Ozwald
A German masculine name derived from "Os" meaning divine and "wald" meaning power.
Name Census estimates that about 28 living Americans carry the first name Ozwald. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Ozwald today is around 4 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ozwald births was 2022 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ozwald. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Ozwald with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Ozwald. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
28
~ 1 in 12,241,226 Americans
Peak year
2022
8 babies that year
Average age
4
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,610
Tracked since 2019
Popularity
Ozwald: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ozwald from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 23 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ozwald by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Ozwald during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ozwald
The given name Ozwald has its origins in the Germanic languages, specifically in Old English and Old German. It is a compound name derived from the elements "oz" meaning "divine strength" or "god" and "wald" meaning "to rule" or "power." Together, the name can be interpreted as "divine power" or "god's ruler."
The name Ozwald first appeared in historical records as early as the 8th century CE. It was particularly popular among the Anglo-Saxon nobility and royalty in Britain. One of the earliest notable bearers of this name was Saint Oswald, the King of Northumbria, who ruled from 634 to 642 CE and was later venerated as a martyr and saint.
In the 9th century, the name Ozwald was mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, an important historical record of the time. It was also found in various charters and legal documents from the period, indicating its widespread use among the nobility and aristocracy.
During the Middle Ages, the name Ozwald remained in use, particularly in Germanic-speaking regions. Notable individuals with this name included Oswald von Wolkenstein (1376-1445), an Austrian knight and one of the most significant poets and composers of the late Middle Ages.
As the centuries passed, the name Ozwald underwent various spelling variations, such as Oswald, Oswalde, and Oswaldt, reflecting regional linguistic differences. In the 19th century, the name gained renewed popularity in English-speaking countries, with notable bearers including Oswald Chambers (1874-1917), a Scottish Baptist minister and theological writer.
Another famous bearer of the name was Oswald Spengler (1880-1936), a German philosopher and historian best known for his influential work "The Decline of the West." In the 20th century, Oswald Mosley (1896-1980), a British politician and leader of the British Union of Fascists, also carried this name.
While the name Ozwald has waned in popularity in recent times, it remains a part of historical and cultural heritage, particularly in Germanic and English-speaking regions, reflecting its long and rich history spanning over a millennium.
People
Ozwald + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ozwald as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with O
Other first names starting with O with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Ozwald: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ozwald?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 28 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ozwald going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 12,241,226 US residents.
Is Ozwald a common name?
We classify Ozwald as "Very Rare". It ranks above 45.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 28 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ozwald most popular?
The single biggest year for Ozwald was 2022, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ozwald is about 4 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Ozwald in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ozwald a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ozwald in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Ozwald still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ozwald in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Ozwald can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people share the name Ozwald?
Find out how many people share the name Ozwald on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.