The Academy Award statuette wasn't always called 'Oscar.' Officially, it is the 'Academy Award of Merit.' There are several competing legends about how the nickname began. The most popular involves Margaret Herrick, the Academy's first librarian, who reportedly remarked that the statuette looked like her 'Uncle Oscar' (a cousin named Oscar Pierce). Another story credits Bette Davis, who claimed she named it after her first husband, Harmon Oscar Nelson. However, the first confirmed use in print was by columnist Sidney Skolsky in 1934. The Academy didn't officially adopt the nickname until 1939. Regardless of the true origin, the name transformed a formal industry trophy into a globally recognized pop-culture icon.