Oskar is of German and Scandinavian origin, derived from the Old Norse 'Áslákr' which is composed of the elements 'áss', meaning 'god', and 'hér', meaning 'army'. This suggests that Oskar means 'army of the god', possibly referencing the Norse god Odin. The name Oskar was popularized in the 19th century through the character Oskar, a servant in Adolphe d'Ennery's play 'The Belle of Cassis'. It gained further prominence with the fictional character Oskar Schindler from Thomas Keneally's novel and subsequent film 'Schindler's List'. Today, Oskar is used as both a given name and surname in various countries.
The name Osker experienced varied popularity over the years, with peaks in the early 20th century and a resurgence in the late 1930s to early 1940s, before declining to single digits by mid-century and remaining rare since then.