Octave as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Octave

What is the meaning of the name Octave ?

The baby name Octave is a Male name , 2 syllables long and is pronounced UK: /ˈɒk.teɪv/ ; US: /ˈɑk.teɪv/ ; respelling: OK-tayv.

Octave is Latin in Origin.

Octave is the French form of the Latin praenomen Octavus, meaning “eighth.” In Roman usage it marked an eighth-born child; the related family name Octavius is famously borne by the future emperor Augustus. Octave came into French via medieval Latin, while the musical and liturgical “octave” share the same root but are separate developments, reinforcing the name’s associations with harmony and sacred time.

In France the name saw steady use in the 18th–19th centuries and survives in literature and the arts - think writer Octave Mirbeau, poet Octave Crémazie, and Zola’s character Octave Mouret. Variants include Latin Octavus/Octavius and Octavian, Spanish Octavio, Italian Ottavio, Portuguese Otávio, Romanian Octavian, and the feminine Octavie, Octavia, and Ottavia. Ecclesiastical veneration of martyrs named Octavius also buoyed its use. Today, Octave reads as rare yet cultured, with a refined vintage aura and subtle musical overtones.