Oisin
Masculine · “little deer”
Oisín is Irish for a little deer, and he is the poet of the Fenian cycle — Fionn's son, who comes back from the otherworld three hundred years late.
How old is the name Oisin?
Oisin first appears in US birth records in 1991 — 34 years ago. The typical Oisin is a kid of about 10 — this name's wave is very recent. About 500 people named Oisin are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Oisin most popular?
Oisin peaked in 2020, reaching #3497 nationally. Today it ranks #4539, 1,042 places below that high. See the whole 2020 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From os to Oisin
The story of Oisin
Oisín goes to Tír na nÓg with Niamh, stays what feels like three years, and returns to find three hundred have passed and everyone he knew is dead. He falls from his horse, touches the ground and ages three centuries in an instant. Before that he is the poet of the Fianna, and a great body of verse is attributed to him. Macpherson's Ossian poems of the 1760s made the name famous across Europe.
Meaning
little deer, fawn
From Irish os, a deer, with a diminutive; the name fits his origin story, in which his mother is under an enchantment and appears as a deer when he is born.
How the name formed
- os
- Oisín
Related forms: Oisín · Oisean · Ossian
Pronouncing Oisin
uh-SHEEN
Two syllables with the stress on the second; the si is a sh sound in Irish.
Nicknames for Oisin
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1991
- Most boys named
- 202031 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #3497reached in 2020
- Change vs 2024
- −15.4%22 in 2025, from 26
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Oisin in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Oisín in Irish — same name
- Oisean in Scottish Gaelic — same name
- Ossian in English — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, New York, Massachusetts.
Oisins among us
people named Oisin are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 77,640 born in 2025 was named Oisin
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Dennys test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Oisin's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Dennys climbed just as high around 1993, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Dennys's path sketches the road Oisin is walking now.
Oisin sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Oisin beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Oisin in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A settled Irish meaning with an extraordinary story attached.
- Very well used in Ireland, so it has a real community behind it.
- Five letters and two syllables, quick to write.
- English readers will say OY-sin, which is wrong at every sound.
- The accent is dropped by American systems, which loses the long vowel.
- It is unfamiliar in America and will be spelled out constantly.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Oisin to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Oisin? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Oisin
Masculine · #4539 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Oisins are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 500 people named Oisin are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Oisin in 2025?
- Oisin ranks #4539 among US boy names in 2025, with 22 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Oisin?
- About 1 in every 77,640 US boys born in 2025 was named Oisin — 22 in all.
- Will my child share the name Oisin with classmates?
- Oisin will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Oisin
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Nels#4539 · Gabe#4539 · Michel#4539 · Elroy#4539 · Orlin#4539 · Pearce#4539 · Josemaria#4539 · Napoleon#4539
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Oisin? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Oisin and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle