re looking for a distinctive name that fits in while stands out, Octavia is a sterling option.
I quite like Octavia, myself and would put her on my list for potential use if it weren’t for the unfortunate octopus teasing my brther gives her. I have lean, lanky kids who could be called stringy, almost and my brother’s called my boys (in particular) Octopii for years. I adore her literary history, and I’m fairly certain I’ve mentioned my minor obsession with Opera names; Octavia fits right in there for me! Rythmic, gorgeous and completely feminine, what’s not to love?
There’s a celebrity link too, minor thought it is: Kevin Sorbo (He of Hercules & Andromeda fame) has an Octavia (his boys are somewhat different: Braeden & Shane).
I think she’s got a great sound, an awesome history and a regal feel. Her nicknames don’t appeal but that doesn’t stop me from liking Octavia very much indeed.
Minor correction, Kevin Sorbo’s oldest is BraedOn, not Braeden.
Hmm… I don’t really like Octavia that much. It seems like such a hard name for a child to wear; for me Octavia always seems like a strict and stringy older woman. I do like the possibility of the nickname Tavy, which I have to admit is quite cute, but I don’t think Octavia would fit very well on a modern child. It would be a neat choice for a middle name though!
I love Octavia. It’s one of the names I always suggest for people looking for alternatives to Olivia. It’s a real bummer my husband is so boring with names, or it would be on the short list for a girl.
How’s your bean doing, Verity? I have this recollection that you mentioned you were expecting like a billion years ago.
I am an Octavia fan in theory, but it does seem like a slightly over-the-top name. I do agree that she was most appropriate to focus on today and if I gave birth to a girl on 08-08-08 I don’t see how I could resist naming her Octavia. When I lived in Rome, one of the then new babies (now about eight or nine) was named Ottavia.
To me, Octavia is in the same group as Ophelia, Morgaine, Rosalind, Gwenevere, etc. She’s ancient and works really well on a romantic heroine of yesterday – but name my daugher Ocavia? No way.
Thanks for using this one – i love it!!
So classy and feminine.
I don’t think i would name a child this though, it is perhaps a bit weighty of a name to carry.
I love Octavia. It’s so different and in my opinion, it’s alot nicer than Olivia. I’m actually really sick of people giving their kids common names like Olivia, Emma, Aidan, etc… You pretty much hear those everyday. I prefer something unique but still not over the top.
I was friends with an Octavia in 6th grade too. She was a great person. I don’t know if I would name any of my children this, but I’m keeping my mind open to it. Maybe my future boyfriend/hubby will have the same style of baby names as I do too. lol
Funny, I’d name a daughter Octavia in a heartbeat – it’s actually on our shortlist! I was captivated by I, Claudius when I saw in on PBS in high school in the 80s, and I really love names from the Roman Empire – as does my husband. It’s one of the few naming categories where we both agree.
Kayt, thanks for asking – Clio will be with us in about seven weeks. Alexei appears to be excited by the prospect of a little sister, but I suspect he’ll be less-than-thrilled when the baby comes home.
And Lola, LOL at the octopus reference – I’m short and curvy, and would KILL to be long and lanky! It makes me think you’re raising a tribe of supermodels.
It is funny that Kevin Sorbo’s daughter’s name is so mismatched from his sons, isn’t it? Interesting.
Ooooh, Verity – I LOVE Clio!
Oooh, Clio is such a cute name! Congrats on getting to the end here. I’m only 21 weeks and ready to be done.
Another, if Clio passes your test, it must be okay.
But I suspect she’s going to be called Chloe – a lot, and I’m starting to worry about that. (We were at a picnic ydy and she was called Chloe twice – and she’s still in utero! Nothing against Chloe, it’s just not the name we picked.)
Kayt, congrats! That’s SO exciting. Are you planning to find out the gender?
Verity – I think the difference in spelling between Clio and Chloe is wide enough for an intelligent person to tell the difference immediately. If you went with Cleo, you might have more of a problem on your hands. Regardless, with all the Chloes being born these days, Clio is a lovely change – and a beautiful name in its own right! NotD Clio, please.
I think Clio is so sweet! It’s such an underrated name. I think using the Clio version is so much better, too. It has the muse behind it. I’ve never like Cleo because it’s ‘just’ a nickname for Cleopatra; not my style at all! I don’t care for Chloe at all, I can’t lie. I prefer Clio and Zoe over Chloe. Chloe’s also too common for me anyways.
