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$Title{Names for Boys:  O}
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Editors of Consumer Guide
Harder, Kelsey}
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The Ultimate Baby Name Book


Names for Boys:  O


Oba Yoruba (Nigeria) "king."

Odoardo (see Edward)

Odom (see Otto)

Odon (see Edmond, Otto)

Ogden              Old English "from the oak valley" from ac [oak] + denn
                   [dale] or [valley].  Perhaps the harsh sound of this name
                   or simply the fact that it is a name beginning with "O" is
                   responsible for the current lack of enthusiasm for this
                   name.
     Famous name:  Ogden Nash (poet)
       Variation:  Ogdon

Ogdon (see Ogden)

Ohannes (see John)

Olaf               Old Norse Anleifr, "ancestral relic," from an [ancestor] +
                   leifr [remains].  St. Olaf was the first Christian king of
                   Norway and the first of many royal Olafs, which probably
                   accounts for the name's enduring popularity throughout
                   Scandinavia.  But unlike Celtic, Irish, and Scottish names
                   that are readily adopted by people in other countries, only
                   a few Olafs don't have Scandinavian ancestors.
      Variations:  Amblaoibh (Irish), Olav (Norse), Olin, Oliver

Olav (see Olaf)

Olin (see Olaf)

Oliva (see Oliver)

Oliver              Old French "olive tree."  Oliver is by far the most
                    popular name that begins with "O."  The olive tree was
                    essential to Greek and Roman cultures, and with the
                    advance of the Roman Empire, the name spread quickly to
                    Northern Europe and England, where it was listed in the
                    Domesday Book.  Shakespeare used the name for the brother
                    of Orlando in his play As You Like It, but in the
                    seventeenth century, Oliver Cromwell's ruthless reign
                    tainted the name.  In the eighteenth century, one of the
                    few instances of the name is that of novelist Oliver
                    Goldsmith.  In the nineteenth century, Charles Dickens
                    brought a new image to the name with his novel Oliver
                    Twist, which is about an orphan boy who finds happiness.
                    It's too early to tell whether the notoriety of Marine
                    Lieutenant Oliver North in the Irangate scandal will have
                    a positive or negative effect on the future of this name.
     Famous names:  Oliver Wendell Holmes (U.S. Supreme Court justice)
                    Oliver Stone (movie director)
        Nicknames:  Noll, Nolly, Olley, Ollie, Olly
       Variations:  Olaf (Norwegian), Oliva (Italian), Oliverio (Italian and
                    Spanish), Olivier (French and German), Olivo

Oliverio (see Oliver)

Olivier (see Oliver)

Olivo (see Oliver)

Olley, Ollie, Olly (see Oliver)

Omar               Arabic "the highest."  This name had a literal application
                   for at least two men who have achieved the highest status
                   in their fields:  twelfth-century Persian poet Omar Khayyam
                   and U.S. Army General Omar Bradley, commander of the
                   Normandy Invasion.
     Famous name:  Omar Sharif (actor)
      Variations:  Amar, Homer, Omer

Omer (see Omar)

Omero (see Homer)

Ondro (see Andrew)

O'Neil (see Neil)

Onfredo (see Humphrey)

Onfroi (see Humphrey)

Onofre (see Humphrey)

Onofredo (see Humphrey)

Oracio (see Horace)

Oral               Latin os, "mouth."
    Famous names:  Oral Clyde Hildebrand (baseball pitcher)
                   Oral Roberts (preacher)

Oran (see Oren)

Orasio (see Horace)

Orazio (see Horace)

Orban (see Urban)

Orel               Latin "the listener."  This name has never been popular,
                   but that may change after 1988 when Orel Hershisher, a
                   baseball pitcher, won the Most Valuable Player Award in the
                   World Series, the Cy Young Award, and many other top
                   honors, including the record for pitching the most
                   scoreless innings (59) in a row.  Sports fans may want
                   to name their children after this baseball great.

Oren               Hebrew "pine."  In the Bible, Oren was a son of Jerahmeel,
                   but nothing else is known about him.  The Puritans began to
                   use the name in the seventeenth century.  In Eugene
                   O'Neill's play Mourning Becomes Electra, Orin is the name
                   of the character that plays the role of Orestes in the
                   Greek tragedy.
     Famous name:  Oren Ethelbirt Long (U.S. senator)
      Variations:  Oran, Orin

Orien (see Orion)

Orin (see Oren)

Orion              Greek "son of light."  In Greek mythology, Orion was a
                   mighty hunter.  Poseidon, his father, gave him the power
                   to walk on water.  Instead of wooing the daughter of the
                   King of Chios, he seduced her.  The king was furious, so he
                   got Orion drunk and had him blinded.  He wandered the earth
                   until the sun restored his eyesight, then Orion challenged
                   Artemis to a hunt, and the goddess immediately killed him.
                   The constellation Orion is easily recognized by the row of
                   stars that make up Orion's belt.
       Variation:  Orien

Orito (see George)

Orland (see Roland)

