Oscar (given name)

For other uses, see Oscar.
Oscar
Gender Male
Language(s) Irish
Origin
Language(s) Irish
Derivation os + cara
Meaning "deer" + "friend"

Oscar or Oskar is a masculine given name derived from the Irish language.[1]

Oscar is the third most popular name for males born in Sweden.[2] Oskar is ranked 51 in terms of the most popular male names.[3]

Etymology

The name may be derived from two elements in Irish: the first, os, means "deer"; the second element, cara, means "friend". The name is borne by a character in Irish mythologyOscar, grandson of Fionn Mac Cumhail. The name was popularised in the 18th century by James Macpherson, creator of 'Ossianic poetry'. Today the name is associated with Scandinavia because Napoleon was an admirer of Macpherson's work and gave the name to his godson, Joseph Bernadotte, who later became Oscar I, King of Sweden.[4] Consequently, at the time many Swedes were named Oscar. The name was given to more than a half-dozen members of Scandinavian royal houses.[5]

The surname McCusker originates as an Anglicised form of the Irish Mac Oscair. The latter surname may originate from Oscar, or else from a Gaelicised form of the Old Norse Ásgeirr (a personal name itself composed of the elements meaning "god" and "spear").[6]

Cognates

People with the given name Oscar

People with the given name Oskar

Fictional characters with the given name Oscar or Oskar

People with the given name Oskari

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Hanks, Patrick; Hodges, Flavia (2003), A dictionary of first names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0198606052
  2. "Pojknamn 2013". Statistiska centralbyrån.
  3. "Svenska namn - Allt för föräldrar".
  4. Hanks, Patrick; Hardcastle, Kate; Hodges, Flavia (2006), A Dictionary of First Names, Oxford Paperback Reference (2nd ed.), Oxford University Press, pp. 212, 354, ISBN 978-0-19-861060-1
  5. MacKillop, J. (1986). Fionn Mac Cumhaill: Celtic Myth in English Literature. p. 2.
  6. "McCusker Family History". Ancestry.com. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
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