Head to head · Boys' names
Kevin vs Oscar
#221 vs #223 in 2025
Kevin is a whisker ahead (#221 vs #223 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Kevin is stepping back from its peak, Oscar is holding its place on the charts. On momentum, Oscar has the edge.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Kevin leads 4 measures of 6; Oscar leads 1.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Kevin —, Oscar #29 — Oscar higher
- 1890s: Kevin —, Oscar #36 — Oscar higher
- 1900s: Kevin —, Oscar #57 — Oscar higher
- 1910s: Kevin #1829, Oscar #80 — Oscar higher
- 1920s: Kevin #917, Oscar #103 — Oscar higher
- 1930s: Kevin #471, Oscar #144 — Oscar higher
- 1940s: Kevin #209, Oscar #177 — Oscar higher
- 1950s: Kevin #34, Oscar #212 — Kevin higher
- 1960s: Kevin #15, Oscar #238 — Kevin higher
- 1970s: Kevin #15, Oscar #195 — Kevin higher
- 1980s: Kevin #22, Oscar #170 — Kevin higher
- 1990s: Kevin #27, Oscar #127 — Kevin higher
- 2000s: Kevin #36, Oscar #122 — Kevin higher
- 2010s: Kevin #88, Oscar #181 — Kevin higher
- 2020s: Kevin #188, Oscar #216 — Kevin higher
Kevin stood higher in 8 of 15 decades; Kevin has held the lead since the 1950s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Kevin | Oscar |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | — | #29 |
| 1890s | — | #36 |
| 1900s | — | #57 |
| 1910s | #1829 | #80 |
| 1920s | #917 | #103 |
| 1930s | #471 | #144 |
| 1940s | #209 | #177 |
| 1950s | #34 | #212 |
| 1960s | #15 | #238 |
| 1970s | #15 | #195 |
| 1980s | #22 | #170 |
| 1990s | #27 | #127 |
| 2000s | #36 | #122 |
| 2010s | #88 | #181 |
| 2020s | #188 | #216 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Kevin
Not charting outside the US.
Oscar
- England & Wales#9
- Scotland#20
- France#48
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Kevin
gentle; kindly
Irish caomh means gentle, kind or beloved, and Caoimhin adds the diminutive -in, giving something like the gentle one. The derivation is well attested. It is worth noticing what the name does not say: most early medieval men's names across Europe are about battle, spears, rule or wolves, and a name meaning gentle stands out sharply against that background.
Caoimhín → Kevin
How it traveled
Kevin of Glendalough founded a monastery in a valley in Wicklow in the sixth century and is one of Ireland's principal saints; the stories about him involve a great deal of standing still in cold water and a blackbird nesting in his outstretched hand. The name stayed inside Ireland for a very long time and crossed to America with Irish emigration, becoming widely used in the middle of the last century — the first Gaelic name to do so on that scale, and the reason the rest followed.
Oscar
deer-lover, or friend of deer
The name is Gaelic and appears in the Fenian tales as a grandson of Finn, where it is generally read as a compound of the words for a deer and a friend. A separate Old English name meaning spear of the gods has also been proposed as a source for some bearers, and the two may have converged. What is not in doubt is that the modern European currency of the name comes from an eighteenth-century book, and that the book was not what it said it was.
a Gaelic name from the Fenian tales → Macpherson publishes the Ossian poems in the 1760s → Napoleon gives the name to a godson → the name enters the Swedish royal line → steady use in America, Britain, France and Scandinavia
How it traveled
James Macpherson said he had collected and translated the poems of a third-century bard called Ossian, and Europe believed him for a generation. Goethe wept over it, Schubert set it to music, and Napoleon is said to have kept a copy with him in the field.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Kevin
KEV-in
KEV-in, two syllables, stress at the front. Irish Caoimhin is closer to KWEE-veen or KEE-veen depending on the dialect, with the mh sounded as a v — so the English name is a considerable simplification of the original rather than a spelling of it.
- Kev — The front clipped, and the short form nearly every Kevin is given; a complete working name.
- Kevo — The name with an Australian-style ending, which travels further than its origin suggests.
- Vin — The back taken alone, and a standing short form of its own from an unrelated name.
Oscar
OS-kur
Two syllables, stress at the front. The first vowel varies between the one in loss and the one in law depending on the accent, and nobody minds either.
- Ossie — The traditional short form, warm and rather old-fashioned.
- Oz — The modern one, short and shared with a country and a wizard.
- Car — Takes the back half; rare, and an English word.
Who has carried each name
Kevin
Kevin Hart (b. 1979) — One of comedy's biggest box-office stars
Kevin Costner (b. 1955) — Dances with Wolves Oscar winner
Kevin Durant (b. 1988) — One of the NBA's greatest scorers
Oscar
Oscar Wilde (b. 1854) — Wit behind The Importance of Being Earnest
Oscar Niemeyer (b. 1907) — Designed the futuristic capital Brasília
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Kevin if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsKevin is stepping back from its peak
- a newer arrivalKevin entered the US charts in 1912
Choose Oscar if you want…
- a name that charts abroad tooOscar is on the national lists of England & Wales, Scotland and France
- a long American recordOscar was already in use when US records began in 1880
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Kevin
Strengths
- The meaning is gentle, which almost no other men's name of its age can say.
- Kev is a clean short form that works in any English-speaking country.
- The saint behind it is a real and well-documented figure with a place still attached to him.
To consider
- A very great many people carry it, so a Kevin will rarely be the only one in a room over a lifetime.
- In France and Germany the name arrived later and carries class associations it does not carry here, which matters if the family moves.
- It is strongly associated with one American generation and dates a person fairly closely.
Oscar
Strengths
- It works without alteration in English, Spanish, French, German and Scandinavian.
- It is currently rising across Europe while remaining uncommon in America, which is a comfortable position.
- The sound is warm and slightly old-fashioned without being fussy, and it suits a man as well as a boy.
To consider
- The film award is the loudest association in America, and the jokes are unavoidable.
- A grouch in a rubbish bin has owned the name for American children since the 1960s.
- The meaning is contested, and the deer reading is traditional rather than proved.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Kevin and Oscar in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
- Midcentury modern: tomorrow's comeback bets
- Baby Boomer names (born 1946–1964)
- Generation X names (born 1965–1980)
- Millennial names (born 1981–1996)
- all guides
Where Kevin and Oscar each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Kevin or Oscar — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Kevin or Oscar?
- Kevin, in 2025: Kevin ranked #221 with 1,628 babies; Oscar ranked #223 with 1,620 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Kevin or Oscar?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Kevin moved down 64 places; Oscar moved down 9 places.
- Which is the older name, Kevin or Oscar?
- Kevin entered the US charts in 1912; Oscar was already in use when US records began in 1880. On the American record, Oscar is the older name.
- How many people are named Kevin and Oscar?
- About 1,053,000 people named Kevin are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 142,000 people named Oscar are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Kevins or Oscars in the classroom?
- Kevin will almost certainly be the only one in school. Oscar will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025; international figures from national statistics agencies. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
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