How popular is the baby name Scarlet in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Scarlet.

The graph will take a few moments to load. (Don't worry, it shouldn't take 9 months!) If it's taking too long, try reloading the page.


Popularity of the baby name Scarlet


Posts that mention the name Scarlet

Baby names with CAR: Carter, Scarlett, Oscar

Are you a car-lover looking for baby names that contain the word CAR?

If so, you’re in luck!

Because below you’ll find a long list of names that contain the letter sequence “c-a-r.” Most of these names come directly from the U.S. SSA’s baby name data.

  • Aboubacar
  • Alcario
  • Alucard
  • Amilcar
  • Boubacar
  • Cara, Carra, Carah, Carrah, Caragh
  • Carabella
  • Caradoc
  • Caraline, Caralina
  • Caralyn, Caralynn
  • Caramia
  • Carbon
  • Cardale
  • Cardarius
  • Cardea
  • Cardel, Cardell
  • Cardelia
  • Cardella
  • Carden, Cardin, Cardon, Cardyn
  • Carder
  • Cardero
  • Cardi
  • Cardinal
  • Careem
  • Careen, Carreen
  • Carel, Carell, Carrel, Carrell
  • Careli
  • Caren, Carin, Caron, Caryn
  • Carena
  • Caressa, Caresa, Carressa
  • Caresse, Caress
  • Caretha
  • Caretta
  • Carice
  • Caricia
  • Caridad
  • Carilee
  • Carina, Careena
  • Carine, Carinne, Carrine
  • Cario
  • Carisma
  • Carissa, Carisa, Caryssa, Carrisa, Carrissa
  • Carita
  • Carl
  • Carla
  • Carlasia
  • Carlene, Carleen, Carlean
  • Carletha, Carlethia
  • Carlia, Carlea, Carleah, Carliya, Carliyah
  • Carlier
  • Carlin, Carlon
  • Carlina, Carlena, Carleena
  • Carline
  • Carlis, Carliss
  • Carlisa
  • Carlissa
  • Carlisle, Carlyle
  • Carlito
  • Carlitos
  • Carlo
  • Carlos
  • Carlota, Carlotta
  • Carlson
  • Carly, Carlee, Carley, Carleigh, Carlie, Carli, Carlei
  • Carlton, Carleton
  • Carlynn, Carlyn
  • Carma
  • Carmani
  • Carmel
  • Carmela, Carmella
  • Carmelia
  • Carmelo, Carmello
  • Carmen
  • Carmesha, Carmeshia
  • Carmi, Carmie
  • Carmilla
  • Carmin
  • Carmina
  • Carmine
  • Carmisha
  • Carmo
  • Carnation
  • Carnel, Carnell
  • Carnelia
  • Carnella
  • Carnetta
  • Carney, Carnie
  • Carnesha, Carneshia
  • Carnisha
  • Carnita
  • Carol, Carole, Carrol, Carroll, Caryl
  • Carola
  • Carolann, Carolanne
  • Carold
  • Caroldean, Caroldine
  • Carolee, Caralee
  • Caroleen, Carolene
  • Carolen,
  • Caroletta, Carolette
  • Carolina, Caroleena, Carolena
  • Caroline, Carolyne
  • Carolus
  • Carolyn, Carolynn, Carolin
  • Carpenter
  • Carper
  • Carr
  • Carranza
  • Carrera
  • Carrick
  • Carriana, Carrianna, Carianna, Cariana
  • Carrie, Carri, Carey, Cary, Carie, Cari
  • Carrieann, Carrieanne, Carriann, Carrianne, Cariann, Carianne
  • Carrigan
  • Carrington
  • Carshena
  • Carson, Carsen, Carsin, Carsyn, Carsynn
  • Carsten, Carston
  • Cartavious
  • Carter
  • Cartez
  • Cartha
  • Carthel
  • Carti
  • Cartier
  • Cartina
  • Cartisha
  • Cartrell
  • Caruso
  • Carvel, Carvell
  • Carver
  • Carvin
  • Carwyn, Carwin
  • Carys, Caris, Carris
  • Carzell
  • Dacari
  • Decari
  • Encarna
  • Encarnación
  • Escarlett, Escarlet, Escarleth
  • Giancarlo
  • Giscard
  • Hamilcar
  • Icarus
  • Jacari, Jhacari
  • Jocari
  • Licarayén
  • Lucario
  • Macarena
  • Macari
  • Macaria
  • Macario
  • Macarius
  • McArthur, MacArthur
  • McCartney
  • Policarpia
  • Policarpio
  • Ricarda, Riccarda
  • Ricardo, Riccardo
  • Tocara, Tocarra, Toccara, Toccarra
  • Zacarias
  • Zacariah, Zacaria
  • Zacari, Zacary
  • Zaccaria

Some of these names could be considered variants of the more popular CAR names, though it’s hard to tell. For instance, Caralynn — is it a form of Caroline? Is it Cara + Lynn? (Maybe a bit of both?) Others are non-traditional spellings of more common names, such as Karim, Karen, and Cornelia.

Which CAR name do you like most? Let me know in the comments!

P.S. I just wanted to note — for all my fellow lefties out there — that both Cara and Carter are typed entirely with the left hand on a standard QWERTY keyboard. :)

Image: Adapted from AvMalecon-LaHabanaCuba by Ezarate under CC BY-SA 4.0.

[Latest update: Dec. 2023]

What popularized the baby name Scarlett?

The character Scarlett O'Hara (played by Vivien Leigh) from the movie "Gone with the Wind" (1939).
Scarlett O’Hara from “Gone with the Wind” (1939)

The baby name Scarlett is currently within spitting distance of the top 100, thanks in large part to actress Scarlett Johansson.

