Oscar (given name)
Encyclopedia
Oscar is a masculine given name
in the English
and Irish
languages. Cognate
s include the Scottish Gaelic Osgar, and the German
and Scandinavian Oskar, and the Finnish
Oskari.
—Oscar
, 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, Oscar Bernadotte, who later became Oscar I, King of Sweden
. The given name Oscar is not to be confused with the Old English Ōsgār, which is of an entirely different origin (from two Old English elements meaning "god" and "spear").
Given name
A given name, in Western contexts often referred to as a first name, is a personal name that specifies and differentiates between members of a group of individuals, especially in a family, all of whose members usually share the same family name...
in the English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and Irish
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
languages. Cognate
Cognate
In linguistics, cognates are words that have a common etymological origin. This learned term derives from the Latin cognatus . Cognates within the same language are called doublets. Strictly speaking, loanwords from another language are usually not meant by the term, e.g...
s include the Scottish Gaelic Osgar, and the German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
and Scandinavian Oskar, and the Finnish
Finnish language
Finnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a...
Oskari.
Etymology
The name is 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 mythologyIrish mythology
The mythology of pre-Christian Ireland did not entirely survive the conversion to Christianity, but much of it was preserved, shorn of its religious meanings, in medieval Irish literature, which represents the most extensive and best preserved of all the branch and the Historical Cycle. There are...
—Oscar
Oscar (Irish mythology)
Oscar is a figure in the Fenian Cycle of Irish mythology. He is the warrior son of Oisín and the fairy woman Niamh, who also bore his sister, Plor na mBan. Oisín, in turn, was the son of the epic hero Fionn mac Cumhail...
, grandson of Fionn Mac Cumhail. The name was popularised in the 18th century by James Macpherson
James Macpherson
James Macpherson was a Scottish writer, poet, literary collector and politician, known as the "translator" of the Ossian cycle of poems.-Early life:...
, creator of 'Ossianic poetry'. Today the name is associated with Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
because Napoleon was an admirer of Macpherson's work and gave the name to his godson, Oscar Bernadotte, who later became Oscar I, King of Sweden
Oscar I of Sweden
Oscar I was King of Sweden and Norway from 1844 to his death. When, in August 1810, his father Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte was elected Crown Prince of Sweden, Oscar and his mother moved from Paris to Stockholm . Oscar's father was the first ruler of the current House of Bernadotte...
. The given name Oscar is not to be confused with the Old English Ōsgār, which is of an entirely different origin (from two Old English elements meaning "god" and "spear").
Cognates
- Scottish Gaelic: Osgar.
- GermanGerman languageGerman is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
Oskar. - Scandinavian: Oskar.
- FinnishFinnish languageFinnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a...
: Oskari.
People with the given name Oscar or Oskar
- Oscar I of SwedenOscar I of SwedenOscar I was King of Sweden and Norway from 1844 to his death. When, in August 1810, his father Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte was elected Crown Prince of Sweden, Oscar and his mother moved from Paris to Stockholm . Oscar's father was the first ruler of the current House of Bernadotte...
, king of Sweden and Norway - Oscar II of SwedenOscar II of SwedenOscar II , baptised Oscar Fredrik was King of Sweden from 1872 until his death and King of Norway from 1872 until 1905. The third son of King Oscar I of Sweden and Josephine of Leuchtenberg, he was a descendant of Gustav I of Sweden through his mother.-Early life:At his birth in Stockholm, Oscar...
, king of Sweden and Norway - Count Oscar Bernadotte of Wisborg, born Prince Oscar, Duke of Gotland, prince of Sweden and Norway
- Oscar ÁlvarezOscar Álvarez (cyclist)Oscar Mauricio Álvarez Paniagua is a male professional road cyclist from Colombia.-Career:2002Oscar Mauricio Álvarez Paniagua is a male professional road cyclist from Colombia.-Career:2002Oscar Mauricio Álvarez Paniagua is a male professional road...
, Colombian road cyclist - José Oscar BernardiJosé Oscar BernardiJosé Oscar Bernardi , nicknamed Oscar, is a noted association footballer, having been on the Brazil national football team and a member of São Paulo Futebol Clube and Associação Atlética Ponte Preta, and having played in defence at the Football World Cup in 1978, 1982, and as a reserve in 1986...
, Brazilian soccer player once known as "Oscar" (though "Oscar" by itself now in Brazil usually refers to the basketball player) - Oscar BrodneyOscar BrodneyOscar Brodney was an American lawyer-turned-screenwriter. He was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of an immigrant fisherman...
