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

Baby born to baseball coach, named (by team) after “Sandlot” characters

The character Hamilton "Ham" Porter from the movie "The Sandlot" (1993)
“You’re killing me, Smalls!”

The first six seasons played by the varsity baseball team at Heritage High School in Palm Bay, Florida, were all losing seasons.

So early this season, the team’s seventh overall, coach Rob Querry decided to motivate his players by making a promise: If they can win 14 games — the number needed to have a winning season — he’ll let them name his baby.

Rob and his wife Julia are expecting their second child, a baby boy, in September. (They also have 4-year-old son named Brady.)

Rob’s challenge clearly worked, because the team won its 14th game on April 5.

And what name did a group of baseball-loving high school boys choose for their coach’s second son?

Benjamin Smalls, inspired by the characters Benjamin “Benny” Rodriguez and Scott “Scotty” Smalls from one of the team’s favorite baseball movies, The Sandlot (1993).

Yes, that’s Smalls as in, “You’re killing me, Smalls!” A slightly daring middle, but far superior to Squints.

Update, 8/2016: Benjamin Smalls Ellis Querry was born on July 27.

Sources:

Image: Screenshot of The Sandlot

Babies named for Robert Falcon Scott

English explorer Robert Falcon Scott
Robert Falcon Scott

Roald Amundsen wasn’t the only person racing southward in the early 1910s. English explorer Robert Falcon Scott was also trying to be the first to reach the South Pole.

But Scott’s team arrived in January on 1912 — more than a month after Amundsen’s team. Even worse, during the 800-mile return trek, Scott and all four of his companions died.

Scott’s body was discovered in November, but the news of his death didn’t reach civilization until February of 1913. At that point, he became a national hero.

It’s hard to know how many babies worldwide were named “Robert” in his honor, given both the prevalence of the name and the sheer size of the British Empire at that time, but I have found several unmistakable tributes:

  • Robert Falcon Scott Simpson, born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, in 1913.
  • Robert Falcon Scott Hall, born in Birmingham, Warwickshire, England, in 1913.
  • Robert Falcon Scott Asher, born in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 1914.
  • Robert Falcon Scott Grieve, born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1916.

I’ve seen other variants as well, such as Falcon Scott Allen (b. 1913, USA), Robert Falcon Scott (b. 1913, USA), Stephen Falcon Scott McCullach (b. circa 1914, Australia), and George Falcon Scott Munro (b. 1914, New Zealand).

Sources: Robert Falcon Scott – Wikipedia, FamilySearch.org

Popular boy names: Biblical vs. Non-Biblical

How has the ratio of Biblical names to non-Biblical names changed over time (if at all) among the most popular baby names in the U.S.?

This question popped into my head recently, so I thought I’d take a look at the data. We’ll do boy names today and girl names tomorrow.

First, let’s set some parameters. For these posts, “Biblical” names are personal names (belonging to either humans or archangels) mentioned in the Bible, plus all derivatives of these names, plus any other name with a specifically Biblical origin (e.g., Jordan, Sharon, Genesis). The “most popular” names are the top 20, and “over time” is the span of a century.

For boy names, the ratio of Biblical names to non-Biblical names has basically flipped over the last 100 years. Here’s a visual — Biblical names are in the yellow cells, non-Biblical names are in the green cells, and a borderline name (which I counted as non-Biblical) is in the orange cell:

Popular boy names: Biblical vs. non-Biblical.
Popular boy names over time: Biblical (yellow) vs. non-Biblical. Click to enlarge.
  • Biblical names: Adam, Alexander, Andrew, Austin (via Augustus), Benjamin, Daniel, David, Elijah, Ethan, Jack (via John), Jackson (via John), Jacob, James, Jason, John, Jonathan, Joseph, Joshua, Justin (via Justus), Lucas, Mark, Matthew, Michael, Nathan, Nicholas, Noah, Paul, Stephen, Steven, Thomas, Timothy, Zachary
  • Non-Biblical names: Aiden, Albert, Anthony, Arthur, Billy, Brandon, Brian, Charles, Christopher, Dennis, Donald, Dylan, Edward, Eric, Frank, Gary, George, Harold, Harry, Henry, Jayden, Jeffrey, Kenneth, Kevin, Larry, Liam, Logan, Louis, Mason, Raymond, Richard, Robert, Ronald, Ryan, Scott, Tyler, Walter, William
  • Borderline name: Jerry (can be based on the Biblical name Jeremy/Jeremiah or on the non-Biblical names Jerome, Gerald, Gerard)

