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October

#3,757 in 2025UnisexGirls' nameBoys' name

Eighth month

October has been given to 1,342 babies in the U.S. since 1969. In 2025 it ranked #3,757 of 17,293 girls’ names in use. Its peak year was 2008, with 72 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 93% girls, 7% boys all-time.

Babies named October, 2025

1 in 82,900

October over time, 1880–2025

GirlsBoys
02040608018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Girls or boys — October over time

In 2025, October went to 82% girls and 18% boys.

19692025

A sex is only published in years it reached five applications, so a stretch at 0% or 100% means the other side stayed under that floor — not that it was never used.

October: meaning, origin, and history

Eighth month

month names

What October means

October means “eighth month”, associated with Octōber.

Dictionary etymologyReferences, data & attribution

From Middle English, borrowed from Old French octobre, from Latin Octōber (“eighth month”), from Latin octō (“eight”), from Proto-Indo-European *oḱtṓw (“twice four”); + Latin -ber, from -bris, an adjectival suffix; October was the eighth month in the Roman calendar.

Excerpt from Wiktionary: October (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Origin, language, and formation

October is used in English. Its origins include month names.

October comes through Old French octobre, Latin Octōber, Latin octō, Proto-Indo-European *oḱtṓw and Latin -ber.

Pronunciation and spelling

In English, October is pronounced /ɑkˈtoʊ.bəɹ/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 1,246 girls were recorded with the name October between 1969 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 72 in 2008; its best national rank was #2,606 in 2008.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #2,924 in 2020 to #3,757 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #3,745 in 2015 to #3,757 in 2025.

In the United States, 96 boys were recorded with the name October between 2016 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 21 in 2023; its best national rank was #4,841 in 2023.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #11,605 in 2020 to #8,721 in 2025.

How common is October?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 82,900
40 of 3,315,165 births
Among girls only
1 in 40,200
<0.01% of girls
Rank, 2025
#3,757
of 17,293 girls’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
57,449 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where October sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Olivia (13,544)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 57,449 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another October. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Octobers were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as October was born before 2013 — so the typical October is around 12 today.

Median birth year
2013
About 12 years old
Biggest decade
2010s
42.4% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
86.3%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
1,246
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2010s — 42.4% of all recorded uses (528).

Is October rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
−127
Places dropped
Rank vs 5 years ago
−833
Places dropped
Rank vs 10 years ago
−12
Places dropped
Births vs 10 years ago
0.98×
Fewer babies than then
Share of its own peak
55.6%
Peak was 2008 (72)
Years since peak
17
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Volatile
33.3% average annual change
Best rank ever
#2,606
2008

Where October is used — girls

Across 1910–2025, October was most concentrated in California — about 1 in — girls, against 1 in 312,023 across all states with data. It was least common in Texas (1 in —).

00 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1California1 in —
  2. 2Georgia1 in —
  3. 3Michigan1 in —
  4. 4Missouri1 in —
  5. 5North Carolina1 in —
  6. 6Ohio1 in —
  7. 7Oklahoma1 in —
  8. 8Texas1 in —

Shading is the share of that state's recorded girls given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings. October has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Where October is used — boys

Across 1910–2025, October was most concentrated in Iowa — about 1 in — boys, against 1 in 461,105 across all states with data.

00 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Iowa1 in —

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings. October has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

October around the world

Where October ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    2017–2017
    #5,765
    in 2017

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics. ONS data under Open Government Licence v3.0.

October by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#3,757
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 833
Best rank ever
#2,606
2008
Peak year
2008
72 that year
First recorded
1969
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
1,246
Count in 2025
40

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#8,721
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 2,884
Best rank ever
#4,841
2023
Peak year
2023
21 that year
First recorded
2016
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
96
Count in 2025
9

Names similar to October

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

KymberTimberNovemberDecemberKamberTymberCamberOctaviaOctavieSeptemberOctayviaOctiviaKimberDeamberKeamberKemberTamberOktoberOctaviahOctavaOctaEmberOctavyaKiamber

Sibling names for October

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around October

Top names of 2008, October's peak yearThe 2000s in fullOther names that peaked in 2008Girls' names starting with OAutumn Names