How popular is the baby name Scott 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 Scott.

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Popularity of the baby name Scott


Posts that mention the name Scott

Popular baby names in Gibraltar, 2022

Flag of Gibraltar
Flag of Gibraltar

The British overseas territory of Gibraltar is a narrow peninsula jutting out from the southern coast of Spain.

Though the official language of Gibraltar is English, most Gibraltarians also speak Spanish. (In fact, the mix of Andalusian Spanish and British English spoken by locals has its own name: Llanito.)

Last year, Gibraltar welcomed 364 babies — “almost a baby for every day of 2022.” There were 179 baby girls and 185 baby boys.

And what were the most popular names among these babies? Sienna and Elijah/Leo (tie).

Here are Gibraltar’s top girl names and top boy names of 2022:

Girl names

  1. Sienna, 6 baby girls
  2. Ava and Lucia, 5 each (tie)
  3. Emily, Isabella, and Valentina, 4 each (3-way tie)
  4. Amelia, Chloe, Isla, Lauren, and Lily, 3 each (5-way tie)
  5. Charlotte, Eliza, Elsie, Gabriella, India, Luna, Mia, Robyn, Sophie, Thalia, and Tiana, 2 each (11-way tie)

Boy names

  1. Elijah and Leo, 5 baby boys each (tie)
  2. Noah, Oliver, Theo, and Thomas, 4 each (4-way tie)
  3. Jamie, Lewis, Lucas, and Thiago, 3 each (4-way tie)
  4. Amir, Arthur, Erik, Freddie, Gabriel, Hugo, Isaac, Jack, Jacob, James, Jason, Joseph, Kai, Liam, Logan, Louie, Luca, Mason, Matthew, Niall, Nico, Ryan, Theodore, and Zayn, 2 each (24-way tie)

The rest of the names were each bestowed once. (Except for Riley, which was bestowed twice overall — once for each gender.)

Unique girl names (120)Unique boy names (93)
Ada, Adeline, Adelyn, Ahriella, Alba, Alessandra, Alis, Alisha, Aliyanna, Alona, Amaya, Amelie-Rae, Amira, Ana, Andie, Anna, Aoife, April, Arabella, Ari, Aria, Ariana, Arianna, Arieya, Aris, Aubrey, Avery, Cali, Callie, Celeste, Cipbelynn, Cora, Daisy, Daisy-Ray, Dayana, Elise, Ellen, Emma, Esme, Estella, Evelyn, Fae, Farah, Faye, Fern, Florence, Haley, Harlequin, Hayley, Ines, Jessie, Josephine, Josie, Julia, Kairo, Kennan, Kian, Killian, Kyel, Kylo, Kate, Katie, Kyla, Kythea, Layan, Layla, Leah, Leticia, Lina, Lottie, Maeva, Maia, Manuela, Margaret, Margot, Mariam, Matilde, Maya, Mayra, Melianne, Mila, Millie, Molly, Neriah, Nora, Nylah-Mae, Poppy, Presley, Quinn, Radhika, Raya, Renaelia, Rhianne, Riley, Roeeya, Rose, Ruby, Rumi, Sara, Savannah, Selina, Shannah, Siera, Snow, Sophia, Stella, Summer, Talia, Tasnim, Thea, Tillie, Willow, Winter, Yael, Yara, Yasmin, Yui, Zahra, Zaphyr, ZoeAbdurhman, Abel, Airam, Alaa, Alfie, Alfred, Andrei, Anthony, Archie, Ariel, Asher, Ashton, Austin, Axton, Bear, Benas, Bowie, Bradley, Cairo, Carlos, Charlie, Cody, Crislee, Dante, Domenico, Dominic, Dylan, Elias, Elis, Emilian, Emilio, Ethan, Evan, Finley, Frankie, Gary, Gian, Graham, Haroun, Henry, Hudson, Imram, Iyad, Jake, Jax, Jay, Jayce, Jayden, Jesse, Jonah, Joud, Leigh, Louis, Luis, Luke, Manuel, Marco, Mattia, Maxwell, Michael, Millel, Nassim, Nathan, Neo, Nicholas, Nicolas, Nilan, Noa, Nuveshshing, Nyan, Nyle, Oscar, Otis, Otto, Ray, Rayan, Remy, Riley, Rocco, Romeo, Samy, Scott, Sebastian, Shane, Stephen, Teo, Tommy, Tyler, Wael, Yaqub, Zachary, Zack, Zuhayr

Finally, here are Gibraltar’s 2021 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.

