Boys' name · peaked in 1886
Oscar name popularity since 1925
173,325 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Oscar. Half of them were born in 1993 or earlier, so the typical Oscar is about 33 years old in 2026. Oscar peaked in 1886 as the #26 name for boys, and it ranked #223 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 173,325
- Named Oscar, 1925–2025
- Peak year
- 1886
- #26 for boys that year
- In 2025
- #223
- for boys in 2025 (1,620 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 99.5% boys
- 897 girls · 172,428 boys
- Most popular in
- Texas
- 2.62× its national share
Peak year is the year Oscar made up the largest share of US boys, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Oscar births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year on this chart was 2006. Measured as a share of all babies, Oscar peaked earlier, in 1886.
- Fastest rise: Between 1988 and 1993, Oscar became 1.6× more common, from 1 in 1,100 baby boys to 1 in 689.
Shaded on the chart. This compares Oscar's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Oscar.
Decade by decade
Babies named Oscar in each decade, and its rank among boys' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 65 | 8,050 | – |
| 1930s | 120 | 11,373 | #143 |
| 1940s | 75 | 10,188 | #176 |
| 1950s | 77 | 11,365 | #211 |
| 1960s | 45 | 9,908 | #232 |
| 1970s | 106 | 11,847 | #184 |
| 1980s | 125 | 15,661 | #169 |
| 1990s | 184 | 27,885 | #130 |
| 2000s | 90 | 33,545 | #117 |
| 2010s | 10 | 22,260 | #181 |
| 2020–25 | 0 | 10,346 | #223 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
28.9% of babies named Oscar from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Gen Z years (1997–2012). The full split by generation:
Where Oscar is most popular
The index compares Oscar's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Oscar.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Texas | 2.62× | 35,298 |
| Arizona | 2.34× | 5,197 |
| California | 2.34× | 42,498 |
| Nevada | 1.98× | 1,213 |
| New Mexico | 1.62× | 1,533 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Oscar and were given to at least 1,000 boys from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Boys | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Oscar (this page) | 172,428 | 1886 |
| Oskar | 3,230 | 2016 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 499 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Oscar's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Oscar.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Oscar (1886).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data