How common is the name Oscar?

212,946 people in the United States have the first name Oscar, about 1 in 1,418. It ranks #263 of 53,615 first names in the 2020 Census.

first name

OSCAR

#263

of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
212,946
About
1 in 1,418
This common or more
46.6%
Who bears it

Of the 212,946 people named Oscar, 83.2% reported their origin as Hispanic or Latino, 9.6% as White and 4.3% as Black. Virtually all are male (99.8%). These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Oscar peaked in 2006, when 3,607 babies got the name.

Births per year, SSA records 1880–2025
18802025
Peak year
2006
Births that year
3,607
In 2025*
1,620 ▼55%
Recorded as
almost entirely male

At least 214,168 babies have been given the name since 1880. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.

Oscar by decade

Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1880s, when it ranked #90. The largest share of babies named Oscar, 23.4%, were born between 1997 and 2012, as Generation Z.

1880s#905,992
1890s#1265,629
1900s#1964,535
1910s#20314,938
1920s#25017,864
1930s#31111,493
1940s#38810,263
1950s#45011,442
1960s#5259,953
1970s#42111,953
1980s#35315,786
1990s#24528,069
2000s#22333,635
2010s#33622,270
2020s#39910,346
Before 19015.7%
Greatest Generation 1901–2715.8%
Silent Generation 1928–459.5%
Baby boom 1946–649.8%
Generation X 1965–808.5%
Millennials 1981–9615.5%
Generation Z 1997–1223.4%
2013 and later11.8%

Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.

Where Oscar is most common

Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Oscar has been most common in Texas (2.5×), Arizona (2.2×), and California (2.2×), and least common in Hawaii (0.08×).

193,857 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.

Spelled almost the same

One first name in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Oscar, most common first.

Also a last name

As a last name, Oscar ranks #15,103 of 156,621, with 1,875 people. See Oscar as a last name

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