Given name & surname
Oskar
“a spear of the gods”·“a friend of deer”
In German use, Oskar has a related form in Oscar. Interpretations include “a spear of the gods” and “a friend of deer”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts.
Meaning & origin
What it means
In German use, Oskar has a related form in Oscar. Interpretations include “a spear of the gods” and “a friend of deer”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts.
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
In German use, Oskar has a related form in Oscar. A possible origin is Irish Gaelic, although the derivation remains uncertain.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
In Estonian usage, Oskar developed from Oscar.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1916. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. In German use, Oskar has a related form in Oscar. The history of Oscar gives this family its wider story. Oscar’s naming history includes an association with the Ossianic poems popularized in the eighteenth century.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Oskar through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 3,241
- 3,241 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2016
- 160 babies
- 2025
- 93
- #1,750 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −18%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 93 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 1,750 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 17.8% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 160 in 2016. In 2025, California and Minnesota shared the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (10 each). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 2,930 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Oskar’s family of names
In Swedish usage, Oskar has a diminutive in Ogge. In Estonian usage, Oskar developed from the English form Oscar. In German usage, Oskar has a related form in ANSGAR.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Oskar has relatives in 16 languages.
13 related names in 16 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 5
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 8
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Oskar
- Oskar SchindlerGerman industrialist and Holocaust rescuer (1908–1974)
- Oskar KokoschkaAustrian dramatic, painter and writer (1886–1980)
- Oskar LafontaineGerman politicianborn 1943
- Oskar Werneractor (1922-1984)
- Oskar SchlemmerGerman painter, sculptor, designer and choreographer (1888–1943)
- Oskar PotiorekAustro-Hungarian general (1853-1933)
- Oskar MorgensternAustrian economist (1902–1977)
- Oskar KleinSwedish physicist1894–1977
- Oskar BacklundSwedish astronomer (1846–1916)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Oskar, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Omar
“a flourishing man; one who is well-spoken”
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Iker
“a visitor”
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Orion
“the huntress; a constellation”
97% boys · 3% girls
Owen
“born of Esos”
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Onyx
“as precious as the stone”
82% boys · 18% girls
Tobias
“The Lord is good”
>99% boys
Abel
“the life force; breath”
>99% boys
Abraham
“father of a multitude (of nations)” · “father of a multitude; father of nations”
>99% boys