2010
#150,452
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Octavien
A surname derived from the Latin name Octavius, meaning "eighth-born".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 122 Americans carry the last name Octavien. That puts it at #152,339 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,809,462 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Octavien surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
122
1 in 2,809,462
Census rank
#152,339
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
106
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 106 bearers of the surname Octavien in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 152339th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Octavien, the largest self-reported group is Black at 96.2%. The next largest groups are White (2.8%) and Two or More Races (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Octavien
The surname Octavien originates from France, dating back to the 16th century. It is derived from the Roman family name Octavius, which was borne by the first Roman emperor Augustus (63 BC - 14 AD), whose birth name was Gaius Octavius. The name Octavius is believed to be of Latin origin, potentially related to the word "octavus," meaning "eighth."
In France, the surname Octavien was initially found in the regions of Île-de-France and Normandy. Its earliest recorded appearance can be traced back to the 1500s, when it was documented in various parish records and local archives.
One notable historical reference to the name Octavien is found in a 17th-century manuscript housed in the National Archives of France, which mentions a certain Jean Octavien, a merchant from Paris who lived during the reign of Louis XIV (1638-1715).
Another early record of the name Octavien comes from the birth registry of the town of Rouen in 1678, where a child named Pierre Octavien was born to a family of silk weavers.
In the 18th century, a prominent figure bearing the surname Octavien was François Octavien (1714-1788), a French architect and engineer who designed several notable buildings in Paris, including the Église Saint-Sulpice.
Fast-forwarding to the 19th century, there was a French writer and poet named Victor Octavien (1810-1876), who was known for his works exploring themes of nature and rural life.
Another individual of note was Marie-Élisabeth Octavien (1845-1919), a French educator and women's rights activist who campaigned for equal education opportunities for girls and women in France.
In the realm of music, a composer and organist named Charles Octavien (1865-1938) made significant contributions to the French organ repertoire during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Lastly, a more recent figure with the surname Octavien was the French painter and sculptor Marcel Octavien (1901-1977), whose works were heavily influenced by Cubism and Surrealism.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Octavien
Among Census respondents with the surname Octavien, the largest self-reported group is Black at 96.2%. The next largest groups are White (2.8%) and Two or More Races (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Octavien bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Octavien surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American96.2% · 102
- White2.8% · 3
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Octavien
Octavien appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#152,339
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
-3 bearers (-2.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 1,887 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #150,452 | 109 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #152,339 | 106 | 0.04 | -3 bearers (-2.8%) | Down 1,887 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Octavien surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #150,452 | #152,339 | -1.3% |
| Count | 109 | 106 | -2.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -11.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Octavien bearers went from 109 to 106 (-2.8% change). The surname moved down 1,887 positions in the national ranking, going from #150,452 to #152,339.
FAQ
Octavien surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Octavien?
Name Census estimates that about 122 living Americans carry the surname Octavien. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,809,462 residents.
How common is Octavien?
Octavien ranks #152,339 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 106 people with the surname Octavien. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (122), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Octavien.
Has Octavien become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Octavien went from 109 recorded bearers to 106. That is a decrease of 3 (-2.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #150,452 to #152,339.
What does the Census say about the background of Octavien?
Among Census respondents with the surname Octavien, the largest self-reported group is Black at 96.2%. The next largest groups are White (2.8%) and Two or More Races (0.9%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Octavien in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.2% (102 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Octavien appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (96.2%), White (2.8%), Two or More Races (0.9%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Octavien (2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Octavien mean?
A surname derived from the Latin name Octavius, meaning "eighth-born". The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Octavien (0.04 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the last name Octavien?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how common the surname Octavien is at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.