P.S. Did you know that John Lennon and Yoko Ono got married in Gibraltar in March of 1969?

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Flag of Gibraltar (public domain)

Popular and unique baby names in Uruguay, 2021

Flag of Uruguay
Flag of Uruguay

The country of Uruguay, located in the southern region of South America, shares land borders with Argentina and Brazil.

According to Uruguay’s Dirección Nacional de Identificación Civil (DNIC), the most popular baby names in the country in 2021 were María and Juan.

Uruguay’s baby name rankings consist of girl and boy names mixed together on a single list. The data mostly represents first-name usage, but does include some second-name usage as well. (This is because the rankings are created from Uruguayan identity card data, and Uruguayans are permitted to add up to two given names to their ID cards.)

That said, here are Uruguay’s top 100+ baby names of 2021:

  1. María, 1,260 babies
    • María was used 858 times as a first name and 402 times as a second name.
  2. Juan, 1,023
    • Juan was used 980 times as a first name and 43 times as a second name.
  3. Benjamín, 925
  4. Maria, 889
  5. Isabella, 798
  6. Mateo, 778
  7. Valentina, 725
  8. Emma, 722
  9. Martina, 706
  10. Catalina, 658
  11. Julieta, 644
  12. Felipe, 631
  13. Sofía, 624
  14. Valentín, 615
  15. Ezequiel, 561
  16. Nicolás, 541
  17. Lorenzo, 535
  18. Emilia, 513
  19. Agustín, 487 (tie)
  20. Bautista, 487 (tie)
  21. Belén, 477
  22. Daniel, 459
  23. Manuel, 450
  24. Alejandro, 433
  25. Santiago, 429
  26. Francisco, 426
  27. Delfina, 422
  28. Lautaro, 421 (tie)
  29. Agustina, 421 (tie)
  30. Santino, 419
  31. Carlos, 417
  32. Lucas, 413
  33. Valentino, 411
  34. Dante, 407
  35. Josefina, 393
  36. Luis, 392
  37. Ignacio, 389 (tie)
  38. Gabriel, 389 (tie)
  39. Joaquín, 385
  40. Olivia, 380
  41. José, 374
  42. Thiago, 359
  43. Emiliano, 352
  44. Gael, 343
  45. Victoria, 341
  46. Francesca, 325
  47. Alberto, 324
  48. Tomás, 318
  49. Sebastián, 315
  50. Renata, 312
  51. David, 308
  52. Jose, 302
  53. Martín, 301
  54. Zoe, 296
  55. Bastian, 290
  56. Samuel, 288
  57. Milagros, 286
  58. Eduardo, 284
  59. Pilar, 280 (tie)
  60. Paulina, 280 (tie)
  61. Bruno, 278
  62. Alexander, 275 (tie)
  63. Ana, 275 (tie)
  64. Clara, 271
  65. Facundo, 267
  66. Emily, 261 (tie)
  67. Pedro, 261 (tie)
  68. Benjamin, 259
  69. Antonio, 257 (tie)
  70. Alfonsina, 257 (tie)
  71. Guadalupe, 255
  72. Sofia, 254 (tie)
  73. Vicente, 254 (tie)
  74. Pablo, 254 (tie)
  75. Federico, 253
  76. Emanuel, 251
  77. Diego, 249
  78. Jorge, 240
  79. Javier, 239
  80. Salvador, 235
  81. Rafael, 230
  82. Fernando, 229
  83. Nahuel, 228
  84. Jazmín, 226
  85. Luciano, 223
  86. Liam, 222
  87. Paz, 218
  88. Camila, 217
  89. Maite, 216
  90. Andrés, 207
  91. Ismael, 206 (tie)
  92. Miguel, 206 (tie)
  93. Alma, 205
  94. Noah, 204
  95. Mía, 203
  96. Lucía, 202 (tie)
  97. Benicio, 202 (tie)
  98. Mia, 201
  99. Franco, 198
  100. Nicolas, 195
  101. Bianca, 194
  102. Isabel, 193
  103. Juana, 191
  104. Camilo, 190
  105. Tadeo, 188
  106. Enzo, 187
  107. Guillermo, 186
  108. Cataleya, 183
  109. Alejandra, 181 (tie)
  110. Sebastian, 181 (tie)
  111. Florencia, 179
  112. Carolina, 175
  113. Enrique, 172
  114. Ramiro, 171
  115. Alfonso, 167
  116. Faustino, 166
  117. Ámbar, 164 (4-way tie)
  118. Beatriz, 164 (4-way tie)
  119. Logan, 164 (4-way tie)
  120. Marcelo, 164 (4-way tie)
  121. Matías, 161 (tie)
  122. Ciro, 161 (tie)
  123. Aitana, 160 (tie)
  124. Antonella, 160 (tie)
  125. Angel, 159 (tie)
  126. Nahitan, 159 (tie)
  127. Nicole, 158
  128. Andrea, 156 (tie)
  129. Elena, 156 (tie)

