Help Name the Octopus!

This is exciting stuff, ladies and gents!

The National Zoo in Washington has acquired a new Giant Pacific Octopus, and they want YOUR help naming the little fella. Since it'll grow to be about 10 feet in length, it won't be a little fella for long.

The zoo has set up a web page for people to vote on one of four octopus-inspired names. Since the octopus has not reached sexual maturity yet, its sex cannot be determined, so the names selected can be applied to either gender. The choices are:

Olympus: This octopus arrived at the Zoo just before the 2010 Winter Olympics, and for many zoogoers the octopus gets a gold medal for being a compelling animal.

Ceph: Octopuses belong to the fascinating group of animals called cephalopods (class Cephalopoda), which means “head-foot.” The arms or feet (podos in Greek) of these animals are on the front of their head (“cephalo” comes from the Greek kephale, for head).

Octavius: “Octavius the Octopus” is more than just a pretty, alliterative name. The prefix “oct” means eight—that’s how many arms an octopus has, and “Octavius” was the Latin name traditionally given to the eighth child.

Vancouver: Home may be where the heart is—three hearts in the case of the octopus—and this octopus came the Zoo from an organization in Vancouver, British Columbia, at the end of January.

Click on the link below to cast your vote, and make your octopus-loving voice heard!

Name the Octopus