Oskar is the German and Scandinavian spelling of Oscar, a name of debated origin, usually explained from the Irish os cara, "deer friend", or from the Old English Osgar, "god spear". Napoleon admired the name from the poems of Ossian and gave it to his godson, who became King Oscar I of Sweden, which is why it is so common in Scandinavia. In the United States the K spelling peaked at number 1191 in 2016 and ranks number 1750 among boys' names in 2025.