Scarlette
A feminine name derived from the shade of scarlet red.
Name Census estimates that about 5,463 living Americans carry the first name Scarlette. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Scarlette today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Scarlette births was 2016 (418 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Scarlette. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Scarlette with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Scarlette is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 14 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
5.5K
~ 1 in 62,741 Americans
Peak year
2016
418 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,128
Tracked since 1940
Census
Scarlette in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,829 people with the first name Scarlette, which placed it at #4,748 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#4,748
National first-name rank
People counted
3.8K
3,829 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
54.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Scarlette
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Scarlette is White at 54.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (32.4%) and Two or More Races (5.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Scarlette described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Scarlette at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White54.2% · 2,075
- Hispanic or Latino32.4% · 1,242
- Two or more races5.7% · 219
- Black or African American3.9% · 148
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.4% · 91
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 54
Popularity
Scarlette: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Scarlette from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 3,069 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Scarlette remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Scarlette by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Scarlette during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Scarlettes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 40 states and territories. California, Texas, Arizona recorded the most babies named Scarlette, while West Virginia, New Hampshire, Nebraska recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 96 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Scarlette
The name Scarlette is derived from the Old French word "escarlate," which refers to the brilliant red color obtained from the kermes insect, widely used for dyeing cloth and garments in medieval Europe. This vibrant shade was highly prized and associated with luxury and opulence, particularly in the context of royal attire and regalia.
The origins of the name can be traced back to the late 12th century, when it first appeared in various historical records and literary works. One of the earliest known references is found in the Anglo-Norman text "Le Roman de la Rose," written by Guillaume de Lorris and Jean de Meun, where the color scarlet is described in vivid detail.
In the realm of historical figures, one of the earliest known individuals bearing the name Scarlette was Scarlette de Lisle, a noblewoman born in Normandy, France, around 1230. She was renowned for her skill in embroidery and her contributions to the arts during the High Middle Ages.
Another notable figure was Scarlette of Bordeaux, a French courtier and poet who lived in the 14th century. Her works, although few in number, were celebrated for their lyrical beauty and captured the essence of courtly love and chivalric ideals.
During the Renaissance period, the name gained further prominence with the birth of Scarlette Borgia (1475-1518), an Italian noblewoman and member of the powerful Borgia family. She was known for her patronage of the arts and her influential role in the cultural and political landscape of Renaissance Italy.
Moving into the modern era, one cannot overlook Scarlette O'Hara, the iconic protagonist of Margaret Mitchell's classic novel "Gone with the Wind" (1936). Although a fictional character, her name embodied the vibrant and passionate spirit of the American South during the Civil War era.
Another noteworthy individual was Scarlette Johnsson (1920-2005), a Swedish artist and sculptor renowned for her abstract and minimalist works. Her sculptures, often crafted from steel and concrete, graced public spaces and galleries around the world, leaving an indelible mark on the art world.
While the name Scarlette has maintained its allure and association with vibrant color and passion throughout history, its popularity has ebbed and flowed over time. Nevertheless, it remains a name that evokes a sense of vivacity, artistry, and a deep connection to the rich tapestry of cultural and historical traditions.
People
Scarlette + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Scarlette as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Scarlette: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Scarlette?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5,463 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Scarlette going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 62,741 US residents.
Is Scarlette a common name?
We classify Scarlette as "Rare". It ranks above 96.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5,606 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Scarlette most popular?
The single biggest year for Scarlette was 2016, when 418 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Scarlette is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Scarlette in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,829 people with the name Scarlette, or 1.27 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,748 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Scarlette in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Scarlette?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Scarlette appears almost entirely female. Of the 3,827 people counted with this name, 99.9% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Scarlette?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Scarlette is White at 54.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (32.4%) and Two or More Races (5.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Scarlette most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Scarlette in the 2020 Census, accounting for 54.2% (2,075 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Scarlette in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Scarlette a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Scarlette in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Scarlette still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Scarlette in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Scarlette can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are named Scarlette?
Find out how many people have the name Scarlette on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.