Oswald
Masculine · “god power”
Oswald is god-power in Old English — os, a heathen god, and weald, rule — and it was carried by a Christian king and saint.
How old is the name Oswald?
Oswald was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Oswald alive today was born around 1936, making them about 89 years old. About 1,900 people named Oswald are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Oswald most popular?
Oswald peaked in 1886, reaching #451 nationally. Today it ranks #2145, 1,694 places below that high. See the whole 1886 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From os weald to Oswald
The story of Oswald
Oswald of Northumbria was a Christian king killed in battle in 642 and venerated across Europe; his cult reached Italy and Bohemia. That his name contains the old heathen word for a god is one of the better illustrations of how gradual the conversion was. It appears in American records in current use.
Meaning
god power, divine rule
From the Old English os, 'god' — specifically the old Germanic gods, the same element as in the Norse Æsir — and weald, 'power' or 'rule'. Anglo-Saxon Christians kept using the element long after conversion. The compound is transparent and undisputed.
How the name formed
- os weald
- Oswald
Related forms: Oswald · Osvaldo · Osvaldo
Pronouncing Oswald
OZ-wald
Two syllables, stress on the first. German says OS-valt with a harder ending.
Nicknames for Oswald
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
- 1916107 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #451reached in 1886
- Change vs 2022
- +21.8%67 in 2025, from 55
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.
Oswald in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Oswald in German — same name
- Osvaldo in Italian — related form
- Osvaldo in Spanish — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, New York.
Oswalds among us
people named Oswald are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 25,494 born in 2025 was named Oswald
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
Oswald 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
Where Oswald is headed
Oswald looks set to keep climbing gently, with roughly 24% 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.
Oswald beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Oswald in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- That a Christian saint's name contains the heathen word for a god is a first-rate fact.
- Oz and Ozzie are two short forms, both with real currency.
- The god-power meaning is transparent and strong.
- One twentieth-century assassin is a strong American association.
- It is period-coded to earlier generations.
- It reads as Germanic and somewhat heavy.
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What they receive
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Oswald
Masculine · #2145 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Oswalds are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,900 people named Oswald are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Oswald in 2025?
- Oswald ranks #2145 among US boy names in 2025, with 67 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Oswald?
- About 1 in every 25,494 US boys born in 2025 was named Oswald — 67 in all.
- Will my child share the name Oswald with classmates?
- Oswald will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Oswald
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Shayan#2145 · Wendell#2145 · Hosea#2145 · Banner#2145 · Musab#2145 · Alastair#2145 · Jahsir#2145 · Adair#2145
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Oswald? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Oswald and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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