Oscar
Feminine · “deer-lover”
Oscar is given to boys far more often — 213,098 boys against 1,070 girls since 1880. See Oscar as a boy name
Oscar reached Sweden by way of a literary forgery and an emperor's enthusiasm. In the 1760s a Scottish poet published what he claimed were translations of an ancient Gaelic epic; Napoleon read them obsessively, carried them on campaign, and gave one of the names in them to his godson — a boy who grew up to be king of Sweden and put the name into a royal line that has kept it ever since.
How old is the name Oscar?
Oscar first appears in US birth records in 1886 — 139 years ago. The typical Oscar alive today was born around 1962, making them about 63 years old. About 700 people named Oscar are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Oscar most popular?
Oscar peaked in 1890, reaching #1099 nationally. See the whole 1890 chart.
Where it comes from
From a Gaelic name from the Fenian tales to Oscar
The story of Oscar
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. Scholars established fairly quickly that Macpherson had woven genuine Gaelic fragments into a great deal of his own invention. It hardly mattered. By then the names had escaped into the European bloodstream, and a Gaelic warrior out of a half-invented epic had become the name of a Swedish royal house.
Meaningscholars disagree
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.
How the name formed
- 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
Related forms: Oscar · Oskar · Oscar · Oskar
Pronouncing 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.
Nicknames for Oscar
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
- 1886
- Most girls named
- 193121 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1099reached in 1890
- Change vs 2009
- −28.6%5 in 2015, from 7
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.
Oscar in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Oscar in Irish — same name
- Oskar in Swedish — spelling variant
- Oscar in Spanish — same name
- Oskar in German — spelling variant
Oscars among us
people named Oscar are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Oscar sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- 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.
- 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.
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What they receive
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Oscar
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Oscars are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 700 people named Oscar are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Oscar in 2025?
- Oscar is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Oscar with classmates?
- Oscar will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More O names
The most-given names starting with O, all years combined.
Olivia#1 · Opal#423 · Olive#197 · Olga#3167 · Ollie#2276 · Ora#3712 · Ola#7885 · Ophelia#264
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Oscar? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Oscar and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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