Names whose meanings relate to the month of October are a natural fit for Halloween-themed names. This is such a wonderful time of year, because of the Halloween season, the full swing of Autumn, and the wonderful month of back-to-back Jewish holidays which often fall out at least partly during October. This year, they all fell during October, and the closing holiday, Simchat Torah, came very “late” in relation to when it usually does on the Gregorian calendar.
Unisex:
Beryl is the historical birthstone of October. I was very surprised to discover this is widely considered a woman’s name in the modern era, since I’d been introduced to it as a male name in several Sholom Aleichem stories. I later discovered it’s a diminutive of the Yiddish name Ber, “bear.”
Brumarel is the Old Romanian word for October, and means “little white frost” in Latin. I could see this working on either sex.
October is very uncommon when it comes to months used as personal names, but it could work on the right person. Toby is a good unisex nickname.
Yorah may mean “autumn showers” or “sprinkling” in Hebrew. It refers to the seasonal rain which falls in Eretz Yisrael from the last day of October to the first of December.
Female:
Calendula is the birth flower of October.
Coral is the Hindu birthstone for October. I’ve always really liked this name.
Garnet is the planetary stone of Scorpio, which begins 22 October.
Hedra is the Cornish word for October. This is a contemporary, not traditional, name.
Oktyabrina is a feminized Russian form of October. This is one of the newly-coined Soviet names most popular in the first few decades of the USSR.
Opal is the modern, and Ayurvedic, October birthstone. Some people may think this name sounds old-fashioned, though sister gemstone name Ruby has recently gone from old-fashioned to trendy. Perhaps Opal will soon follow in Ruby’s footsteps.
Sapphire is the planetary stone of Libra, the sign which takes up most of October. I personally feel this works better as a middle name, though the right person could pull it off as a forename.
Tola is the Khmer word for October.
Tourmaline is the alternative modern birthstone for October.
Urria is the Basque word for October.
Male:
Aban is the angel of October in Persian folklore. In particular, he governs the tenth day of the month.
Ekim is the Turkish word for October.
Jasper is the mystical birthstone of October.
Oktyabr is the Russian word for October, and also was adopted and made popular during the early decades of the USSR.
Onomastics Outside the Box 