Head to head · Girls' names
Beatrice vs Scarlet
#508 vs #509 in 2025 · both holding its place on the charts
Beatrice is a whisker ahead (#508 vs #509 in 2025) and both are holding its place on the charts. The records will not split these two — sound, story and your own last name will.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Beatrice leads 6 measures of 6; Scarlet leads 0.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Beatrice #135, Scarlet — — Beatrice higher
- 1890s: Beatrice #77, Scarlet — — Beatrice higher
- 1900s: Beatrice #46, Scarlet — — Beatrice higher
- 1910s: Beatrice #38, Scarlet — — Beatrice higher
- 1920s: Beatrice #54, Scarlet — — Beatrice higher
- 1930s: Beatrice #105, Scarlet #3782 — Beatrice higher
- 1940s: Beatrice #167, Scarlet #1944 — Beatrice higher
- 1950s: Beatrice #257, Scarlet #1879 — Beatrice higher
- 1960s: Beatrice #376, Scarlet #1465 — Beatrice higher
- 1970s: Beatrice #546, Scarlet #1782 — Beatrice higher
- 1980s: Beatrice #669, Scarlet #2160 — Beatrice higher
- 1990s: Beatrice #869, Scarlet #2052 — Beatrice higher
- 2000s: Beatrice #979, Scarlet #1107 — Beatrice higher
- 2010s: Beatrice #623, Scarlet #388 — Scarlet higher
- 2020s: Beatrice #557, Scarlet #465 — Scarlet higher
Beatrice stood higher in 13 of 15 decades; Scarlet has held the lead since the 2010s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Beatrice | Scarlet |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #135 | — |
| 1890s | #77 | — |
| 1900s | #46 | — |
| 1910s | #38 | — |
| 1920s | #54 | — |
| 1930s | #105 | #3782 |
| 1940s | #167 | #1944 |
| 1950s | #257 | #1879 |
| 1960s | #376 | #1465 |
| 1970s | #546 | #1782 |
| 1980s | #669 | #2160 |
| 1990s | #869 | #2052 |
| 2000s | #979 | #1107 |
| 2010s | #623 | #388 |
| 2020s | #557 | #465 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Beatrice
- Canada#53
Scarlet
Not charting outside the US.
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Beatrice
she who makes happy
The Latin name is built on a word about blessing or happiness, and the reading is settled in that form. The record does not explain the name's occasional use for boys in America.
How it traveled
Much Ado About Nothing has a main plot about Hero, who is slandered at her own wedding, and a secondary plot about her cousin Beatrice, who spends the play arguing with a man she clearly likes. The secondary plot has all the good writing.
Scarlet
the bright red color; originally a rich cloth
The word first named a fine, expensive fabric rather than a shade — the cloth could be other colors — and narrowed to the red itself over the medieval period. Both readings are part of the same documented history, not competing guesses.
scarlatum (medieval Latin) → escarlate (Old French) → scarlet (Middle English) → Scarlett (English surname) → Scarlet
How it traveled
The word came into medieval Latin as scarlatum and Old French as escarlate, naming an expensive imported cloth; English had it as scarlet by the Middle Ages, by then chiefly for the color. It also became a surname for the people who made, dyed or sold that cloth, which is the road the double-t Scarlett traveled.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Beatrice
BEE-uh-triss
Three syllables with the stress in front. The Italian form is four syllables and is said bay-ah-TREE-chay.
- Bea — The commonest short form; long established and used as a name on its own.
- Trixie — Built from the back of the name; used affectionately.
Scarlet
SKAR-let
Two syllables, stress on the first, exactly like the color word. Almost no American reader hesitates over it, and there is no second accepted pronunciation to correct.
- Lettie — Informal short form taken from the ending; also stands alone as an older given name in its own right.
- Letty — Same short form, spelled the shorter way; used within families more than in writing.
- Scar — The obvious clipping, common among schoolmates; some families steer away from it because it is also an English word.
- Scarly — Affectionate household form, rarely written down.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Beatrice if you want…
- a name on the way upup 44 places on the charts in five years
- a name with more sound in itBeatrice runs 3 syllables, Scarlet 2
- a name that charts abroad tooBeatrice is on the national lists of Canada
- a long American recordBeatrice was already in use when US records began in 1880
Choose Scarlet if you want…
- a name holding steadyScarlet is holding its place on the charts
- a name with fewer syllablesScarlet is 2 syllables to Beatrice's 3
- plenty of nickname options4 recorded short forms — Lettie, Letty and Scar
- a newer arrivalScarlet entered the US charts in 1939
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Beatrice
Strengths
- Bea and Trixie are both available as short forms and are very different in register.
- It works across English, Italian, Spanish and French with only a shift of stress.
- The meaning is settled and pleasant to hand a child.
To consider
- The English and Italian pronunciations are quite different, which matters in a mixed household.
- This spelling goes overwhelmingly to girls but is recorded for boys as well, so a form will occasionally guess wrong.
- It reads as a name of an older generation to some American ears, which is either the appeal or the obstacle.
Scarlet
Strengths
- Everyone already knows how to say it — it is an English word before it is a name, so it survives phone calls and substitute teachers intact.
- Short, stress-first, and easy to say alongside most surnames.
- Has real short forms available — Lettie and Letty — without depending on them.
To consider
- The double-t Scarlett is the more widely recognized spelling, thanks to Scarlett O'Hara and to Scarlett Johansson. Choosing the single-t version means a lifetime of gentle corrections — not hard ones, but frequent.
- Scarlett O'Hara comes attached to Gone with the Wind, a book and film long criticized for how they portray slavery and the Confederacy. Most people won't make the connection; some will, and it's better to have thought about it first.
- English keeps a few old phrases in circulation — the biblical "scarlet woman", and scarlet fever. Neither is much heard now, but the word carries them.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Beatrice and Scarlet in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Beatrice and Scarlet?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
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More than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
- Classics hiding in plain sight
- Canadian favorites the US overlooks
- Greatest Generation names (born 1901–1927)
- Eight-letter names with presence
- all guides
Where Beatrice and Scarlet each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Beatrice or Scarlet — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Beatrice or Scarlet?
- Beatrice, in 2025: Beatrice ranked #508 with 583 babies; Scarlet ranked #509 with 581 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Beatrice or Scarlet?
- Beatrice. Over the last five years Beatrice moved up 44 places; Scarlet moved down 63 places.
- Which is the older name, Beatrice or Scarlet?
- Beatrice was already in use when US records began in 1880; Scarlet entered the US charts in 1939. On the American record, Beatrice is the older name.
- How many people are named Beatrice and Scarlet?
- About 50,500 people named Beatrice are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 17,500 people named Scarlet are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Beatrices or Scarlets in the classroom?
- Beatrice will almost certainly be the only one in school. Scarlet will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025; international figures from national statistics agencies. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
Sixty more head-to-heads are dealt in the arena every day — or line up Beatrice, Scarlet and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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