The Baby Name Wizard

Reader Contributions

Contribute to, or edit, this collection of community wisdom on the name Oscar!

Comments and insights on the name Oscar: | Edit

Oscar is O in the NATO phonetic alphabet

Personal experiences with the name Oscar: | Edit

my boyfriend's name is Oscar.. he's amazing, i think this is an awesome kind of like vintage name!

Nicknames for Oscar: | Edit

Ozzy, Ossie, Oz, Scar (if he grows up to be a gangster)

Meanings and history of the name Oscar: | Edit

Oscar (Irish) possibly from the Gaelic phrase "os cara", meaning "friend of the deer". James Macpherson used the name in his Ossianic poems. Napoleon, an admirer of those works, imposed it on his little French godson, who ascended the throne of Sweden as Oscar I (or Oskar I).

The 'Os' part could well be from the Old English word for god (Old Norse equivalent 'As'). Not the Christian god, but one of the pagan gods.

Also a Old Norse name meaning God's spear. Anglicized from Ásgeirr

Famous real-life people named Oscar: | Edit

Oscar Peterson, jazz pianist
Oscar Hammerstein, American lyricist (The Sound of Music)
Oscar de la Hoya, American boxer
Oscar de la Renta, Dominican fashion designer
Oscar Wilde, Irish author and playwright (The Importance of Being Earnest)
Oscar Niemeyer, Architect, Pritzker Architecture Prize Winner (1988)
Grandson of Al Gore

Oscar in song, story & screen: | Edit

Oscar the Grouch from the children's television program Sesame Street
Oscar Martinez, character from "The Office" (TV series)
Oscar Madison, character from "The Odd Couple" (TV series)

Oscar is the nickname for the Academy Award, the most prestigious film award in America, presented yearly by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Oscar Mayer is an American food company started by Oscar Ferdinand Mayer in the 1880s. Today they are a popular producer of hot dogs, bologna, and other deli meats. Their most famous slogan, written in 1963, begins, "Oh, I wish I were an Oscar Mayer weiner..."