Oswald
Oswald was given to 67 boys in 2025, #2,161 among boys’ names; 4,407 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 1,880 Americans named Oswald and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (43% of everyone recorded); the median is 34 years old and half are between 10 and 58.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Oswald by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Oswald mean?
Wiktionary, Polish section
Oswald is “a male given name, equivalent to English Oswald”
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. )
/ˈɔs.falt/
Meaning: Wiktionary, Polish section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Oswald?
#2,161 among boys’ names, 2025
Oswald rose from #4,046 in 2015 to #2,161 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born rose from 13.6 to 39.2 per million.
107 babies in 1916, the peak
Oswald peaked in 1916, when 107 boys were given it, #553 among boys’ names. The 67 births of 2025 are 63% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 67 | #2,161 | 0.04 |
| 2024 | 70 | #2,128 | 0.04 |
| 2023 | 65 | #2,211 | 0.04 |
| 2022 | 55 | #2,506 | 0.03 |
| 2021 | 54 | #2,484 | 0.03 |
| 2020 | 39 | #3,014 | 0.02 |
| 2019 | 42 | #2,925 | 0.02 |
| 2018 | 41 | #2,926 | 0.02 |
| 2017 | 38 | #3,107 | 0.02 |
| 2016 | 36 | #3,204 | 0.02 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 26 | #4,046 | 0.01 |
| 2014 | 27 | #3,862 | 0.01 |
| 2013 | 19 | #4,919 | 0.01 |
| 2012 | 14 | #6,214 | 0.01 |
| 2011 | 18 | #5,134 | 0.01 |
| 2010 | 21 | #4,637 | 0.01 |
| 2009 | 19 | #5,053 | 0.01 |
| 2008 | 14 | #6,312 | 0.01 |
| 2007 | 20 | #4,754 | 0.01 |
| 2006 | 18 | #5,006 | 0.01 |
| 2005 | 17 | #4,968 | 0.01 |
| 2004 | 25 | #3,713 | 0.01 |
| 2003 | 23 | #3,811 | 0.01 |
| 2002 | 9 | #7,465 | under 0.01 |
| 2001 | 24 | #3,587 | 0.01 |
| 2000 | 20 | #4,021 | 0.01 |
| 1999 | 18 | #4,106 | 0.01 |
| 1998 | 16 | #4,353 | 0.01 |
| 1997 | 18 | #3,838 | 0.01 |
| 1996 | 10 | #5,853 | 0.01 |
| 1995 | 16 | #3,993 | 0.01 |
| 1994 | 17 | #3,853 | 0.01 |
| 1993 | 23 | #3,000 | 0.01 |
| 1992 | 19 | #3,416 | 0.01 |
| 1991 | 22 | #2,959 | 0.01 |
| 1990 | 24 | #2,748 | 0.01 |
| 1989 | 22 | #2,857 | 0.01 |
| 1988 | 18 | #3,040 | 0.01 |
| 1987 | 15 | #3,295 | 0.01 |
| 1986 | 20 | #2,661 | 0.01 |
| 1985 | 21 | #2,481 | 0.01 |
| 1984 | 31 | #1,826 | 0.02 |
| 1983 | 25 | #2,128 | 0.01 |
| 1982 | 22 | #2,320 | 0.01 |
| 1981 | 17 | #2,749 | 0.01 |
| 1980 | 19 | #2,592 | 0.01 |
| 1979 | 14 | #3,119 | 0.01 |
| 1978 | 22 | #2,185 | 0.01 |
| 1977 | 17 | #2,628 | 0.01 |
| 1976 | 16 | #2,674 | 0.01 |
| 1975 | 16 | #2,607 | 0.01 |
| 1974 | 32 | #1,572 | 0.02 |
| 1973 | 19 | #2,187 | 0.01 |
| 1972 | 20 | #2,060 | 0.01 |
| 1971 | 28 | #1,698 | 0.02 |
| 1970 | 27 | #1,688 | 0.01 |
| 1969 | 22 | #1,793 | 0.01 |
| 1968 | 19 | #1,880 | 0.01 |
| 1967 | 11 | #2,575 | 0.01 |
| 1966 | 23 | #1,641 | 0.01 |
| 1965 | 19 | #1,841 | 0.01 |
| 1964 | 18 | #1,957 | 0.01 |
| 1963 | 24 | #1,648 | 0.01 |
| 1962 | 28 | #1,507 | 0.01 |
| 1961 | 28 | #1,541 | 0.01 |
| 1960 | 26 | #1,609 | 0.01 |
| 1959 | 24 | #1,655 | 0.01 |
| 1958 | 30 | #1,441 | 0.01 |
| 1957 | 18 | #1,933 | 0.01 |
| 1956 | 28 | #1,502 | 0.01 |
| 1955 | 20 | #1,771 | 0.01 |
| 1954 | 40 | #1,194 | 0.02 |
| 1953 | 37 | #1,240 | 0.02 |
| 1952 | 25 | #1,538 | 0.01 |
| 1951 | 29 | #1,393 | 0.02 |
| 1950 | 25 | #1,489 | 0.01 |
| 1949 | 26 | #1,454 | 0.01 |
| 1948 | 31 | #1,313 | 0.02 |
| 1947 | 25 | #1,510 | 0.01 |
| 1946 | 18 | #1,741 | 0.01 |
| 1945 | 38 | #1,051 | 0.03 |
| 1944 | 21 | #1,513 | 0.02 |
| 1943 | 17 | #1,812 | 0.01 |
| 1942 | 25 | #1,409 | 0.02 |
| 1941 | 24 | #1,402 | 0.02 |
| 1940 | 18 | #1,670 | 0.02 |
| 1939 | 14 | #1,943 | 0.01 |
| 1938 | 24 | #1,392 | 0.02 |
| 1937 | 27 | #1,306 | 0.03 |
| 1936 | 26 | #1,316 | 0.03 |
| 1935 | 33 | #1,158 | 0.03 |
| 1934 | 29 | #1,263 | 0.03 |
| 1933 | 46 | #932 | 0.05 |
| 1932 | 53 | #883 | 0.05 |
| 1931 | 52 | #898 | 0.05 |
| 1930 | 71 | #763 | 0.06 |