, American lawyer-turned-screenwriter - Oscar CortínezOscar CortínezHernán Oscar Cortínez is a male marathon runner from Argentina, who is a two-time winner of the Buenos Aires Marathon in his native country...
, Argentine marathon runner - Oscar De La HoyaOscar de la HoyaOscar De La Hoya is a retired American boxer of Mexican descent. Nicknamed "The Golden Boy", De La Hoya won a gold medal at the Barcelona Olympic Games shortly after graduating from Garfield High School. De La Hoya comes from a boxing family. His grandfather Vicente, father Joel Sr., and brother...
, American boxer - Oscar de la RentaOscar de la RentaOscar de la Renta is one of the world's leading fashion designers. He was named to the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame in 1973.-Career:...
, a Dominican-born American fashion designer - Oscar FernandesOscar FernandesOscar Fernandes is an India politician, a senior Indian National Congress leader and AICC General Secretary. He was the Minister of State of the Ministry of Labour and Employment in Dr. Manmohan Singh's first UPA government in India. He was elected to the 7th Lok Sabha in 1980 from Udupi...
, Indian politician - Óscar FernándezÓscar Fernández (athlete)Óscar Fernández Giralda is a retired male long-distance runner from Spain. He set his personal best in the marathon on December 12, 2003 in Fukuoka, Japan.-Achievements:-References:...
, Spanish long-distance runner - Óscar FreireÓscar FreireÓscar Freire Gómez is a Spanish professional road bicycle racer, riding for the UCI ProTeam Rabobank. He is one of the top sprinters in road bicycle racing, having won the world championship a three times, equalling Alfredo Binda, Rik Van Steenbergen and Eddy Merckx...
, Spanish cyclist - Oscar Gutierrez, professional wrestler under stage name Rey Mysterio, Jr.
- Dr. Oskar Gerde, Hungary 2x Olympic champion saber fencer
- Oscar HijuelosOscar HijuelosOscar Jerome Hijuelos is an American novelist. He is the first Hispanic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.- Early life and career :...
, Cuban-American novelist - Oskar KokoschkaOskar KokoschkaOskar Kokoschka was an Austrian artist, poet and playwright best known for his intense expressionistic portraits and landscapes.-Biography:...
, artist, poet and playwright - Oscar LevantOscar LevantOscar Levant was an American pianist, composer, author, comedian, and actor. He was more famous for his mordant character and witticisms, on the radio and in movies and television, than for his music.-Life and career:...
, pianist, composer, comedian, writer, and actor - Oskar MorgensternOskar MorgensternOskar Morgenstern was a German-born Austrian-School economist. He, along with John von Neumann, helped found the mathematical field of game theory ....
, economist, co-author of a Theory of Games and Economic BehaviorTheory of Games and Economic BehaviorTheory of Games and Economic Behavior, published in 1944 by Princeton University Press, is a book by mathematician John von Neumann and economist Oskar Morgenstern which is considered the groundbreaking text that created the interdisciplinary research field of game theory... - Oskar NedbalOskar NedbalOskar Nedbal was a Czech violist, composer, and conductor of classical music.-Life:Nedbal was born in Tábor, in southern Bohemia. He studied the violin at the Prague Conservatory under Antonín Bennewitz...
, Czech musician - Oscar NiemeyerOscar NiemeyerOscar Ribeiro de Almeida Niemeyer Soares Filho is a Brazilian architect specializing in international modern architecture...
, Brazilian architect - Oskar OsalaOskar OsalaOskar Osala is a Finnish professional ice hockey Left Wing currently playing with the HC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk of the Kontinental Hockey League.-Playing career:He started his career with Vaasa-based Sport...
, Finnish ice hockey player - Óscar Pereiro, Spanish cyclist
- Oscar PetersonOscar PetersonOscar Emmanuel Peterson was a Canadian jazz pianist and composer. He was called the "Maharaja of the keyboard" by Duke Ellington, "O.P." by his friends. He released over 200 recordings, won seven Grammy Awards, and received other numerous awards and honours over the course of his career...
, jazz pianist and composer - Oscar PistoriusOscar PistoriusOscar Leonard Carl Pistorius is a South African sprint runner. Known as the "Blade Runner" and "the fastest man on no legs", Pistorius, who has a double amputation, is the world record holder in the 100, 200 and 400 metres events and runs with the aid of Cheetah Flex-Foot carbon fibre transtibial...