(I went down this far to ensure that at least fifty girl names were included.)

Here are a few names from lower down on the list:

  • 16 babies were named Tabaré, which was the name of former Uruguayan president Tabaré Vázquez (who died in December of 2020).
    • Tabaré was given to just 2 babies the year before.
  • 6 were named Atahualpa, which was the name of the last emperor of the Inca.
    • Atahualpa was given to just one baby the year before.
  • 2 were named Cono, perhaps after St. Cono of Italy.
  • 2 were named Giorgian, which is the first name of Uruguayan soccer player Giorgian de Arrascaeta.
  • 2 were named Pampa, which may refer to the Pampas — the grasslands of South America.
    • The Spanish word pampa comes directly from the Quechua word pampa, meaning “plain, field.”

And, because Uruguay releases all of its baby name data, we can also check out the unique names at the other end of the spectrum. Here’s a selection Uruguay’s single-use baby names of 2021:

Aitziber, Berzaline, Carbonell, Danisel, Evtimova, Fradixon, Gilbeth, Hinayana, Itanu, Joxibel, Kundlik, Lothar, Mactominei, Neybis, Orientina, Pandugula, Quimey, Rillary, Sizzle, Tilottama, Toruk, Unelma, Venexia, Wilfreddy, Xunmira, Yulipza, Zombul

Some possible explanations/associations:

  • Lothar – German soccer player Lothar Matthäus
  • Mactominei – English soccer player Scott McTominay
  • Orientina – the word orientales (“easterners”) is sometimes used to refer to Uruguayans
    • The country’s official name is La República Oriental del Uruguay.
  • Tilottama – an apsara in Hindu mythology
  • Toruk – a flying creature in the movie Avatar

In 2020, the top names in Uruguay were Emma and Juan. (Emma managed to beat María/Maria only because Uruguay counts the accented and unaccented forms of names separately in the rankings.)

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Flag of Uruguay (public domain)

What gave the baby name Scotty a boost in 1971?

Bobby Goldsboro's single "Watching Scotty Grow" (1970)
The single “Watching Scotty Grow”

According to the U.S. baby name data, the name Scotty saw its highest-ever usage in the early 1970s:

  • 1973: 696 baby boys named Scotty [rank: 268th]
  • 1972: 757 baby boys named Scotty [rank: 260th]
  • 1971: 1,118 baby boys named Scotty [rank: 210th]
  • 1970: 574 baby boys named Scotty [rank: 330th]
  • 1969: 607 baby boys named Scotty [rank: 308th]
Graph of the usage of the baby name Scotty in the U.S. since 1880
Usage of the baby name Scotty

Why?

Because of the song “Watching Scotty Grow” [vid] by Bobby Goldsboro. It was released in October of 1970 and peaked at #11 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart in February of 1971.

Songwriter Mac Davis wrote “Watching Scotty Grow” about his young son, Scotty. He’d taken Scotty to the office with him one day, and that’s when inspiration struck:

He was a typical 5-year-old and was in my hair with questions, “Daddy” this and “Daddy” that.

Finally, I gave him a yellow legal pad and a felt tip pen. I said, “Draw Daddy a picture.” So he started drawing, and I’m trying to write a song. All of a sudden he shows me this picture that he’d drawn. It was a crude little rocket ship, and on the side of it, it had “P-R-L-F-Q.” I said, “Well, what does that spell?” And he said “Mom and Dad.” Yikes!

