Octavius is a Roman family name from the Latin octavus, meaning "eighth", originally given to an eighth child. Its most famous bearer is Gaius Octavius, the great-nephew of Julius Caesar who became the emperor Augustus, and Shakespeare put him on stage in Antony and Cleopatra. In the United States Octavius ranked number 1678 in 2000, its best year this century, and has stayed close by, ranking number 2073 in 2025.