Orlando            Spanish form of Roland.  Orlando is the hero of
                   Shakespeare's play As You Like It and the name Virginia
                   Woolf chose for the title character of her fictional
                   biography of her friend Vita Sackville-West.
     Famous name:  Orlando Cepeda (baseball player)

Orlondo (see Roland)

Orsino (see Orson)

Orson              Latin ursus, "bear."  The prominence of movie director and
                   actor Orson Welles, whose movie credits include Citizen
                   Kane and The Magnificent Ambersons, as well as his famous
                   "War of the Worlds" radio broadcast, did nothing to
                   increase the popularity of this unusual name.
     Famous name:  Orson Bean (actor)
      Variations:  Orsino, Susu, Urso, Ursuelo, Ursul, Urson, Ussulo

Orv (see Orville)

Orvie (see Orville)

Orville            French "gold town."  This name was invented by Fanny Burney
                   for the hero of her novel Evelina.  The name was made
                   popular in the United States by Orville Wright, who with
                   his brother, Wilbur, flew the first motor-driven airplane.
     Famous name:  Orville Redenbacher (entrepreneur)
       Nicknames:  Orv, Orvie

Osborn             Old English osbeorn from os [god] + beorn [man].  This is
                   an old name in England that is found mostly in
                   Northumberland.  It has been in general use since long
                   before the Norman Conquest.  The Osborne House on the Isle
                   of Wight is the winter residence of English royalty.
       Nicknames:  Oz, Ozzie
       Variation:  Osborne

Osborne (see Osborn)

Oscar              Old English Osgar, "divine spearman," from os [god] + gar
                   [spear].  Scottish researcher James MacPherson revived
                   this name in the eighteenth century through his
                   translations of the third century poems by Ossian.  Oscar
                   is the pet name for the awards given by the Academy of
                   Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.  The gold-covered
                   statuettes got this name in 1931 when the librarian of the
                   Academy, Margaret Herrick, said that she thought the
                   trophies looked like her uncle Oscar.
    Famous names:  Oscar Hammerstein (librettist)
                   Oscar Robertson (basketball player)
                   Oscar Wilde (playwright)
  Other spelling:  Oskar
       Nicknames:  Ossie, Ozzie

Oseep (see Joseph)

Oskar (see Oscar)

Osman              Arabic "tender as a chicken."  It's difficult to think
                   that anyone knowing the meaning of this name would care to
                   bestow it on their child, despite its association with
                   Osman, founder of the Ottoman Empire.
      Variations:  Osmans, Osmin

Osmans (see Osman)

Osmin (see Osman)

Ossie (see Oscar, Oswald)

Oswald             Old English Osweald, "divinely powerful," from os [god] +
                   weald [power].  This very old name dates to at least the
                   seventh century through the King of Northumbria, who was
                   killed in a battle with the Welsh army.  The name is
                   unusual in the United States, although the nickname Ozzie
                   became a household name through Ozzie Nelson in the 1950s
                   television comedy The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet,
                   while rock singer Ozzy Osborne made it a name for the
                   1980s.
    Famous names:  Ossie Davis (actor)
                   Oswald Spengler (philosopher)
       Nicknames:  Ossie, Oz, Ozzie, Wally
      Variations:  Oswell, Waldo

Oswell (see Oswald)

Otello (see Otto)

Otho (see Otto)

Othom (see Otto)

Othoneil (see Otto)

Otis               Greek ous, "ear" or "one who hears well."
    Famous names:  Otis Redding (singer)
                   Otis Skinner (actor)

Oto (see Otto)

Otone (see Otto)

Otoniel (see Otto)

Otto               Old German asdo, "rich."  Otto von Bismarck, chancellor of
                   the German Empire, is known for engineering the unification
                   of Germany in the nineteenth century.
     Famous name:  Otto Klemperer (conductor)
      Variations:  Odom, Odon, Otello (Italian), Otho (German), Othom,
                   Othoneil, Oto, Otone, Otoniel, Otton, Ottorino, Tilo

Otton (see Otto)

Ottorino (see Otto)

Ovid               Roman family name Ovidius.  Publius Ovidius Naso was a
                   leading Roman poet and author.  For an unknown reason, he
                   was exiled and spent the last ten years of his life near
                   the Black Sea.  He wrote Amores and Ars Amatoris (The Art
                   of Love).  His Metamorphosis recounts the stories of the
                   Greek and Roman myths.  His work influenced many European
                   writers, including John Dryden.  This name isn't very
                   popular in either England or the United States.

Owayne (see Owen)

Owen               Form of Eugene.  This name has Welsh roots, but it is known
                   to history through the twelfth-century general Owen of
                   Gwynedd and the fifteenth-century Owen Glendower, who
                   failed to achieve his bid for Welsh independence.  Today,
                   the name is rarely used, although a variation, Evan, is
                   becoming increasingly popular.
    Famous names:  Owen Feltham (poet)
                   Owen J. Roberts (U.S. Supreme Court justice)
                   Owen Wister (novelist)
      Variations:  Evan, Ewan, Ewen, Owayne

Owodunni           Yoruban (Nigeria) "it's nice to have money."

Oz (see Osborn, Oswald)

Ozzie (see Osborn, Oscar, Oswald)