Oct* Names

Happy October!

The name October was originally given to the eighth month on the Roman calendar and remained the name of the tenth month when January and February were added. As we are all aware, Oct- is the prefix given to words associated with "eight", and that does not change when it comes to names as they were/are sometimes given to the eighth child.

Did you know that only girls have been named after the month of October? At least that is what the SSA data shows us. There have been 620 girls named October since the first recorded case in 1969, and October's most popular year so far was 2008 with 72 girls. I always thought October would be a very wearable name for a boy, especially with the nickname Toby.

What about other names beginning with Oct-?

The most popular Oct- name in the United States, by far, is Octavia, the feminine form of Octavius. A total of 14,769 girls have been given the name since the data has been collected (1880). Its most popular year was 1987, when 446 girls were given the name. 139 boys have also been given the name between 1920 and 1994.

The next most popular Oct- name is Octavio, the Spanish form of Octavius. Between its first record in 1908 and 2013, 9,697 boys were named Octavio. Its most popular year was 2003, when 437 boys were given the name. Five girls were given the name in 1986.

Behind Octavio is the "original", the ancient Roman name Octavius. From 1911 through 2013, Octavius was given to 2,835 boys, and 1991 was its most popular year, when 126 boys were given the name. Fifteen girls were also given the name between 1981 and 1990.

Other Oct- names given over the years:

Octa - total of 160 girls between 1885 and 1941
Octabio - total of 7 boys in 1980
Octava - total of 41 girls between 1894 and 1931
Octave - total of 443 boys between 1880 and 1969
Octavian - total of 862 boys between 1970 and 2013
Octaviana - total of 11 girls in the years of 1925 and 2008
Octaviano - total of 657 boys between 1914 and 2009
Octavie - total of 176 girls between 1883 and 1926
Octavien - total of 23 boys between 1997 and 2008
Octavion - total of 158 boys between 1990 and 2013
Octavious - total of 1,381 boys and 5 girls between 1917 and 2013
Octavis - total of 283 boys between 1973 and 2006
Octavus - total of 5 boys in 1989
Octayvia - total of 38 girls between 1992 and 2001
Octivia - total of 68 girls between 1976 and 2000

Do you have a favorite Oct- name?