Oscar
/ˈɑs.kɚ/
"oscar" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“Oscar” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #4,256 in English word frequency and used as a proper noun.
- #4,256
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 7
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A male given name from Irish or Old English.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | Oscar |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Proper noun |
| IPA | /ˈɑs.kɚ/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #4,256 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 7 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Oscar” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for Oscar is 5 letters long, classified as a proper noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈɑs.kɚ/. Corpus data places it at rank #4,256 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 8 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for Oscar, with forms such as "ocsar", "osacr", and "oscarr". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 7 confusable-pair relationships, "OSHA", "Osman", "oar", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: Exact origin uncertain. Resuscitated by James Mcpherson in The Works of Ossian (1765). Napoleon, an admirer of the Ossianic poems, chose it for his godson Oscar Bernadotte, who became a king of Sweden. The modern given name is a conflation of two unrelated … The correct English form is Oscar, spelled O-S-C-A-R.
Definition
- 1A male given name from Irish or Old English.
- 2A surname from Irish [in turn originating as a patronymic], a rare anglicization of Mac Oscair (literally “son of Oscar”) (McCusker).
- 3A locale in the United States.
- 4A locale in the United States.
- 5A locale in the United States.
- 6A locale in the United States.
- 7A locale in the United States.
- 8A locale in the United States.
Etymology
Exact origin uncertain. Resuscitated by James Mcpherson in The Works of Ossian (1765). Napoleon, an admirer of the Ossianic poems, chose it for his godson Oscar Bernadotte, who became a king of Sweden. The modern given name is a conflation of two unrelated names: first, Middle Irish Oscar (the name of Fionn Mac Cumhaill's grandson in Irish mythology), from Middle Irish os (“deer”) + cara (“friend”); and second, Old English Ōscār, Ōsgār (personal name, literally “spear of the gods/spear of God”), from Old English ōs (“god”) and gār (“spear”) (see Oswald). Compare German Ansgar (personal name), Danish Asker, Asger (personal name), Norwegian Asgeir (personal name), Icelandic Ásgeir (personal name). (Academy Award): Disputed. Said to have been named by actress Bette Davis after her first husband, Harmon Oscar Nelson, or by secretary Margaret Herrick after her cousin Oscar Pierce.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ocsar,osacr,oscarr,osccar,oscra,osscar,socar
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Oscar - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "Oscar"?
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Using “Oscar”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is O-S-C-A-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈɑs.kɚ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “OSHA” - see the side-by-side comparison. Oscar vs OSHA
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.