Scott
Masculine · “a Scot”
Scott is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 774,997 boys against 2,608 girls since 1880. See Scott as a girl name
The Scotti were Irish. Late Roman writers used the word for raiders coming out of Ireland, a group of them settled in what is now Argyll, and over several centuries the name moved with them until it covered the whole country north of the wall — which is why Scotland is named after people who came from somewhere else.
How old is the name Scott?
Scott was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Scott alive today was born around 1969, making them about 56 years old. About 664,000 people named Scott are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Scott most popular?
Scott peaked in 1971, reaching #10 nationally. Today it ranks #534, 524 places below that high. See the whole 1971 chart.
Where it comes from
From Scotti to Scott
The story of Scott
In medieval England the surname meant exactly what it says: a man from Scotland, or a Gaelic speaker, given the name by neighbors who noticed. Border families carried it heavily, and it is now one of the commonest surnames in Scotland itself, which is a slight joke — you do not need to say a man is Scottish while he is standing in Scotland. It moved to the front of the name in the twentieth century and became one of the standard American men's names for two decades. Very few English names name a nationality; Scott is the only one in wide use.
Meaning
a Scot
The name is a nationality used as a personal name. What Scotti itself meant is not known; it is a Latin rendering of something the Romans heard, and no reliable etymology survives.
How the name formed
- Scotti
- Scott
Pronouncing Scott
SKOT
One syllable, rhyming with hot. Said the same way everywhere English is spoken.
Nicknames for Scott
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 196330,396 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #10reached in 1971
- Change vs 2022
- +15.2%561 in 2025, from 487
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Scott in other languages
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Florida.
Scotts among us
people named Scott are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 3,045 born in 2025 was named Scott
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Steven test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Scott's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Steven climbed just as high around 1955, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Steven's path sketches the road Scott is walking now.
Scott sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Scott is headed
Scott should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
High confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Scott beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Scott in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- One syllable and five letters, with no possible mispronunciation.
- It works well in front of long surnames, where fuller names get crowded.
- It has an unbroken run in American records from the first year they were kept.
- Everyone can spell it on first hearing.
- It is strongly associated with the nineteen-sixties and seventies in America.
- It is also a very common surname, so Scott Scott is possible and does happen.
- The spelling is recorded for a small number of girls, though it reads overwhelmingly as a boy's name.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Scott to the vote.
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What they receive
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Scott
Masculine · #534 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Scotts are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 664,000 people named Scott are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Scott in 2025?
- Scott ranks #534 among US boy names in 2025, with 561 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Scott?
- About 1 in every 3,045 US boys born in 2025 was named Scott — 561 in all.
- Will my child share the name Scott with classmates?
- Scott will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Scott
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Kendrick#535 · Troy#532 · Bruce#536 · Rio#532 · Eiden#536 · Zachariah#536 · Tyson#531 · Kaison#539
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Scott? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Scott and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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