, South African athlete - Oscar RaiseOscar RaiseOscar Raise is a retired Italian high jumper.He finished sixth at the 1978 European Indoor Championships and won the silver medal at the 1979 Mediterranean Games. He also competed at the 1976 Olympic Games without reaching the final.His personal best jump is 2.27 metres, achieved in September 1979...
, Italian high jumper - Oscar van RappardOscar van RappardOscar Emile, Knight van Rappard was an track and field athlete and football player from the Netherlands, who represented his native country at two consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1920.At his Olympic debut he won the bronze medal with the Netherlands national football team, while at the...
(1896–1962), Dutch athlete and football (soccer) player - Oscar RobertsonOscar RobertsonOscar Palmer Robertson , nicknamed "The Big O", is a former American NBA player with the Cincinnati Royals and the Milwaukee Bucks...
, NBA legend - Óscar RomeroÓscar RomeroÓscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez was a bishop of the Catholic Church in El Salvador. He became the fourth Archbishop of San Salvador, succeeding Luis Chávez. He was assassinated on 24 March 1980....
, martyred priest - Oskar SchindlerOskar SchindlerOskar Schindler was an ethnic German industrialist born in Moravia. He is credited with saving over 1,100 Jews during the Holocaust by employing them in his enamelware and ammunitions factories, which were located in what is now Poland and the Czech Republic respectively.He is the subject of the...
, German industrialist who saved his Jewish workers from the Holocaust - Oskar SchlemmerOskar SchlemmerOskar Schlemmer was a German painter, sculptor, designer and choreographer associated with the Bauhaus school. In 1923 he was hired as Master of Form at the Bauhaus theatre workshop, after working some time at the workshop of sculpture...
, German painter, sculptor, designer and choreographer associated with the BauhausBauhaus', commonly known simply as Bauhaus, was a school in Germany that combined crafts and the fine arts, and was famous for the approach to design that it publicized and taught. It operated from 1919 to 1933. At that time the German term stood for "School of Building".The Bauhaus school was founded by...
school. - Oscar SchmidtOscar SchmidtOscar Daniel Bezerra Schmidt is a retired Brazilian basketball player. He is also known as Oscar Schmidt Bezerra in Spain, where he played for Fórum Valladolid for the 1993-94 and 1994-95 seasons, and simply Oscar or Mão Santa in his homeland. At his peak, he was 2.05 m tall and weighed...
, Brazilian basketball player - Óscar SevillaOscar SevillaÓscar Miguel Sevilla Ribera , nicknamed El Niño, is a Spanish professional road bicycle racer. He is a climber with a pedigree in stage races, having finished in the top ten of the Tour de France and Vuelta a España several times...
, Spanish cyclist - Oscar StráticoOscar StráticoOscar S. Strático is a retired competitive judoka from Argentina, who represented his native country at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Canada....
, Argentine judoka and wrestler - Óscar TéllezÓscar TéllezÓscar Téllez Gómez is a former Spanish footballer, who played as a central defender.A rugged player with strength and heading ability, he was mostly known for his Deportivo Alavés spell.-Club career:...
, Spanish football player - Oscar TraynorOscar TraynorOscar Traynor was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician and revolutionary. He served in a number of Cabinet positions, most notably as the country's longest-serving Minister for Defence....
, commander of the Dublin brigade IRA (1920-1922) - Óscar VargasÓscar VargasÓscar de Jesús Vargas Restrepo is a retired male road racing cyclist from Colombia, who was a professional rider from 1985 to 1995.-Career:1986...
, Colombian road cyclist - Óscar VegaÓscar VegaÓscar Vega Sánchez is a former boxer from Spain, who represented his native country at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. There he was eliminated in the first round of the bantamweight division by Argentina's Remigio Molina on points .-External links:...
, Spanish boxer - Óscar VillarrealÓscar VillarrealÓscar Eduardo Villarreal is a Major League Baseball relief pitcher who is currently a free agent. He has played in the majors for the Arizona Diamondbacks , Atlanta Braves , and Houston Astros .-Arizona Diamondbacks:...
, American baseball player - Oscar WendtOscar WendtOscar Wendt is a Swedish footballer who currently plays as a left back for Borussia Mönchengladbach and the Swedish national team.When Oscar Wendt transferred to F.C...
, Swedish football player - Oscar WildeOscar WildeOscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
, Irish writer and poet
Fictional characters with the given name Oscar
- Oscar (Irish mythology)Oscar (Irish mythology)Oscar is a figure in the Fenian Cycle of Irish mythology. He is the warrior son of Oisín and the fairy woman Niamh, who also bore his sister, Plor na mBan. Oisín, in turn, was the son of the epic hero Fionn mac Cumhail...
