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

For-profit baby names

California mom-to-be Natasha Hill — the woman who was supposed to be getting $5,000 for allowing strangers to name her unborn baby via the site Belly Ballot — isn’t really pregnant. She isn’t even really named “Natasha Hill.”

Her name is Natasha Lloyd, and she’s an actress who was hired by the website’s founder to help drum up publicity.

Yep — the whole thing was a hoax. The folks at Today.com were the ones to figure it out:

When TODAY Moms first reported on the contest, some readers were incredulous; they couldn’t believe a real mom would do such a thing. Now it appears they were right.

Except…they weren’t. Several “real moms” (and dads) have indeed done such a thing. Here are all the for-profit baby names (and attempts) I know of:

*I never blogged about these three, so here are the details:

  • In 2001, Jason Black and Frances Schroeder of New York tried to auction off the name of the their third child (first son) via Yahoo and eBay. They were aiming for a corporate sponsor, so the bidding started at $500,000. No one bid. They ended up naming the baby Zane Black.
  • In 2002, Bob and Tracy Armstrong from Florida tried to auction off the name of their baby (gender unknown) via eBay. After eBay pulled the auction for the third time, they decided not to try again.
  • In 2002, Heather and Steve Johnston of Washington state tried to auction off the name of their baby boy via eBay. The bidding started at $250,000. I found no follow-up stories, so I imagine the auction was either pulled or unsuccessful.

Video games on one end, $15,000 on the other…such wildly different values placed on baby names. Kinda fascinating, isn’t it?

Sources: $5,000 online baby-name contest revealed as hoax, Mom crowdsources baby name for $5,000

Image: Adapted from $20 Federal Reserve Bank Note (1929) (public domain)

[Latest update: Dec. 2024]

Is the baby name Penelope about to skyrocket in popularity?

Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick welcomed their second child, a baby girl, on Sunday. The baby’s name is Penelope.

While not all of us care much about the Kardashian clan, in the baby name world, this news matters.

Why?

Because Kourtney just about single-handedly launched the baby name Mason into the top 10 when she decided to name her first child Mason in late 2009.

Mason was the baby name that increased the most in usage in both 2010 and 2011. It’s currently the second most popular name in the nation.

Penelope — a name that comes to us from ancient Greece via Homer’s Odyssey — is already on its way up:

  • 2011: 1,847 baby girls named Penelope (rank: 169th)
  • 2010: 1,543 baby girls named Penelope (rank: 200th)
  • 2009: 1,294 baby girls named Penelope (rank: 252nd)
  • 2008: 919 baby girls named Penelope (rank: 359th)
  • 2007: 794 baby girls named Penelope (rank: 409th)

What will happen to the baby name Penelope now that it’s got the Kardashian stamp of approval?

Robin Williams named his baby after a video game character

Princess Zelda (in 1998)
Princess Zelda

A few months ago, Nintendo released Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, a remake of the original Ocarina of Time from 1998.

Who did they feature in the commercials for the new Ocarina? None other than Robin Williams, who named his daughter, Zelda, for Princess Zelda from the series. (Zelda Williams was in the commercial, too.)

Here are the commercials: Zelda Ad #1 and Zelda Ad #2.

Robin bought his first Nintendo Entertainment System in 1987 and became “completely immersed.”

When my wife was pregnant, my son Zachary mentioned that Zelda would be the perfect name for his new little sister.

Robin and his wife agreed, so when the baby girl was born on July 31, 1989, she was named Zelda Rae.

Here’s Robin and Zelda discussing her name [another vid].

Were other parents inspired to use the name Zelda as well around this time? Perhaps a few, though the numbers stay fairly flat:

  • 1991: 22 baby girls named Zelda
  • 1990: 18 baby girls named Zelda
  • 1989: 19 baby girls named Zelda
  • 1988: 17 baby girls named Zelda
  • 1987: 12 baby girls named Zelda
  • 1986: 16 baby girls named Zelda
  • 1985: 13 baby girls named Zelda

How was Princess Zelda named? Game creator Shigeru Miyamoto explains: “Zelda was the name of the wife of the famous novelist Francis Scott Fitzgerald. She was a famous and beautiful woman from all accounts, and I liked the sound of her name. So I took the liberty of using her name for the very first Zelda title.”

[On Late Night with Jimmy Fallon a few nights ago, Robin stated that his son Cody was also named for a video game character, but didn’t mention which game/character. My guess would be Cody from Final Fight.]

Sources: In the Game: Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto, Ocarina of Time 3D Commercial Stars Robin Williams, Robin Williams and Daughter Pitch Video Game She Was Named After

Image: Screenshot of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Alt-rock baby names of the 1990s

guitar

Pearl Jam held a festival over Labor Day weekend to mark the 20th anniversary of the band’s debut album, Ten.

The news reminded me that I’ve seen the name Vedder (the surname of Pearl Jam vocalist Eddie Vedder) in the U.S. baby name data.

But I didn’t see it in the SSA data of the early ’90s, which was when grunge band Pearl Jam was at the height of its fame. Nope — Vedder didn’t start popping up until more than a decade later:

  • 2010: 7 baby boys named Vedder
  • 2009: 6 baby boys named Vedder
  • 2008: unlisted
  • 2007: 6 baby boys named Vedder
  • 2006: unlisted
  • 2005: 5 baby boys named Vedder [debut]
  • 2004: unlisted
  • 2003: unlisted

The same thing happened to Cobain, surname of Nirvana vocalist Kurt Cobain:

  • 2010: 8 baby boys named Cobain
  • 2009: 5 baby boys named Cobain
  • 2008: 7 baby boys named Cobain
  • 2007: 5 baby boys named Cobain
  • 2006: unlisted
  • 2005: 6 baby boys named Cobain
  • 2004: 5 baby boys named Cobain [debut]
  • 2003: unlisted

And to Reznor, surname of Nine Inch Nails vocalist Trent Reznor:

  • 2010: 6 baby boys named Reznor
  • 2009: 9 baby boys named Reznor
  • 2008: 8 baby boys named Reznor
  • 2007: unlisted
  • 2006: 6 baby boys named Reznor
  • 2005: unlisted
  • 2004: 5 baby boys named Reznor [debut]
  • 2003: unlisted

And to Weiland, surname of Stone Temple Pilots vocalist Scott Weiland:

  • 2010: unlisted
  • 2009: 5 baby boys named Weiland
  • 2008: 7 baby boys named Weiland
  • 2007: 7 baby boys named Weiland
  • 2006: unlisted
  • 2005: unlisted
  • 2004: unlisted
  • 2003: unlisted
  • 2002: 8 baby boys named Weiland [debut]
  • 2001: unlisted

Interesting, isn’t it? These names didn’t become trendy while the associated alt-rock acts were big, but they began seeing usage years later. As if the teens of the ’90s needed a few years to grow up and start having their own kids first.

Contrast this with names like Rihanna, Beyonce, Kanye, and Shania. These names became popular on a much larger scale while the corresponding pop stars were hitting it big. Quite a difference.

Sources: Pearl Jam Fest Wows With Chris Cornell/Temple of The Dog, Multiple Guests – Billboard, SSA

Image: Adapted from Electric guitar (477101105) by Feliciano Guimarães under CC BY 2.0.