The song (as Mac Davis sings it) starts with the lyrics:

There he sits with a pen and a yellow pad
He’s a handsome lad
That’s my boy
PRLFQ spells mom and dad
Well that ain’t too bad
‘Cause that’s my boy

Singer Bobby Goldsboro asked if he could change the name in the song from “Scotty” to “Danny” — the name of his own son — but Davis wouldn’t give him permission:

I said, “Nope.”

[…]

I said, “I just can’t do it.” He said, “Well, OK, then.” … I just couldn’t do that to my son. I wanted it to be his name.

The song also managed to nudge the name Scott (which we talked about in the Lancer post earlier this week) into the boys’ top 10 for the first and only time:

  • 1973: 18,982 baby boys named Scott [rank: 18th]
  • 1972: 22,857 baby boys named Scott [rank: 11th]
  • 1971: 30,919 baby boys named Scott [rank: 10th] (peak usage)
  • 1970: 28,588 baby boys named Scott [rank: 12th]
  • 1969: 28,668 baby boys named Scott [rank: 12th]
Graph of the usage of the baby name Scott in the U.S. since 1880
Usage of the baby name Scott

What are your thoughts on the name Scotty? (How about Scott?)

Sources:

What brought the baby name Lancer back in 1968?

The characters Johnny Madrid Lancer and Scott Lancer from the TV series "Lancer" (1968-1970).
Johnny Madrid and Scott from “Lancer

The name Lancer returned to the U.S. baby name data (after a long absence) in 1968, and two years later it reached peak usage:

  • 1971: 17 baby boys named Lancer
  • 1970: 31 baby boys named Lancer [peak]
  • 1969: 19 baby boys named Lancer
  • 1968: 10 baby boys named Lancer
  • 1967: unlisted
  • 1966: unlisted

What brought it back?

A TV western called Lancer (1968-1970), logically enough.

It was set in the 1870s, and the main characters were adult half-brothers named Johnny Madrid (played by James Stacy) and Scott (played by Wayne Maunder). They shared a father, but were otherwise unalike: Johnny was a gunfighter and drifter from Mexico; Scott was an educated Civil War veteran from New England.

They met for the first time in the first episode, when their father, Murdoch Lancer, summoned them to his 100,000-acre ranch in California and offered them each one-third of the ranch in exchange for help protecting the land and livestock from bandits.

Title of the TV series "Lancer" (1968-1970)
Lancer

The series only lasted two seasons, but was popular enough to during that time to affect several other baby names as well.

The Lancer-like name Lance saw a sharp rise in usage while the show was on the air:

  • 1971: 3,180 baby boys named Lance [rank: 98th]
  • 1970: 4,166 baby boys named Lance [rank: 76th] (peak)
  • 1969: 3,030 baby boys named Lance [rank: 103rd]
  • 1968: 1,995 baby boys named Lance [rank: 144th]
  • 1967: 1,804 baby boys named Lance [rank: 152nd]
Graph of the usage of the baby name Lance in the U.S. since 1880.
Usage of the baby name Lance

The name Johnny, which was generally declining in usage during the second half of the 20th century, saw a brief turnaround in 1969 and 1970:

  • 1971: 3,939 baby boys named Johnny [rank: 74th]
  • 1970: 4,440 baby boys named Johnny [rank: 65th]
  • 1969: 4,217 baby boys named Johnny [rank: 67th]
  • 1968: 4,053 baby boys named Johnny [rank: 69th]
  • 1967: 4,170 baby boys named Johnny [rank: 70th]
Graph of the usage of the baby name Johnny in the U.S. since 1880.
Usage of the baby name Johnny

And the name Scott, which was about to experience a similar slide, saw increased usage for several years before its decline began:

  • 1971: 30,919 baby boys named Scott [rank: 10th]
  • 1970: 28,588 baby boys named Scott [rank: 12th]
  • 1969: 28,668 baby boys named Scott [rank: 12th]
  • 1968: 26,029 baby boys named Scott [rank: 14th]
  • 1967: 25,537 baby boys named Scott [rank: 16th]
Graph of the usage of the baby name Scott in the U.S. since 1880
Usage of the baby name Scott

But there’s more to the story on Scott. See how the usage popped up even higher in 1971? That extra uptick has a separate explanation, which we’ll get to in a few days…

Sources: Lancer – TV Western – Six-gun Justice, SSA