, the warrior son of Oisín and Niamh - Oscar Bluth, a character from the television series Arrested Development
- Oscar François de JarjayesOscar François de Jarjayesis one of the main characters in the manga/anime series The Rose of Versailles, created by Riyoko Ikeda.-Character history:Born the last of five daughters to the Commander of the Royal Guards, General François Augustin Regnier de Jarjayes she is raised by her father as if she were a boy in order...
, the main character of the manga and anime series Rose of Versailles - Oscar GoldmanOscar GoldmanOscar Goldman is a fictional character created by Martin Caidin and introduced in his 1972 novel Cyborg. In the 1970s, he was portrayed by Richard Anderson in both The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman television series which were based upon Cyborg...
, a character from The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman - Oscar the GrouchOscar the GrouchOscar the Grouch is a Muppet character on the television program Sesame Street. He has a green body , has no nose , and lives in a trash can. His favorite thing in life is trash; evidence for this is the song "I Love Trash". A running theme is his compulsive hoarding of seemingly useless items...
, a Muppet on Sesame Street - Oscar MadisonOscar MadisonOscar Madison is a character in The Odd Couple, which began as a Broadway play, then was a film and then a television series.In The Odd Couple, Oscar Madison is the everyman, and is a sportswriter for the New York Herald...
, a character from The Odd Couple - Oscar MartinezOscar MartinezOscar Jual Paul Martinez is a fictional character from the US television series The Office. He is played by Oscar Nunez.-Overview:Oscar Martinez is an accountant at the paper distributor Dunder Mifflin. He is a first generation Mexican-American. Oscar is also openly homosexual after being...
, a character from The Office - Oskar Matzerath, main character of The Tin DrumThe Tin DrumThe Tin Drum is a 1959 novel by Günter Grass. The novel is the first book of Grass's .- Plot summary :The story revolves around the life of Oskar Matzerath, as narrated by himself when confined in a mental hospital during the years 1952-1954...
- Oscar Shales, a fictional fugitive from the television series Prison Break
- Oskar Schell, the fictional protagonist from the novel Extremely Loud and Incredibly CloseExtremely Loud and Incredibly CloseExtremely Loud and Incredibly Close is a 2005 novel by Jonathan Safran Foer.The book's narrator is a nine-year-old boy named Oskar Schell. Two years before the story begins, Oskar's father dies on 9/11...
- Oscar, a Lance Knight in the game Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
- Oscar, a fish in Fish HooksFish HooksFish Hooks is an American animated television series created by Noah Z. Jones. Twenty-one episodes have been ordered for the first season. It premiered on September 24, 2010. An 11-minute preview was shown on September 3, 2010, following the Disney Channel Original Movie, Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam...
- Oskar, the main character in Let the Right One InLet the Right One InLet the Right One In , or Let Me In, is a 2004 vampire fiction novel by Swedish writer John Ajvide Lindqvist. The story centers on the relationship between a 12-year-old boy, Oskar, and a centuries-old vampire child, Eli. It takes place in Blackeberg, a working class suburb of Stockholm, in the...
- Oscar Blaketon, character in Heartbeat
People with the given name Oskari
- Tommi Oskari FrösénOskari FrösénOskari Frösén is a Finnish high jumper, who won a total of five national titles in the men's high jump event....
, Finnish high jumper - Pentti Oskari KangasPentti Oskari KangasPentti Oskari Kangas is a Finnish singer popularized by a cover of the Rod Stewart song Da Ya Think I'm Sexy? featuring Seitsemän seinähullua veljestä. Also appears in a Finnish TV comedy series called Seitsemän seinähullua veljestä.-References:...
, Finnish singer - Oskari MantereOskari MantereOskari Mantere was a Finnish politician from the National Progressive Party who served as Prime Minister of Finland from December 1928 to August 1929.-References:...
, Finnish politician - Antti Oskari TokoiOskari TokoiAntti Oskari Tokoi was a Finnish socialist who served as a leader of the Social Democratic Party of Finland. During the short-lived Revolution of 1918, Tokoi participated as a leading figure in the revolutionary government....
, Finnish politician - Oskari Olavi VirtaOlavi VirtaOlavi Virta was a Finnish singer, acclaimed as the king of Finnish tango. Between 1939 and 1966 he recorded almost 600 songs, many of which are classics of Finnish popular music, and appeared in many films and theatrical productions...
, Finnish singer