What put it on the map originally, though, was Margaret Mitchell’s novel Gone with the Wind (1936).

Did you know that Katie Scarlett O’Hara was nearly named Pansy? It’s true. Scarlett might never have become a baby name at all had Margaret Mitchell not decided, months after her book was accepted for publication, to change the character’s name from Pansy to Scarlett. She explained:

The name Scarlett was chosen six months after my book was sold….I submitted nearly a hundred names to my publishers and they chose Scarlett,–I may add it was my choice too.

Other names under consideration were Robin, Kells, Storm and Angel.

What made her settle on Scarlett?

As to why I chose the name of Scarlett — first, because I came across the name of Katie Scarlett so often in Irish literature and so I made it Gerald’s Mother’s maiden name. Second, while I of course knew of the Scarlett family on our Georgia Coast, I could find no record of any family named Scarlett in Clayton County between the years 1859 and 1873.

The surname originally denoted a maker or seller of a bright (often red-colored) woolen cloth called scarlet.

How many babies were named Scarlett following the book’s publication?

  • 1939: 7 baby girls named Scarlett
  • 1938: 6 baby girls named Scarlett
  • 1937: 7 baby girls named Scarlett [debut]
  • 1936: unlisted
  • 1935: unlisted

Of course, the film version of Gone with the Wind, released at the very end of 1939, is what really gave the name a boost:

  • 1945: 34 baby girls named Scarlett
  • 1944: 45 baby girls named Scarlett
  • 1943: 68 baby girls named Scarlett (rank: 964th)
  • 1942: 76 baby girls named Scarlett (rank: 901st)
  • 1941: 77 baby girls named Scarlett (rank: 828th)
  • 1940: 59 baby girls named Scarlett (rank: 943rd)

In the movie, Scarlett was played by actress Vivien Leigh. (The name Vivien saw a spike in usage in 1940 as well.)

The name Scarlett slowly picked up steam over the following decades and, by the end of the century, several hundred baby girls were being named Scarlett every year.

When Scarlett Johansson emerged on the scene in the early 2000s, usage of the name and its variants (Scarlet, Scarlette, Scarleth, Escarlet, Escarleth, Escarlett) increased at a much faster rate:

  • 2010: 2,716 baby girls named Scarlett (rank: 115th)
  • 2009: 1,921 baby girls named Scarlett (rank: 170th)
  • 2008: 1,621 baby girls named Scarlett (rank: 211th)
  • 2007: 1,583 baby girls named Scarlett (rank: 218th)
  • 2006: 1,116 baby girls named Scarlett (rank: 297th)
  • 2005: 733 baby girls named Scarlett (rank: 423rd)
  • 2004: 538 baby girls named Scarlett (rank: 528th)
  • 2003: 327 baby girls named Scarlett (rank: 759th)
  • 2002: 290 baby girls named Scarlett (rank: 806th)
  • 2001: 237 baby girls named Scarlett (rank: 938th)
  • 2000: 227 baby girls named Scarlett (rank: 942nd)

Do you think any of the other names Mitchell considered — Pansy, Robin, Kells, Storm, Angel — would have made a better character name? Do you think any of them could have caught on as a baby name the way Scarlett did?

Sources:

  • Bates, Karen Grigsby. “Shrewd, Selfish Scarlett: A Complicated Heroine.” NPR 28 Jan. 2008.
  • Walker, Marianne. Margaret Mitchell and John Marsh: The Love Story Behind Gone With the Wind. Atlanta, Georgia: Peachtree Publishers, 2011.

Other Gone with the Wind posts: Tara, Suellen, Carreen, Melanie

Baby born to Volkswagen fan, named Victoria Willow (“VW”)

VW Beetle

Chris Redford of Eastbourne (on the south coast of England) is a Volkswagen enthusiast. He owns (and has only ever owned) VWs. He decorates his home with VW merchandise and memorabilia. He sports about 70 Volkswagen tattoos.

Chris and his wife Serena welcomed a baby girl in 2008. Her name? Scarlet Victoria Willow. That’s right — middle initials V.W.

(Given the extent of this man’s obsession, I’m surprised — but pleased! — that the VW reference isn’t more overt. It’s not even as noticeable as the double-color pairing of “Scarlet Redford.”)

About a month before she was born, Chris was quoted as saying:

I’ll be an easygoing dad. I won’t mind if she has boyfriends or gets into trouble at school — but she’d better not come home driving a Mini or a Citroen.

Sources: Volkswagen fan Chris has beetles on his back, Baby Named After Father’s Car

Image: Adapted from Beetle IV by Karl Thomas Moore under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Baby name needed: Girl name that goes with Elizabeth

A reader named Jill is expecting her third child (her second girl) and is having a hard time coming up with a name. She’s looking for something that:

  • Goes well with Elizabeth as a middle name,
  • Is easy to spell,
  • Isn’t trendy,
  • Isn’t gender neutral,
  • Doesn’t start with the letter “K,” and
  • Doesn’t start with a letter that would cause the initials to spell something questionable. [The only letter I could come up with for this was “M,” to avoid M.E.H.]

Jill and her husband were set on the name Scarlet…until it was chosen by a family member. They also liked Bronwyn for a time, but Jill isn’t as keen on it anymore.

Here are some of the ideas I had:

Astrid
Alice
Beatrice
Brynn
Celine
Caroline
Charlotte
Claire		Daphne
Gwen
Heidi
Ingrid
Jane
Judith
Lauren
Lynn		Naomi
Pauline
Rachel
Rose
Ruth
Suzanne
Simone
Vivian

Do you think any of the above fit particularly well with Elizabeth? What other names would you suggest to Jill?