Oslo
Masculine · “meadow under the ridge”
Oslo is a Norwegian capital whose name is argued over — the meadow beneath the ridge, or the meadow of the gods, and Norwegians disagree.
How old is the name Oslo?
Oslo first appears in US birth records in 2007 — 18 years ago. The typical Oslo is a kid of about 3 — this name's wave is very recent. About 600 people named Oslo are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Oslo most popular?
Oslo peaked in 2022, reaching #1760 nationally. Today it ranks #1959, 199 places below that high. See the whole 2022 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From ás lo to Oslo
The story of Oslo
Oslo was founded around 1040, burned in 1624, rebuilt as Christiania on the other side of the bay, and took its old name back only in 1925. The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded there rather than in Stockholm. Place-names entered American given-name use from the 2010s, and Oslo appears in the registers in current use.
Meaningscholars disagree
meadow under the ridge; meadow of the gods
From the Old Norse lo, 'meadow' or 'flat land', with a first element read either as as, 'the gods' — the Æsir — or as ás, 'ridge'. The debate is a real one in Norwegian scholarship and has never been settled. The lo element is not in doubt.
How the name formed
- ás lo
- Oslo
Related forms: Oslo · Ásló
Pronouncing Oslo
OZ-loh
Two syllables, stress on the first. Norwegian says OOSH-loo in the local dialect and OSS-loo elsewhere.
Nicknames for Oslo
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
- 2007
- Most boys named
- 202294 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1760reached in 2022
- Change vs 2024
- −4.9%78 in 2025, from 82
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.
Oslo in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Oslo in Norwegian — same name
- Ásló in Old Norse — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Minnesota.
Oslos among us
people named Oslo are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 21,898 born in 2025 was named Oslo
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Oslo
- #1959
- Oslo on the 2025 chart
- #836
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Oslo went to 78 boys in 2025, but Ozlo is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 92, which makes it the 836th most-given boys’ name of the year — 1,123 places above the chart.
- Oslo78
- Ozlo14
About 1 boy in 18,566 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 21,898 for Oslo itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Ky test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Oslo's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Ky climbed just as high around 1987, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Ky's path sketches the road Oslo is walking now.
Oslo is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Oslo is headed
Oslo looks set to keep climbing gently, with roughly 47% more babies a year by 2030 if the current curve holds.
Medium 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.
Oslo beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Oslo in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The meadow-of-the-gods reading is vivid where it holds.
- That the city lost and regained its name over three centuries is a good story.
- Two clean syllables with no pronunciation risk in English.
- The first element is genuinely disputed and Norwegians argue about it.
- The city association is total.
- It is very new as a given name.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Oslo to the vote.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Oslo
Masculine · #1959 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Oslos are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 600 people named Oslo are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Oslo?
- Oslo is the most-used spelling in US records — 78 of the 92 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Ozlo.
- How popular is the name Oslo in 2025?
- Oslo ranks #1959 among US boy names in 2025, with 78 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Oslo?
- About 1 in every 21,898 US boys born in 2025 was named Oslo — 78 in all.
- Will my child share the name Oslo with classmates?
- Oslo will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Oslo
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Cyaire#1959 · Jaxtyn#1959 · Cross#1959 · Giovanny#1959 · Xayden#1959 · Lior#1959 · Dan#1959 · Greysen#1959
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Oslo? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Oslo 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
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