Meaning and history
Possibly meaning “deer friend,” this name is derived from Old Irish oss “deer” and carae “friend,” though it may also come from the Old English name Osgar or its Old Norse cognate Ásgeirr, perhaps introduced 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. The name was popularized in continental Europe by the 18th-century Scottish poet James Macpherson, and Napoleon, an admirer of Macpherson, suggested Oscar as the second middle name of his godson, later King Oscar I of Sweden. Notable bearers include the Irish writer and humorist Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) and the Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer (1907–2012).
20062006: 3,601 births, rank #118
2007: 3,548 births, rank #121
2008: 3,563 births, rank #120
2009: 3,117 births, rank #131
2010: 2,665 births, rank #147
20112011: 2,378 births, rank #162
2012: 2,198 births, rank #177
2013: 2,242 births, rank #178
2014: 2,321 births, rank #184
2015: 2,299 births, rank #181
20162016: 2,261 births, rank #176
2017: 2,048 births, rank #192
2018: 1,956 births, rank #206
2019: 1,892 births, rank #205
2020: 1,766 births, rank #214
20212021: 1,697 births, rank #226
2022: 1,892 births, rank #201
2023: 1,702 births, rank #216
2024: 1,669 births, rank #216
20252025: 1,620 births, rank #223
Oscar moved from #216 to #223 for boys between 2024 and 2025. Its highest annual birth count came in 2006, with 3,601 births.