Agrippa gave the building its official name Saepta Julia, but it was usually referred to merely as "the Saepta." Once, however, Pliny referred to it as Porticus saeptorum, while it continued to be known also as the Ovile (Liv. XXVI.22).
The name Saepta derives from the verb saepire that means "to surround with a hedge, to fence in, to enclose." This term carries over the imagery of the old Ovile, because of the similarity of the enclosure to a sheepfold. The designation Julia celebrates the famous clan of the Julii, in which both Julius Caesar and Augustus belonged.