Head to head · Girls' names
Scarlett vs Zoe
#32 vs #31 in 2025 · Old French vs Greek roots
Zoe is a whisker ahead (#31 vs #32 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Zoe is climbing the charts fast, Scarlett is stepping back from its peak.
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, Zoe leads 5 measures of 6; Scarlett leads 1.
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: Scarlett —, Zoe #379 — Zoe higher
- 1890s: Scarlett —, Zoe #508 — Zoe higher
- 1900s: Scarlett —, Zoe #746 — Zoe higher
- 1910s: Scarlett —, Zoe #880 — Zoe higher
- 1920s: Scarlett —, Zoe #892 — Zoe higher
- 1930s: Scarlett #3570, Zoe #808 — Zoe higher
- 1940s: Scarlett #1120, Zoe #1093 — Zoe higher
- 1950s: Scarlett #1395, Zoe #941 — Zoe higher
- 1960s: Scarlett #1095, Zoe #1119 — Scarlett higher
- 1970s: Scarlett #1264, Zoe #1093 — Zoe higher
- 1980s: Scarlett #1180, Zoe #889 — Zoe higher
- 1990s: Scarlett #898, Zoe #228 — Zoe higher
- 2000s: Scarlett #529, Zoe #59 — Zoe higher
- 2010s: Scarlett #43, Zoe #34 — Zoe higher
- 2020s: Scarlett #22, Zoe #36 — Scarlett higher
Zoe stood higher in 13 of 15 decades; Scarlett took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Scarlett | Zoe |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | — | #379 |
| 1890s | — | #508 |
| 1900s | — | #746 |
| 1910s | — | #880 |
| 1920s | — | #892 |
| 1930s | #3570 | #808 |
| 1940s | #1120 | #1093 |
| 1950s | #1395 | #941 |
| 1960s | #1095 | #1119 |
| 1970s | #1264 | #1093 |
| 1980s | #1180 | #889 |
| 1990s | #898 | #228 |
| 2000s | #529 | #59 |
| 2010s | #43 | #34 |
| 2020s | #22 | #36 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Scarlett
- Canada#41
- England & Wales#79
Zoe
- Canada#21
- Scotland#52
- England & Wales#99
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Scarlett
From scarlet — the cloth, and later the color; originally an occupational surname for a dyer or seller of scarlet cloth
The English surname comes through Old French escarlate, a word for a costly cloth. Only later did scarlet come to name the red itself, which is why the name reads today as a color word rather than a trade.
escarlate (Old French, a fine cloth) → scarlat (Middle English) → Scarlett (English surname) → Scarlett (given name)
How it traveled
The word traveled west into Old French as escarlate and into Middle English as scarlat, naming an expensive imported fabric. From it came the English surname Scarlett, attested for centuries in records before anyone thought to put it in front of a family name.
Zoe
Life
From Greek ζωή (zōē), "life" — the ordinary word, not a poetic coinage.
Zōē (Greek) → Zoë → Zoe
How it traveled
The name is simply the Greek noun for life. When Jewish scholars in Alexandria translated the Hebrew Bible into Greek in the last centuries BC, they rendered Eve's name — Chavah, connected to living — as Zoe, which gave the word a scriptural life of its own.
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
Scarlett
SKAR-lit
Stress on the first syllable. The second is said either -lit or -let depending on accent, and both pass without comment. English speakers read it correctly on sight because it is also an everyday word.
- Lettie — Taken from the final syllable; informal, and also stands alone as an older given name in its own right.
- Letty — Same short form, spelled the shorter way; informal home and family use.
- Scarlie — Affectionate family clipping, mostly used with young children.
- Scar — The blunt playground shortening; some families head it off early, others never hear it at all.
Zoe
ZOH-ee
Two syllables, stress on the first. The older spelling Zoë used the two dots precisely to stop readers saying it as one syllable, "Zoh"; American usage has mostly dropped them, so an occasional first-time misreading comes with the plain spelling.
- Zo — The usual informal clip among friends and family; rarely written down.
- Zozo — A reduplicated pet form, mostly used with young children.
- Zoey — Not really a nickname but a full alternate spelling, given independently as a name in its own right.
Who has carried each name
Scarlett
Scarlett Johansson (b. 1984) — Marvel's Black Widow, once the world's highest-paid actress
Zoe
Zoë Saldaña (b. 1978) — Star of Avatar and Guardians of the Galaxy — the biggest box-office franchises ever
Zoe Porphyrogenita (b. 978) — Byzantine empress who ruled in her own right
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Scarlett if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsScarlett is stepping back from its peak
- a newer arrivalScarlett entered the US charts in 1937
- a name that feels very nowScarlett is stepping back from its peak
Choose Zoe if you want…
- a name on the way upup 9 places on the charts in five years
- a name that charts abroad tooZoe is on the national lists of Canada, Scotland and England & Wales
- a long American recordZoe was already in use when US records began in 1880
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 51% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 82% for Scarlett
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
Scarlett
Strengths
- Pronounced correctly on sight by any English speaker — it is a word people already know how to say.
- A documented surname in England for centuries before it became a first name, so the record behind it is long and real.
- In steady use across the United States, Canada and Britain, with the same spelling and sound in all three.
To consider
- The color word takes one t; the name usually takes two. Expect a lifetime of gently correcting Scarlet to Scarlett.
- The name arrived in English through one famous novel about the antebellum South, a book now widely criticized for how it portrays slavery. Some parents mind that link; many no longer think of it.
- Scar is the obvious clipping, and children find it fast. Worth knowing in advance rather than being surprised by it.
Zoe
Strengths
- Short, phonetic and already complete — no nickname is required for everyday use.
- Recognized across French, Spanish, Italian, Greek and Hungarian with at most an accent changing.
- A documented record stretching from ancient Greek inscriptions through the Byzantine court to the present day.
To consider
- Zoe, Zoey, Zoë and Zoie all circulate, so expect to be asked which one — and expect the others to turn up on forms and gift tags.
- Without the two dots, some readers will try "Zoh" the first time, especially in print.
- It has been climbing steadily rather than fading, so it is likely to be more familiar in a classroom of the coming years than in one of the recent past.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Scarlett
82%chance Scarlett feels dated by 2040
Scarlett is coming down from a big peak (#14 in 2022). This is the stretch of the cycle where a name starts to sound like the decade it ruled.
Zoe
51%chance Zoe feels dated by 2040
Zoe is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
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 Scarlett and Zoe 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 Scarlett and Zoe?
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists that carry both names
Every list here names both Scarlett and Zoe — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Scarlett or Zoe — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Scarlett or Zoe?
- Zoe, in 2025: Zoe ranked #31 with 5,646 babies; Scarlett ranked #32 with 5,644 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Scarlett or Zoe?
- Zoe. Over the last five years Scarlett moved down 11 places; Zoe moved up 9 places.
- Which is the older name, Scarlett or Zoe?
- Scarlett entered the US charts in 1937; Zoe was already in use when US records began in 1880. On the American record, Zoe is the older name.
- How many people are named Scarlett and Zoe?
- About 111,000 people named Scarlett are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 159,000 people named Zoe are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Scarletts or Zoes in the classroom?
- Scarlett will almost certainly be the only one in school. Zoe 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
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