Oscar is a boy name with a modern feel, drawn from real birth records. Below you'll find what Oscar means and where it comes from, plus how many babies have been named Oscar across the United States, UK, Ireland and New Zealand, how popular Oscar has been over the decades, and the year it peaked.
Oscar is a boy name of Old English origin meaning “divine spear”. also linked to an Irish name meaning deer-lover.
| Country | Births on record |
|---|---|
| United States since 1880 | 214,168 births |
| England & Wales since 1996 | 67,222 births |
| Scotland since 1974 | 3,073 births |
| Northern Ireland since 1997 | 1,122 births |
| Ireland since 1964 | 3,415 births |
| New Zealand top 100, since 1954 | 2,885 births |
Counts come from official national birth-registration statistics: U.S. Social Security Administration, England & Wales (Office for National Statistics), Scotland (National Records of Scotland), Northern Ireland (NISRA), Ireland (Central Statistics Office) and New Zealand (Dept. of Internal Affairs). Coverage spans differ, so totals aren't directly comparable across countries.
Babies named Oscar per year, England & Wales (1996 to 2025). England & Wales peaked in 2013 (4,511/yr) · United States peaked in 2006 (3,607/yr) · Scotland peaked in 2014 (212/yr) · Ireland peaked in 2021 (189/yr) · Northern Ireland peaked in 2014 (99/yr).
Oscar has been a fairly common baby name in the United States. It was most common in 2006, when it ranked #214 nationally (given to 5,255 babies that year), and a popular choice in the 2000s.
Oskar · Osker · Escar · Esgar · Yosgar · Oscor · Yoskar · Askari
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