Oscar

Occasionally our research turns up information that surprises us. It doesn’t happen often, but it happened with Oscar. We were very surprised to learn that Oscar is actually an Irish name; probably like you, we were under the impression that it had Scandinavian roots. Nope. It’s Gaelic. The name is derived from Irish mythology and spread throughout Europe in the 18th century thanks to the Scottish poet James Macpherson who published an epic work covering the deeds of Irish heroes in what is referred to as the Fenian Cycle of Irish mythology. These works were extremely popular, widely read, and very controversial since Macpherson claimed they came directly from an ancient Gaelic manuscript he uncovered and said to be written by one of the heroes himself. Napoleon Bonaparte was such an enthusiastic fan of the epic, he named his godson Oscar. That boy would eventually become Oscar I King of Sweden and Norway in 1844, thus cementing the name Oscar as a favorite among Scandinavians. But it all started with Oscar, celebrated warrior in Irish mythology, son to the poet Oisín, and grandson to Fionn mac Cumhaill, the leader of the Fianna (hunter-warriors). The Gaelic word “os” means ‘deer’ and “cara” means ‘friend, loved’ – the associations comes from Oscar’s father, Oisín, in reference to the legend that his mother (Oscar’s grandmother) was transformed into a fawn by an evil druid so Oisín was reared in the wild until the age of seven when his father (Finn mac Cumhaill) finds him. Oisín marries the daughter of a sea god, and they produce Oscar – whose name means ‘little dear or beloved of deer’ – and he proves himself a mighty and brave warrior until his unexpected death in battle. It is said that Oscar’s death was the only time his grandfather ever cried. We also might mention that the anglicized version of Fionn mac Cumhaill is “Finn Mac Cool” – so Oscar is descended from the Mac Cools – how cool is that? In Scandinavia, the elements “os” + “ger” mean ‘god’s spear’ which worked out nicely once they adopted the name for themselves. It’s been used as a forename outside of Ireland since the 1800s all thanks again to James Macpherson.