Oswaldo
Masculine · “divine power”
Oswaldo is a Spanish and Italian form of an Anglo-Saxon name, and the two halves of the original are both about power — one divine and one human. Os was a god, and weald was rule.
How old is the name Oswaldo?
Oswaldo first appears in US birth records in 1915 — 110 years ago. The typical Oswaldo alive today was born around 2001, making them about 24 years old. About 5,600 people named Oswaldo are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Oswaldo most popular?
Oswaldo peaked in 2006, reaching #549 nationally. Today it ranks #2991, 2,442 places below that high. See the whole 2006 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Osweald to Oswaldo
The story of Oswaldo
Oswald of Northumbria was a seventh-century king who converted to Christianity in exile, brought Aidan from Iona to evangelise his kingdom, and was killed in battle against a pagan rival; he was venerated across northern Europe, which is why an Anglo-Saxon royal name turns up in Italy and Spain at all. The Continental forms — Osvaldo, Oswaldo, Osvald — descend from that cult. It reaches United States records almost entirely from Mexican and Central American families.
Meaning
divine power; god-ruler
Old English Osweald joins os, an element meaning a god — the same os in Oswin, Osborn and Oscar — to weald, 'power, rule'. The os element belonged to pre-Christian Germanic religion and survived into Christian-era names without anyone minding. The reading is documented. Oswaldo is the Spanish, Portuguese and Italian form with the vowel ending those languages require.
How the name formed
- Osweald
- Oswald
- Oswaldo
Related forms: Oswald · Osvaldo · Osvaldo · Osvaldo
Pronouncing Oswaldo
os-VAHL-doh
Three syllables with the stress in the middle. Spanish says the w as a v, which is why Osvaldo is the more common spelling there. English speakers say OZ-wald-oh, moving the stress forward and keeping the w.
Nicknames for Oswaldo
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
- 1915
- Most boys named
- 2005312 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #549reached in 2006
- Change vs 2023
- −6.8%41 in 2025, from 44
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.
Oswaldo in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Oswald in English — related form
- Osvaldo in Spanish — spelling variant
- Osvaldo in Italian — spelling variant
- Osvaldo in Portuguese — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, New York.
Oswaldos among us
people named Oswaldo are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 41,660 born in 2025 was named Oswaldo
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 Jemal test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Oswaldo's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Jemal climbed just as high around 1969, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Jemal's path sketches the road Oswaldo is walking now.
Oswaldo 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 Oswaldo is headed
Oswaldo should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
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.
Oswaldo beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Oswaldo in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A documented Anglo-Saxon origin with an unusually well-recorded royal saint behind it.
- Ozzy, Waldo and Chalo are three short forms across two languages.
- Three syllables that read correctly in Spanish, Italian and Portuguese alike.
- Oswaldo and Osvaldo are both standard and the w and v get swapped constantly.
- The stress falls differently in Spanish and English, so the child will hear two versions.
- It carries a distinctly older flavor in English-speaking countries, which is either the appeal or not.
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What they receive
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Oswaldo
Masculine · #2991 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Oswaldos are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 5,600 people named Oswaldo are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Oswaldo in 2025?
- Oswaldo ranks #2991 among US boy names in 2025, with 41 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Oswaldo?
- About 1 in every 41,660 US boys born in 2025 was named Oswaldo — 41 in all.
- Will my child share the name Oswaldo with classmates?
- Oswaldo will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Oswaldo
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Izaak#2991 · Nyle#2991 · Levin#2991 · Tilden#2991 · Hanson#2991 · Breck#2991 · Kevon#2991 · Roran#2991
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Oswaldo? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Oswaldo and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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