Oscar
Masculine · “deer-lover”
Oscar is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 213,098 boys against 1,070 girls since 1880. See Oscar as a girl 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 was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Oscar alive today was born around 1981, making them about 44 years old. About 142,000 people named Oscar are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Oscar most popular?
Oscar peaked in 1883, reaching #26 nationally. Today it ranks #223, 197 places below that high. See the whole 1883 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.
Cultural footprint
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.
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
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 20073,548 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #26reached in 1883
- Change vs 2022
- −14.4%1,620 in 2025, from 1,892
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
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, New York. INSEE rounds every published count to the nearest five for statistical confidentiality; the ranks are calculated from the exact figures. International figures from Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland, INSEE. Sources
Oscars among us
people named Oscar are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 1,054 born in 2025 was named Oscar
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Oscar peaked long ago yet still holds steady — names that survive their own wave usually settle into quiet, durable classics.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Oscar is headed
Oscar should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
High confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Oscar beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Oscar in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
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
Masculine · #223 in the U.S.
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 142,000 people named Oscar are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Oscar in 2025?
- Oscar ranks #223 among US boy names in 2025, with 1,620 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Oscar?
- About 1 in every 1,054 US boys born in 2025 was named Oscar — 1,620 in all.
- Will my child share the name Oscar with classmates?
- Oscar will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Oscar
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Griffin#222 · Edward#224 · Cohen#225 · Kevin#221 · Kairo#226 · Joel#219 · Tyler#219 · Callahan#227
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; international figures from national statistics agencies. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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