The Art of Literary Nomenclature

ORIGIN:
Possibly from Gaelic, meaning “deer lover”, or from Old English, meaning “divine spear”, or from Old Norse, meaning “spear god” or “spear of god”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Asgar, Asgeirr, Osgar, Oskar, Oskari, Osku, Ossie, Oszkar, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Oscar, Dr. Archie’s regular waiter at the Brown Palace Hotel in Denver, in The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather (written in 1915 and set in the 1890s).
– Oscar Andersen, Irene’s late husband, who was killed in an explosion, in The Song of the Lark.

WRITERS:
– Oscar Fraley (1914-1994), American author and reporter.
– Oscar Hammerstein II (1895-1960), American librettist, lyricist, and producer.
– Oscar Hijuelos (1951-2013), Cuban-American novelist.
– Oscar Levy (1867-1946), German-Jewish physician and writer.
– Oscar Micheaux (1884-1951), American author, director, and producer.
– Oscar Millard (1908-1990), English author and screenwriter.
– Oscar Wilde (1854-1900), Irish author, playwright, and poet.

Tagged: 1850s, 1860s, 1880s, 1890s, 1900s, 1910s, 1950s, Danish, English, Irish, Norwegian, O, Portuguese, Swedish

§ 3 Responses to Oscar

• Everything Old is New Again | The Art of Literary Nomenclature says:

  April 5, 2015 at 1:53 am

  […] boys, they list Alfred, Bernard, Harold, Henry, Jack, Leo, Oscar, Raymond, and […]

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• A Bevy of Very British Names, Part II | The Art of Literary Nomenclature says:

  August 20, 2015 at 1:21 am

  […] Jessica, Lily, Olivia, Poppy, Sophie For boys: Charlie, George, Harry, Jack, Jacob, James, Oliver, Oscar, Thomas, […]

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• Everything Old is New Again, Vol. II | The Art of Literary Nomenclature says:

  August 30, 2015 at 7:44 am

  […] Cornelius, Denver, Ephraim, Ford, Francis, Frank, Gordon, Guy, Harry, Louis, Magnus, Milton, Nigel, Oscar, Otis, Paul, Simeon, Theodore, […]

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