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Oscar Family History

Oscar Name Meaning

English: de-aspirated variant of Hosker in a spelling that was no doubt influenced by the 18th-century personal name (see 3 below). Irish and Scottish: rare shortened form of Irish Mac Oscair (see McCusker ) a patronymic based on the personal name Oscar which is most probably from Gaelic os ‘fawn deer’ + car- ‘love’. Alternatively it may be from a Gaelic borrowing of the Old Norse personal name Ásgeirr (from ans ‘god’ + geirr ‘spear’); see Hosker French: from the Irish and Scottish Gaelic personal name Oscar (see 2 above) which owed its popularity in France (and also in Germany and Scandinavia) to the Ossian poems of James MacPherson (1760) which enjoyed a great vogue in France and other parts of Europe in the late 18th century. In North America this surname also originated from a transferred use of the personal (given) name Oscar (see 3 above) as a surname (i.e. as a replacement of the original surname) which occurred among some Norwegian and apparently also Swedish and German immigrants.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022


Similar surnames: Osman, Osmer, Saar, Oster, Oser, Omar, Asmar, Osher, Lubar, Kosar

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Where is the Oscar family from?

You can see how Oscar families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Oscar family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Oscar families were found in USA in 1920. In 1911 there were 22 Oscar families living in Alberta. This was about 20% of all the recorded Oscar's in Canada. Alberta had the highest population of Oscar families in 1911.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Oscar surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.
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What did your Oscar ancestors do for a living?

In 1921, Farmer and Farmer were the top reported jobs for men and women in the Canada named Oscar. 39% of Oscar men worked as a Farmer and 50% of Oscar women worked as a Farmer. Some less common occupations for Americans named Oscar were Carpenter and Bookkeeper. .

View Census Data for Oscar | Data not to scale

*We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

Top Male Occupations In 1921

  • Farmer
    39%
  • Laborer
    35%
  • Labourer
    16%
  • Carpenter
    12%

Top Female Occupations In 1921

  • Farmer
    50%
  • Bookkeeper
    50%
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What Oscar family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 14,000 census records available for the last name Oscar. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Oscar census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search Canadian census records for Oscar

Passenger Lists

There are 3,000 immigration records available for the last name Oscar. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in Canada, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

View all Oscar immigration records

Draft Cards

There are 4,000 military records available for the last name Oscar. For the veterans among your Oscar ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

View all Oscar military records

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What is the average Oscar lifespan?

Between 1948 and 2004, in the United States, Oscar life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1952, and highest in 1965. The average life expectancy for Oscar in 1948 was 53, and 48 in 2004.

View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Oscar

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