Oswald (/ˈɒzwəld/) is a masculine given name, from Old English Osƿeald, from os "god" and ƿeald "rule". The Old High German cognate was Answald, the Old Norse form was Ásvaldr.
Oswald of Northumbria (c. 604–641/2) was a king of Northumbria and is venerated as saint. The name fell out of use in the later medieval period, although it appears to have been rarely given in reference to the saint even in the late 14th century, as evidenced by the name of German poet and diplomat Oswald von Wolkenstein (1376/7–1445). The name was revived in the 19th century, but it was never frequently given. Its popularity in the United States peaked in 1886 at rank 451, and it fell below rank 1,000 in the mid-1930s.[1] By contrast, the Hispanic form Osvaldo became popular in the United States by the 1970s, peaking at rank 410 in 2004.
People with the given name include:
- Oswald of Worcester (died 992), Archbishop of York and saint
- Oswald de Andrade (1890–1954), Brazilian writer and poet
- Oswald Avery (1877–1955), Canadian-American physician, medical researcher and molecular biologist
- Oswald Achenbach (1827–1905), German landscape painter
- Oswald Balzer (1858–1933), Polish historian
- Oswald Berkhan (1834–1917), German physician
- Oswald Boelcke (1891–1916), German flying ace of the First World War
- Oswald Chambers (1874–1917), Scottish Protestant Christian minister and teacher
- Oswald Leslie De Kretser II (1882–1959), Puisne Justice of Supreme Court of Sri Lanka
- Oswald Garrison Villard (1872–1949), American journalist
- Oswald Gomis (1932-2023), 10th Archbishop of Colombo
- Oswald Gracias (born 1944), Goan Catholic clergyman, Archbishop of Bombay
- Oswald Heer (1809–1883), Swiss geologist and naturalist
- Oswald H. Johnson (1912–1993), American politician
- Oswald Karch (1917–2009), German Formula One driver
- Oswald Lohse (1845–1915), German astronomer
- Ossie Mazengarb (1890–1963), New Zealand magistrate with a full name of Oswald Chettle Mazengarb
- Oswald Mosley (1896–1980), English fascist and politician, founder of the British Union of Fascists
- Oswald Myconius (1488–1552), Swiss theologian and follower of Huldrych Zwingli
- Oswald Pohl (1892–1951), German Nazi SS officer executed for war crimes
- Oswald Spengler (1880–1936), German historian and philosopher
- Oswald Stoll (1866–1942), Australian-British theater manager
- Oswald Szemerényi (1913–1996), Hungarian linguist
- Oswald Teichmüller (1913–1943), German mathematician
- Oswald Tschirtner (1920–2007), Austrian artist
- Oswald Veblen (1880–1960), American mathematician
- Oswald von Wolkenstein (1376/7–1445), a composer
- Oswald West (1873–1960), American politician, 14th Governor of Oregon
- Oswald Wirth (1860–1943), Swiss occultist