We’re having a James Kenneth! Kenneth is a huge family name for my husband, and we could basically only agree on James for a boy. I pushed for Theodore, Gideon, or Dexter, but I got shot down times a thousand. Oh well. If we have a girl next time around, she’ll definitely be Daphne Margaret.
Kayt, Nice names! I love Daphne Margaret. It’s very classy, and Daphne is so underused. James Kenneth is nice too.
Verity, Clio is really cute. Thank God you didn’t spell it Cleo. It reminds me of Miss Cleo (psychic) or the gold fish in Pinocchio. Clio is much better. I like it alot better than Chloe. No offense to anyone who likes Chloe but it’s way overrated.
I personally love Calista. I’m obsessed with Greek names lately and Calista is another one that’s underused, probably because of Calista Flockhart and I’ve noticed that alot of people I know don’t like her for some reason. I like her and the name itself is pretty. I am keeping my mind open to it if I have another daughter. I already have Athena and Xanthe high on my list and Calista is pretty high up too. If I have a son, his name’s gonna be Eamon Michael. Eamon is an Irish name and I really like it, and Michael was my late father’s name. Eamon also has never hit the top 1000 in the US even once since the 19th century and possibly even earlier. I heard the name once and I thought it sounded nice so I looked it up and it means rich/blessed protector.
I love the name Octavia! It’s so pretty, and I often suggest it as an alternative to Olivia. The only thing that holds me back from wanting to use it is the “eight” reference — perhaps if I had a child born in October or if I somehow ended up with eight children (eek!). I like how you’ve related it to the octave, though… that makes it seem a bit more usable.
While we’re on the subject, I think Clio is lovely! May I ask what you’re planning on for her middle names? (Maybe you’ve already mentioned it… somewhere didn’t you say you were giving her two?)
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I love the name Octavia!!
I think the name Octavia is awesome! I wish I were named Octavia better than kathryn ugh.
hi, my name is Octavia Shanelle Henderson. I have recently met a guy with eight children and was wondering was it fate and if he is my soulmate, but sadly he just not soulmate material. lol…. Im 20 and on August 1st i will be 21. I’d hope to see that my name meant eight children because in 3rd or 4th grade my teacher made us look up our names n i remember mine meaning eight children.
Abby-
Im so glad to see you did a post on Octavia. I’ve been seeing this name everywhere lately. (hopefully that doesnt mean its about to become popular) I love the sound of Octavia and would definatly use it on a daughter….of course other “over the top names” I like include names like Cordelia. I just like names that scream literary and girl.
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I adore Octavia. Such a fine example of a strong, regal, feminine name. If I were to use her I think I’d have to keep her in the middle spot though.
I love the Oct- names.. October being one of my top lists.. but Octavia is so romantic and fun with the V in the middle. I love her solid foot in history, and her under use in modern day makes her very appealing. Great Replay!
There was a girl in the same year with me all through school named Octavia (I’m 25). So I guess I never considered it an “out there” name. When I hear Octavia I think of her. I like the name in theory, similar names like Cordelia, Augustus & Vivienne are on my list, but probably because of my old classmate, Octavia doesn’t make the cut.
I love Octavia! I do like the super feminine, Victorian-esque names like these. I like Tavia as a nickname, but am not a fan of Tavy. It sounds too cat-like. I wish Ocatavia wouldn’t sound so out of place in my neck of the woods. I would use it in a heartbeat.
I like Octavia very much. It’s underused but not over the top. I like Cordelia better (as far as ancient feminissa names go) but Octavia really is great
And I had never thought of the nickname Tavy, awesome!
I love Octavia, although I automatically want to add Butler to it. I feel like I missed the boat, Maria is my parent’s eighth (or fifth if you don’t count step-kids.) Maria Octavia could of been very cute.
Met a little “Tayvia” once – loved it. Mom told me it was not a nickname, but I think it would work great for a little Octavia.
I also knew an Octavia growing up in the UK. I’m 31 now and she was a couple of years older than me. I do like the name. Having known someone with the name makes it less ‘out there’ for me too.
I like O names and names with a ‘v’ in them and girls names that end in ‘a’ – so Octavia has 3 bonus points for me there. I guess 4 syllables would be a negative one though.
I’m so excited to see this re-run! I love the name Octavia. It hits all of the things I like about a name. Slightly different, literary, and still sounds strong. I think I’d have problems naming a second child though. I wouldn’t know what to pair with the goregous Octavia.
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