Given name & surname
Oz
“having great strength”
Oz is used as a given name and a surname. One Hebrew interpretation is “having great strength.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Hebrew interpretation is “having great strength.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Hebrew.
How it developed
In English use, Oz is used as a shortened form of Oswald.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1998. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. In English use, Oz is a diminutive of 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
Oz through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 677
- 677 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2019
- 45 babies
- 2025
- 33
- #3,490 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +5%
- Steady
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 33 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 3,490 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 5.1% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 45 in 2019. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (7). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 680 as a first name in 2020; 515 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Oz’s family of names
In English usage, Oz is a diminutive of Oscar. Oz has a related form in Ozzie. In English usage, Oz is a diminutive of Oswald.
The ring: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 22
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
People named Oz
- Oz ClarkeBritish television presenter and wine writerborn 1949
- Oz NoyIsraeli-American jazz-fusion and funk guitarist and composerborn 1972
- Oz ZehaviIsraeli actor, model, and television hostborn 1983
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Oz, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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