| 1929 | 51 | #950 | 0.05 |
| 1928 | 62 | #841 | 0.06 |
| 1927 | 67 | #819 | 0.06 |
| 1926 | 70 | #782 | 0.06 |
| 1925 | 84 | #708 | 0.08 |
| 1924 | 100 | #641 | 0.09 |
| 1923 | 83 | #716 | 0.08 |
| 1922 | 80 | #739 | 0.07 |
| 1921 | 86 | #705 | 0.08 |
| 1920 | 80 | #729 | 0.08 |
| 1919 | 90 | #646 | 0.09 |
| 1918 | 105 | #599 | 0.10 |
| 1917 | 94 | #615 | 0.10 |
| 1916 | 107 | #553 | 0.12 |
| 1915 | 92 | #600 | 0.11 |
| 1914 | 86 | #534 | 0.13 |
| 1913 | 64 | #544 | 0.12 |
| 1912 | 54 | #549 | 0.13 |
| 1911 | 29 | #569 | 0.13 |
| 1910 | 29 | #530 | 0.15 |
| 1909 | 25 | #528 | 0.15 |
| 1908 | 16 | #678 | 0.10 |
| 1907 | 19 | #581 | 0.13 |
| 1906 | 15 | #635 | 0.11 |
| 1905 | 13 | #692 | 0.10 |
| 1904 | 9 | #860 | 0.07 |
| 1903 | 9 | #829 | 0.08 |
| 1902 | 11 | #723 | 0.09 |
| 1901 | 15 | #525 | 0.14 |
| 1900 | 9 | #951 | 0.06 |
| 1899 | 11 | #649 | 0.10 |
| 1898 | 10 | #731 | 0.08 |
| 1897 | 18 | #468 | 0.16 |
| 1896 | 13 | #626 | 0.11 |
| 1895 | 13 | #598 | 0.11 |
| 1894 | 13 | #588 | 0.11 |
| 1893 | 9 | #748 | 0.08 |
| 1892 | 11 | #673 | 0.09 |
| 1891 | 5 | #1,088 | 0.05 |
| 1890 | 12 | #594 | 0.11 |
| 1889 | 12 | #575 | 0.11 |
| 1888 | 11 | #637 | 0.09 |
| 1887 | 8 | #729 | 0.08 |
| 1886 | 16 | #465 | 0.14 |
| 1885 | 5 | #1,060 | 0.05 |
| 1884 | 13 | #538 | 0.11 |
| 1883 | 10 | #630 | 0.10 |
| 1882 | 11 | #599 | 0.10 |
| 1881 | 6 | #845 | 0.06 |
| 1880 | 9 | #674 | 0.08 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Oswald a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Oswald has been recorded only for boys: SSA lists no girls with the name in 146 years of records (it lists a name only in years with 5 or more babies of a sex).
Girls and boys named Oswald: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Oswald, and how old are they?
1,880 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 43% of the 4,407 Americans ever recorded as Oswald. The median Oswald alive today is 34 years old; half are between 10 and 58.
The 2020 Census counted 2,810 people named Oswald (15 women and girls, 2,795 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 1,711 born in the U.S. The Census count is 1.6 times that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 92 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 329 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 286 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 305 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 289 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 575 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Oswald born?
The states with the most babies named Oswald are New York, California and Texas, with 65% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 393 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| California | 192 | #2,393 | 0.7× |
| Texas | 117 | not ranked | 0.4× |
| Louisiana | 67 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| Minnesota | 62 | not ranked | 0.7× |
| Florida | 29 | not ranked | 0.3× |
| Pennsylvania | 28 | not ranked | 0.1× |
| Massachusetts | 27 | not ranked | 0.2× |
| North Carolina | 26 | not ranked | 0.2× |
| Wisconsin | 23 | not ranked | 0.3× |
Where Oswald is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Oswald is most over-represented in New York: since 1910 it was given 1.1 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Oswald with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Oswald
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Oswald and names like it
- Compare Oswald and JuliusBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1910sOswald peaked in 1916.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Oswald since 1910.
- Polish namesWiktionary’s origin for Oswald: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1916The year the most babies were named Oswald.
- The names of Generation AlphaMost people named Oswald alive today were born 2013-2025.
- Names starting with OMost given first.