Why are the Academy Awards called the Oscars? Learn the nickname's origins for the 2024 ceremony
CBSN
When presenters open envelopes on stage at the 2024 Academy Awards and announce who the Oscar goes to, they'll actually be using a nickname that's been around for almost as long as the award itself.
The statuette given to winners is technically called the Academy Award of Merit. It's based on a design by Cedric Gibbons, who was MGM art director at the time of the award's creation. He sketched a knight holding a sword and standing in front of a film reel, according to the Academy. In 1928, they began the process to turn that idea into a statue.
No one is quite sure exactly when or why the Academy Award of Merit began to be known as an Oscar. One popular theory, according to the Academy Awards, is that Margaret Herrick — former Academy librarian in the 1930s and 40s and later executive director —thought that the statuette looked like her Uncle Oscar. After hearing that, Academy staff started referring to the award as Oscar.
