Octa
Derived from the Greek prefix "octa-" meaning eight or eightfold.
Name Census estimates that about 4 living Americans carry the first name Octa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Octa today is around 94 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Octa births was 1915 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Octa. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Octa is about 94 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Octas were born before 1942.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Octa. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
4
~ 1 in 85,688,585 Americans
Peak year
1915
14 babies that year
Average age
94
years old
1941 SSA rank
#4,304
Tracked since 1885
Popularity
Octa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Octa from the 1880s through to the 1940s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 50 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1910s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Octa by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Octa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Octa
The name Octa has its origins in ancient Greek, derived from the word "okto" meaning "eight." This connection suggests the name may have been used to denote a child who was the eighth born in a family. The name has been found in various ancient Greek texts and inscriptions, indicating its usage in the classical era.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Octa was a Roman empress consort named Octa, who lived in the 3rd century AD. She was the wife of the Roman emperor Pupienus, who briefly ruled in 238 AD. Little is known about her life beyond her name and marital status.
In the 5th century, an Anglo-Saxon king named Octa ruled over the kingdom of Kent, located in what is now southeastern England. He is believed to have been one of the earliest Anglo-Saxon rulers in Britain after the withdrawal of Roman forces. Octa's reign is documented in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, an important historical record from the medieval period.
During the Renaissance, the name Octa was borne by Octa Philippo, an Italian composer and lutenist who lived in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. He was a prominent figure in the musical culture of the Italian courts and is known for his compositions for the lute.
In the 17th century, Octa Heldwein was a German engraver and printmaker who worked in Nuremberg, a prominent center for the arts during the Northern Renaissance. His intricate engravings and etchings depicting religious and allegorical scenes were highly regarded in his time.
Finally, Octa Mabusela was a South African journalist and activist who lived from 1929 to 2007. She played a significant role in the struggle against apartheid and worked tirelessly to promote human rights and social justice in her country. Mabusela received numerous honors and awards for her contributions to South African society.
People
Octa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Octa as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with O
Other first names starting with O with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Octa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Octa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Octa going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 85,688,585 US residents.
Is Octa a common name?
We classify Octa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 6.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 160 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Octa most popular?
The single biggest year for Octa was 1915, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Octa is about 94 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Octa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Octa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Octa in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Octa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Octa in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Octa can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many Americans are named Octa?
See how many Americans are named Octa on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.