Octavius is a Latin praenomen

Praenomen

The praenomen was a personal name chosen by the parents of a Roman child. It was first bestowed on the dies lustricus , the eighth day after the birth of a girl, or the ninth day after the birth of a boy...

, or personal name

Given name

A given name, in Western contexts often referred to as a first name, is a personal name that specifies and differentiates between members of a group of individuals, especially in a family, all of whose members usually share the same family name...

. It was never particularly common at Rome, but may have been used more frequently in the countryside. The feminine form is Octavia. The name gave rise to the patronymic gens Octavia, and perhaps also to gens Otacilia. A late inscription gives the abbreviation Oct.

The praenomen Octavius is best known from Octavius Mamilius

Octavius Mamilius

Octavius Mamilius was princeps of Tusculum, an ancient city of Latium. He was the son-in-law of Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, the seventh and last king of Rome...

, the prince of Tusculum

Tusculum

Tusculum is a ruined Roman city in the Alban Hills, in the Latium region of Italy.-Location:Tusculum is one of the largest Roman cities in Alban Hills. The ruins of Tusculum are located on Tuscolo hill—more specifically on the northern edge of the outer crater ring of the Alban volcano...

, and son-in-law of Lucius Tarquinius Superbus

Lucius Tarquinius Superbus

Lucius Tarquinius Superbus was the legendary seventh and final King of Rome, reigning from 535 BC until the popular uprising in 509 BC that led to the establishment of the Roman Republic. He is more commonly known by his cognomen Tarquinius Superbus and was a member of the so-called Etruscan...

, the seventh and last king of Rome, who was slain by Titus Herminius at the Battle of Lake Regillus

Battle of Lake Regillus

The Battle of Lake Regillus was a legendary early Roman victory, won over the Latin League led by the expelled Etruscan former king of Rome. It is usually said to have occurred in 498 BC, but other dates have been proposed, including 499 BC, 496 BC and 493 BC.The battle may be entirely legendary,...

 about 498 B.C. Members of gens Mamilia afterward came to Rome, and the name must have been used by the ancestors of the Octavii and perhaps the Octacilii, but examples of the praenomen are scarce. It must have been used from on occasion throughout the Roman Republic

Roman Republic

The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...

 and well into imperial times. The name was used by gens Maecia, and an Octavia Valeria Vera lived at Ticinum

Ticinum

Ticinum was an ancient city of Gallia Transpadana, founded on the banks of the river of the same name a little way above its confluence with the Padus ....

 in the 2nd or 3rd century; and indeed, the name has survived to the present day.

Origin and Meaning of the Name

The Latin word for eighth is octavus, and this is the root of the praenomen, although as a name it is nearly always found with an "-i stem," Octavius or Octavia instead of Octavus or Octava. This is also the case with other praenomina, including Marcia and Titia, the feminine forms of Marcus and Titus.

Octavius falls into the same class as the masculine praenomina Quintus

Quintus (praenomen)

Quintus is a Latin praenomen, or personal name, which was common throughout all periods of Roman history. It was used by both patrician and plebeian families, and gave rise to the patronymic gentes Quinctia and Quinctilia. The feminine form is Quinta...

, Sextus

Sextus (praenomen)

Sextus is a Latin praenomen, or personal name, which was common throughout all periods of Roman history. It was used by both patrician and plebeian families, and gave rise to the patronymic gentes Sextia and Sextilia. The feminine form is Sexta...

, Septimus

Septimus (praenomen)

Septimus is a Latin praenomen, or personal name. It was never particularly common at Rome, but it gave rise to the patronymic gens Septimia. The feminine form is Septima. The name was not regularly abbreviated....

, Nonus

Nonus (praenomen)

Nonus is a Latin praenomen, or personal name. It was never particularly common at Rome, but may have been used more frequently in the countryside. Although not attested in surviving Latin inscriptions, the name must have been used occasionally, as it gave rise to the patronymic gens Nonia. The...

, and Decimus

Decimus (praenomen)

Decimus is a Latin praenomen, or personal name, usually abbreviated D. Although never especially common, Decimus was used throughout Roman history from the earliest times to the end of the Western Empire and beyond, surviving into modern times. The feminine form is Decima...

, as well as the feminine names Prima, Secunda, Tertia, Quarta, Quinta, Sexta, Septima, Nona, and Decima. It was probably given to an eighth child, an eighth son, or an eighth daughter. However, it has also been postulated that such names could refer to the month of the year in which a child was born. This explanation does not seem to account for the relative scarcity of Septimus, Octavius, or Nonus. But because parents were generally free to choose whichever name they happened to like, irrespective of its meaning, it may be that such names were given for both of these reasons.

In the form Uchtave, the praenomen was also used by the Etruscans.