Ossian is an ancient Scottish Gaelic male given name, derived from the mythical poet Ossian of the third century. It was popularized by the works of James Macpherson in the 18th century, who claimed to have translated 'Ossian's' epic poems from Gaelic manuscripts. However, it is now widely accepted that these works were largely Macpherson's own compositions inspired by traditional Gaelic sources.
The name Ossian had a slow start with only 5 births each in 2005 and 2007. There was no birth recorded between 2008 and 2010 when it jumped to 7 births. The numbers remained relatively stable until 2022, ranging from 5 to 7 births per year. However, there was a significant increase in popularity in 2023 with 24 births, more than doubling the previous highest number of births in a single year. Overall, Ossian has seen 82 births since 2005.