girl's name
Scarlett
SKAR-lit
- Origin English
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 8
- Popularity Top 100 (US)
- Births on record 158,979
the United States
#32
2025 births
Scarlett is a girl's name of English origin, taken from an occupational surname for someone who sold or dyed scarlet cloth. The word came into medieval English from Old French and originally described a fine woollen fabric rather than the color it was usually dyed.
- Scarlett is a name of English origin.
- Peaked in 2016, when 7,725 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 587 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1937.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Scarlett over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1930s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1930s | 20 |
| 1940s | 566 |
| 1950s | 560 |
| 1960s | 988 |
| 1970s | 923 |
| 1980s | 1,207 |
| 1990s | 2,257 |
| 2000s | 8,602 |
| 2010s | 58,309 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 38,307 |
What Scarlett means
Scarlett refers to the rich red cloth, and by extension the color. As a name it began as a trade description — a scarlet-seller or dyer — so its meaning is occupational in origin rather than descriptive of a person.
Where Scarlett comes from
Scarlett descends from the Middle English surname Scarlet, an occupational name for a dyer or seller of scarlet cloth. The word reached English through the Old French escarlate, which in turn came from a Persian or Arabic term for a fine imported fabric. Crucially, scarlet named the cloth first and the color second: the material was expensive, frequently dyed a deep red, and the color word followed from that association. The surname is recorded in England from the thirteenth century. Its modern use as a given name owes almost everything to Margaret Mitchell's 1936 novel Gone with the Wind, whose heroine Scarlett O'Hara made the surname a first name.
Scarlett in use
Scarlet named an expensive cloth before it named a color, and only later a person.
How popular is Scarlett?
In 2025, Scarlett was given to 5,650 babies in the United States, ranking #32 that year. It is one of the most popular names in the United States.
Where Scarlett is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Scarlett
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Scarlett also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Scarlett over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
2 nicknames for Scarlett
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Scarlett in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Scarlett
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Scarlett — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Scarlett
What does the name Scarlett mean?
Scarlett comes from an occupational surname for a dyer or seller of scarlet cloth.
Was scarlet a fabric before a color?
Yes. Scarlet named a fine imported cloth first; the color word followed because the fabric was usually dyed deep red.
Is Scarlett from Gone with the Wind?
The name's modern popularity comes largely from Scarlett O'Hara in Margaret Mitchell's 1936 novel.
How popular is the name Scarlett?
In 2025, Scarlett was given to 5,650 babies in the United States, ranking #32 that year. It is one of the most popular names in the United States.
Is Scarlett a girl's or a boy's name?
Scarlett is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Scarlett?
Scarlett has 2 syllables.
When was Scarlett most popular?
Scarlett peaked in 2016, when 7,725 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Scarlett?
Scarlett is usually shortened to Lettie and Carly.
Is Scarlett a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Scarlett currently ranks #32 in the United States. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.