Why are Academy Awards called Oscars?

Irish art director, Cedric Gibbons, created the initial design for the Art Deco-influenced trophy in 1928.  

The following year, the Academy commissioned the sculptor, George Stanley, to produce the 3D version. 

The 33 cm high, gold-plated statuette depicts a knight standing on a reel of film. He is holding a crusader's sword. There is no obvious connection with the name Oscar.

In 1930, Gibbons, a founding member of the Academy, stepped up to collect his own award. He would go on to win 11 more for production design.  

First citation

The Academy credits gossip columnist Skolsky with "the first confirmed newspaper reference" to Oscar in his column on March 16, 1934. Skolsky wrote that "these statues are called 'Oscars'", perhaps implying that the name was already in use. 

Uncle Oscar?

Bette Davis collects an Oscar for Jezebel (1938)

One theory is that the name came from an early Academy director, Margaret Herrick, in 1931. According to this story, Herrick believed that the statue resembled her Uncle Oscar. 

Bette Davis?

Another suggestion is that Hollywood star Bette Davis named her award after her  (then) husband, Ham (Oscar) Nelson. She joked in interviews that the statuette reminded her of Mr Davies's 'rear end'.  

The theory is that the (then) Mr D hated his middle name (Oscar). This was meant to be a state secret. So Bette - famed for her feuds - made sure that the world would remember. 

Alas, this entertaining thesis is challenged by the calendar. Davis married Nelson in 1932, and their messy divorce was not until six years later. Perhaps the ever resourceful Bette was getting her revenge in early