How to say it
OS · car
/ˈɒs.kɚ/
Masculine
Oscar
Spear of the gods, or 'deer-lover'
What it means
Old Norse Asgeirr ('spear of the gods,' as 'god' + geirr 'spear') or Old Irish Oscar ('deer-lover'). The Irish bard Ossian's son Oscar is the Celtic anchor; Oscar Wilde is the English-language one.
Oscar has two competing roots that arrived in modern English usage in parallel. The Old Norse Asgeirr means 'spear of the gods'; the Old Irish Oscar is the son of Ossian (Oisín) in the Fenian Cycle. The 18th-century Scottish poet James Macpherson's Ossian poems (purported translations from Gaelic) made the Irish form famous across Europe. Napoleon was a fan; his godson Oscar I became King of Sweden, and the Swedish royal family kept the name. The Academy Award has been nicknamed 'Oscar' since the 1930s (origin disputed). Oscar Wilde gave the name its Anglo-Irish literary anchor. Oscar the Grouch added the Sesame Street touch.
Popularity over time
peaked at #26 in 1886, currently #223 in 2025.
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, names given to at least 5 babies in a year, 1880–present. See where the names are moving
Heads-up notes
- Pop culture
Oscar Wilde, Oscar the Grouch (Sesame Street), and the Academy Award all share the name; each shapes a different generation's cultural read.
Who's worn it
Historical figures, characters, and public faces who share the name. The cultural surface, for whatever weight you want to give it.
- Oscar Wilde Anglo-Irish poet and playwright, The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Importance of Being Earnest
- Oscar the Grouch Sesame Street's trash-can-dwelling Muppet, since 1969
- Oscar Isaac Guatemalan-American actor, Inside Llewyn Davis and the Star Wars sequels
Spelling variants
- Oskar
- Óscar
- Asgeirr
Names with the same feeling
See Oscar from another angle
By meaning
By style