Given name & surname
Scarlett
“vibrant red color; a vivacious woman”
Scarlett has a particularly clear surname-to-first-name story within a famous novel.
Meaning & origin
What it means
In English use, Scarlett has a related form in Scarlet. One English interpretation is “vibrant red color; a vivacious woman.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
In English use, Scarlett has a related form in Scarlet. An origin associated with Scarlet is English.
Explained through its name family
The story
In Gone with the Wind, the heroine’s full name is Katie Scarlett O’Hara. Scarlett represents her grandmother’s maiden surname, making the novel itself an example of a family surname becoming a familiar first name.
Scarlett through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 111,739
- 52 boys · 111,687 girls
- Most popular year
- 2016
- 7,725 babies
- 2025
- 5,650
- #32 for girls · #11,768 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −12%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 5,644 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 32 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 12.4% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 7,721 in 2017. It also appeared in 6 birth records for boys in 2025. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (602). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 64,822 as a first name in 2020; 4,611 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Scarlett’s family of names
In English usage, Scarlett has a related form in Scarlet. In English usage, Scarlett has a related form in Scarlet. In English usage, Scarlett has a related form in Scarlette.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Scarlett has relatives in 4 languages.
6 related names in 4 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 4
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 4
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 2
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Scarlett
- Scarlett JohanssonAmerican actress (born 1984)
- Scarlett ByrneBritish actressborn 1990
- Scarlett PomersAmerican actress and singerborn 1988
- Scarlett Mew JensenBritish diverborn 2001
- Li-Meng YanChinese ophthalmologist and virologistborn 1987
- Scarlett EstevezAmerican actress (born 2007)
- Scarlett ThomasBritish writerborn 1972
- Scarlett CurtisEnglish writer, activistborn 1995
- Scarlett ChorvatAmerican actressborn 1972
Characters named Scarlett: Scarlett O'Hara (Gone with the Wind).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Scarlett, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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