boy's name
Octave
ok-TAHV
- Origin French
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 2
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 1000 (France)
- Births on record 14,800
France
#134
2025 births
Octave is a boy's name of Latin origin meaning "eighth," the French form of the family name Octavius that Augustus was born with. It ranks 134th in France and appears in no other market we hold.
- Octave is a name of French origin.
- Peaked in France in 2025, when 460 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade in France.
- Today about 1 in 1,281 babies in France is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1900.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Octave over time
Births per decade in France, 1900s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1900s | 2,940 |
| 1910s | 1,950 |
| 1920s | 1,635 |
| 1930s | 670 |
| 1940s | 315 |
| 1950s | 160 |
| 1960s | 125 |
| 1970s | 45 |
| 1980s | 90 |
| 1990s | 385 |
| 2000s | 1,110 |
| 2010s | 2,410 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 2,420 |
What Octave means
Octave means eighth, from the Latin octavus. Roman family names of this kind counted position — most likely an ancestor's rank among siblings — so the number describes a forebear rather than the person carrying it.
Where Octave comes from
Octave is the French form of the Roman family name Octavius, from octavus, eighth. Its most consequential bearer was Gaius Octavius, Julius Caesar's great-nephew, whom Caesar adopted in his will; he took the name Octavianus, defeated Antony and Cleopatra at Actium, and in 27 BC was granted the title Augustus, under which he ruled as the first Roman emperor. Historians call him Octavian for the years before that, which is why one man appears under three names. The word octave in music has the same source — the eighth note of a scale — and the two came into French separately from the same Latin word. Octavia is the feminine, and Octavie the French form of it.
Octave in use
Octave ranks 134th in France with about 460 births in 2025 and is rising in our data, with its peak in our records in 2025. Our records carry it from 1900. It appears in no other market we hold, placing it with Ulysse, Garance, Hortense, Lison and Olympe among the names that have stayed entirely French despite a classical source everyone recognizes.
How popular is Octave?
In 2025, Octave was given to 460 babies in France, ranking #134 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Octave is used
French counts are rounded to the nearest five and nothing below five is published, so these figures show the shape of the name's use rather than an exact tally. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Octave
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Octave also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Octave over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Octave in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Octave
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Octave — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Octave
What does the name Octave mean?
Octave means "eighth," from the Latin octavus.
Is Octave related to the Emperor Augustus?
Yes. He was born Gaius Octavius and is called Octavian for the years before he took the title Augustus.
Is it related to the musical octave?
Same Latin source — the eighth note of a scale — but the two came into French separately.
How popular is Octave?
134th in France, and unused in the other markets we hold.
Is Octave a girl's or a boy's name?
Octave is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Octave?
Octave has 2 syllables.
Is Octave a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Octave currently ranks #134 in France. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.