It felt strange putting an overtly Christian name like Christopher in the non-Biblical category, but it doesn’t appear anywhere in the Bible, so…that’s where it goes.

Here are the year-by-year tallies:

YearTop 20 names
given to…		# Biblical# Non-Biblical
191440% of baby boys5 (25%)15 (75%)
192443% of baby boys6 (30%)14 (70%)
193443% of baby boys7 (35%)13 (65%)
194447% of baby boys7 (35%)13 (65%)
195446% of baby boys11 (55%)9 (45%)
196442% of baby boys11 (55%)9 (45%)
197438% of baby boys11 (55%)9 (45%)
198436% of baby boys14 (70%)6 (30%)
199427% of baby boys14 (70%)6 (30%)
200419% of baby boys14 (70%)6 (30%)
201414% of baby boys14 (70%)6 (30%)

But there’s a huge difference between sample sizes of 40% and 14%, so let’s also take a look at the 2014 top 100, which covers 42% of male births.

By my count, last year’s top 100 boy names were half Biblical, half non-Biblical:

Biblical names (49)Non-Biblical names (51)
Noah, Jacob, Ethan, Michael, Alexander, James, Daniel, Elijah, Benjamin, Matthew, Jackson (via John), David, Lucas, Joseph, Andrew, Samuel, Gabriel, Joshua, John, Luke, Isaac, Caleb, Nathan, Jack (via John), Jonathan, Levi, Jaxon (via John), Julian (via Julius), Isaiah, Eli, Aaron, Thomas, Jordan, Jeremiah, Nicholas, Evan, Josiah, Austin (via Augustus), Jace (via Jason), Jason, Jose, Ian, Adam, Zachary, Jaxson (via John), Asher, Nathaniel, Justin (via Justus), JuanLiam, Mason, William, Logan, Aiden, Jayden, Anthony, Carter, Dylan, Christopher, Oliver, Henry, Sebastian, Owen, Ryan, Wyatt, Hunter, Christian, Landon, Charles, Connor, Cameron, Adrian, Gavin, Robert, Brayden, Grayson, Colton, Angel, Dominic, Kevin, Brandon, Tyler, Parker, Ayden, Chase, Hudson, Nolan, Easton, Blake, Cooper, Lincoln, Xavier, Bentley, Kayden, Carson, Brody, Ryder, Leo, Luis, Camden

(Christian, Angel, Xavier, Dominic…all technically non-Biblical, despite having strong ties to Christianity.)

50%-50% isn’t quite as extreme as 70%-30%, but it’s still noticeably more Biblical than 1914’s 25%-75%.

Do any of these results surprise you?

Baby name story: Boschee

In January of 2002, University of Kansas basketball fan Scott Schlesener made a deal with his wife Jodi. If the Jayhawks ended up winning the national championship that spring, “they’d name their fifth child after sharp-shooting guard Jeff Boschee.”

Jodi, who didn’t think the Jayhawks would win, thought it was safe to make the deal — though she had the presence of mind to make sure they were talking about the baby’s middle name and not her first name.

The baby girl was born March 21. Even though the NCAA tournament wouldn’t be decided until April 1, they went ahead and named their daughter Deavynn Boschee Christine Schlesener.

And they kept the name even after the Jayhawks lost to the Maryland Terrapins in the semifinals. (The Indiana Hoosiers won the championship that year.)

Source: “Parents Name Baby After KU’s Boschee.” Fort Scott Tribune 26 Mar. 2002: 9.