Oswald is a distinctive choice, ranked #1093 in 2025. Your child is likely to be the only Oswald in their class.
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UK Rank 2025
#1093
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About the Name Oswald
Oswald has never been more popular than it is right now, sitting at UK #1076. The name has climbed 559 places in the last five years โ a significant surge by any measure. The name has been a regular feature in UK records since 2002.
Oswald is uncommon in the UK, so your child is very likely to be the only Oswald in their class.
โญ Famous People Named Oswald
Alice Oswald โ Alice Priscilla Lyle Oswald is a British poet from Reading, Berkshire.
Philipp Oswald โ Philipp Oswald is an Austrian former professional tennis player who primarily played doubles events on the ATP Tour.
John H. Oswald โ John Hony Oswald was a 19th-century Scottish marine and landscape artist.
Biographical summaries are shortened from Wikipedia and are used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence; those summaries remain available under that same licence.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about the name Oswald
Unlikely. With around 27 UK babies named Oswald per year, your child will almost certainly be the only Oswald in their class, and possibly the only one in the whole school.
Oswald is rising: up 542 places since 2020, to #1,093 in 2025. Its best recorded position was #1,076 in 2024.
Oswald is a distinctive choice sitting outside the mainstream UK top names. Parents choosing less common names often find their children appreciate the individuality as they grow up, rarely needing to add an initial to distinguish themselves.
Notable people named Oswald include: Alice Oswald, Philipp Oswald and John H. Oswald. Short summaries for each appear below.
Oswald does not appear in the US top 1,000 baby names, making it a distinctively British choice โ your child is unlikely to encounter American Oswalds in the wild.
27
UK babies named Oswald (2025)
< 1
Expected classmates with this name (class of 28)
~0.0
In a school of 600
↑ 542 places
Rank change (last 5 years)
🏫 Who else is in the room?
In a typical UK class of 28, highlighted children share the name Oswald
Almost certainly the only Oswald in the class
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UK Popularity (2002–2025)
Rank and birth count · ONS official data
No US data available for this name
✨ Similar names to Oswald
Names with a similar style — each with their own classroom story
Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet, was a British politician who rose to fame during the 1920s and 1930s when, disillusioned with mainstream politics, he turned to fascism.
Oswald Arnold Gottfried Spengler was a German polymath whose areas of interest included history, philosophy, mathematics, science, and art, as well as their relation to his organic theory of history.
Oswald (Old English pronunciation: [หoหzwษษซd]; c. 604 โ 5 August 641/642) was King of Northumbria from 634 until his death, and is venerated as a saint, of whom there was a particular cult in the Middle Ages.
Oswald "Ozzie", "Jake" Jacoby was an American contract bridge player and author, considered one of the greatest bridge players of all time and a key innovator in the game, having helped popularize widely used bidding moves such as Jacoby transfers.