Why is it called the Oscars? Theories behind Academy Awards name explained

Just how did that famous statue get its nickname? (Picture: Getty Images/ANGELA WEISS / AFP)

The great and good of Hollywood are once again in their finery for the 2025 Oscars – with yet more of the coveted golden statuettes to be handed out tonight.

But there’s still one question about those statues that keeps on cropping up time and time again – namely, just why are those little gold men known as ‘Oscars’ when in actual fact they’re Academy Awards?

Well, to be honest, there’s no definitive answer to this, as nobody really knows the true reason for the name.

But that hasn’t stopped the theories about the origins of Oscar from pouring forth. And it could be any one of these…

They were named after someone’s uncle Does this really look like someone’s uncle?

Possibly the most popular theory is the idea that the statue was so named because Academy librarian Margaret Herrick – later to become the Director of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences – claimed that it ‘looked like her uncle Oscar’.

A journalist thought of it

It’s claimed that journalist Sidney Skolsky later wrote about Herrick’s remark in his New York Daily News column, although he later claimed that he actually first used it in a column where he was poking fun at the entire ceremony, taking his inspiration from a Vaudeville joke which used the name.

It was all Bette Davis’ fault Did Bette Davis have something to do with it? (Picture: Getty Images)

The legendary actress claimed she had coined the phrase ‘Oscar’ by naming the statue after her husband Harmon O Nelson Jr.

While some reports claim it was merely a tribute to his middle name, others suggest a cheekier reason for the nickname – namely that the statue’s rear reminded her of hubby when he emerged from the shower in the morning. Er, OK then.

Oscars 2025: Full list of winners Supporting actor

Kieran Culkin - A Real Pain

Supporting actress

Zoe Saldaña - Emilia Pérez

Original screenplay

Anora

Adapted screenplay

Conclave

Cinematography

The Brutalist

Editing

Anora

Production design

Wicked

Costume design

Wicked

Makeup and hairstyling

The Substance

Original score

The Brutalist

Original song

El Mal - Emilia Pérez

International feature

I'm Still Here

Sound

Dune: Part Two

Visual effects

Dune: Part Two

Animated feature

Flow

Animated short

In the Shadow of the Cypress

Documentary feature

No Other Land

Documentary short

The Only Girl in the Orchestra

Live action short

I'm Not a Robot

Somebody else had the idea Maybe it got its name from an entirely different source (Picture: Getty Images)

Other early mentions of the name – making the whole thing even more confusing – came from a Time magazine article about the ceremony in 1934, while other stories cite Walt Disney thanking the Academy for his ‘Oscar’ in 1932. None of which makes it any clearer to us…

Full list of Oscars 2025 nominations Best Picture

Anora

The Brutalist

A Complete Unknown

Conclave

Dune: Part Two

Emilia Pérez

I’m Still Here

Nickel Boys

The Substance

Wicked

Best Director

Sean Baker, Anora

Brady Corbet, The Brutalist

James Mangold, A Complete Unknown

Jacques Audiard, Emilia Pérez

Coralie Fargeat, The Substance

Best Actor

Adrien Brody, The Brutalist

Timothée Chalamet, A Complete Unknown

Colman Domingo, Sing Sing

Ralph Fiennes, Conclave

Sebastian Stan, The Apprentice

Best Actress

Cynthia Erivo, Wicked

Karla Sofía Gascón, Emilia Pérez

Mikey Madison, Anora

Demi Moore, The Substance

Fernanda Torres, I’m Still Here

Best Supporting Actor

Yura Borisov, Anora

Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain

Edward Norton, A Complete Unknown

Guy Pearce, The Brutalist

Jeremy Strong, The Apprentice

Best Supporting Actress

Monica Barbaro, A Complete Unknown

Ariana Grande, Wicked

Felicity Jones, The Brutalist

Isabella Rossellini, Conclave

Zoe Saldaña, Emilia Pérez

Best Original Screenplay

Anora

The Brutalist

A Real Pain

September 5

The Substance

Best Adapted Screenplay

A Complete Unknown

Conclave

Emilia Pérez

Nickel Boys

Sing Sing

Best Animated Feature

Flow

Inside Out 2

Memoir Of A Snail

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl

The Wild Robot

Best International Feature Film

I’m Still Here (Brazil)

The Girl With The Needle (Denmark)

Emilia Pérez (France)

The Seed Of The Sacred Fig (Germany)

Flow (Latvia)

Best Documentary Feature Film

Black Box Diaries

No Other Land

Porcelain War

Soundtrack To A Coup D’Etat

Sugarcane

Best Original Score

The Brutalist

Conclave

Emilia Pérez

Wicked

The Wild Robot

Best Original Song

‘El Mal’, Emilia Pérez

‘The Journey’, The Six Triple Eight

‘Like A Bird’, Sing Sing

‘Mi Camino’, Emilia Pérez

‘Never Too Late’, Elton John: Never Too Late

Best Cinematography

The Brutalist

Dune: Part Two

Emilia Pérez

Maria

Nosferatu

Best Editing

Anora

The Brutalist

Conclave

Emilia Pérez

Wicked

Best Sound

A Complete Unknown

Dune: Part Two

Emilia Pérez

Wicked

The Wild Robot

Best Production Design

The Brutalist

Conclave

Dune: Part Two

Nosferatu

Wicked

Best Makeup And Hairstyling

A Different Man

Emilia Pérez

Nosferatu

The Substance

Wicked

Best Costume Design

A Complete Unknown

Conclave

Gladiator II

Nosferatu

Wicked

Best Visual Effects

Alien: Romulus

Better Man

Dune: Part Two

Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes

Wicked 

Best Documentary Short Film

Death By Numbers

I Am Ready, Warden

Incident

Instruments Of A Beating Heart

The Only Girl In The Orchestra

Best Live-Action Short Film

A Lien

Anuja

I’m Not A Robot

The Last Ranger

The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent

Best Animated Short Film

Beautiful Men

In The Shadow Of The Cypress

Magic Candies

Wander To Wonder

Yuck!

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