Gender Masculine
Pronounced Pron. AHS-kər(English) AWS-kar(Italian, Swedish) AWS-KAR(French)  [key·IPA]

Meaning & History

Possibly means "deer friend", derived from Old Irish oss "deer" and carae "friend". Alternatively, it may derive from the Old English name Osgar or its Old Norse cognate Ásgeirr, which may have been brought to Ireland by Viking invaders and settlers. In Irish legend Oscar was the son of the poet Oisín and the grandson of the hero Fionn mac Cumhaill.

This name was popularized in continental Europe by the works of the 18th-century Scottish poet James Macpherson [1]. Napoleon was an admirer of Macpherson, and he suggested Oscar as the second middle name of his godson, who eventually became king of Sweden as Oscar I. Other notable bearers include the Irish writer and humourist Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) and the Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer (1907-2012).

Related Names

VariantsÓscar(Portuguese) Oskar(Swedish) Oskar(Norwegian) Oskar(Danish)
DiminutiveOssie(English)
Other Languages & CulturesOskar(Basque) Òscar(Catalan) Oskar(Czech) Oskar(Estonian) Oskari, Oskar, Osku(Finnish) Oskar(German) Oszkár(Hungarian) Óskar(Icelandic) Oskars(Latvian) Oskar(Polish) Oskár(Slovak) Oskar(Slovene) Óscar(Spanish)
Same SpellingÓscar, Òscar

People think this name is

classic   mature   formal   upper class   wholesome   strong   refined   strange   simple  

Name Days

France: February 3

Images

Oscar Wilde (1882)Oscar Wilde (1882)

Categories

2020's Grand Slam tennis players, alpinists, animals, artists, Ashita no Nadja characters, authors, Belgian royal family, Bernie Taupin songs, black history, boxers, cartoon characters, Chocolatier characters, Code Geass characters, Corner Gas characters, D. H. Lawrence characters, Dark Souls characters, directors, Dishonored characters, Disney characters, Emergency characters, fashion designers, felines, Fire Emblem characters, fish, food, footballers, Fortnite characters, friendship, Fringe characters, Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest, guitarists, Gundam characters, Hogan's Heroes characters, Ice Age characters, isograms, kings, LGBT history, mountaineers, Muppets, NATO phonetic alphabet, nature, nautical, NBA players, never out of the US top 1000, Norwegian royal family, Oz characters, Pandora Hearts characters, Path of the Ranger characters, pet names, Philip K. Dick characters, poets, Radford family, Robert A. Heinlein characters, royalty, RWBY characters, Star Wars actors, storms, Swedish royal family, Tales characters, teen idols, The Gilded Age characters, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel characters, The Office US characters, The Rose of Versailles characters, The White Lotus characters, top 10 in Cornwall, top 10 in Costa Rica, top 10 in Denmark, top 10 in Sweden, top 10 in the UK, top 10 in Wales, Tori Amos lyrics, Tori Amos songs, uncertain etymology, Violet Evergarden characters, Wii Sports opponent Miis, Wii Sports series opponent Miis, William Faulkner characters, world leaders, YouTubers

Sources & References

  1. Withycombe, Elizabeth Gidley. The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names. Oxford, 1945, page 104.
Entry updated January 21, 2022