Oscar m
English and Irish: name, apparently composed of the Irish Gaelic elements os deer + cara friend, borne in the Fenian sagas by a grandson of Finn McCool. It was resuscitated by the antiquarian and poet James Macpherson (1736–96). This is now also a characteristically Scandinavian name; it was introduced there because Napoleon, being an admirer of the works of Macpherson, imposed the name on his godson Oscar Bernadotte, who became King Oscar I of Sweden in 1844. In more recent times it has been associated particularly with the Irish writer and wit Oscar Wilde (1854–1900).
Cognates: Scottish Gaelic: Osgar. German, Scandinavian, E. European: Oskar. Finnish: Oskari.
First names dictionary. 2012.