Oswald

Where Oswald comes from

Inherited from Old English Ōsweald, from ōs (“god, deity”) + weald (“power”). Cognate with German Answald, Faroese and Icelandic Ásvaldur, and Norwegian Nynorsk Åsvald.
— Wiktionary's entry for Oswald
  • Old English
  • 2 syllables
Along the way
  1. 1880
    Oswald Spengler born
    German historian and philosopher
  2. 1880
    First SSA year
    Already #640 among boys — 9 babies in the first year on record.
  3. 1886
    Peak, #451
    16 babies named Oswald — more than any year before or since.
  4. 1887
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #679.
  5. 1896
    Oswald Mosley born
    British aristocrat and fascist politician
In the dictionary
  • A male given name from Old English.
  • Oswald of Northumbria, 7th century Northumbrian King and Saint.
  • Oswald of Worcester, 10th century Archbishop of York and English Saint.
Namesakes
  • Oswald Spengler · German historian and philosopher, 1880–1936
  • Oswald Mosley · British aristocrat and fascist politician, 1896–1980
  • Oswald Avery · Canadian-born American physician and medical researcher, 1877–1955
  • Oswald Gracias · Catholic cardinal, born 1944
  • Oswald Achenbach · German artist, 1827–1905

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.