Find out how popular the last name Scott is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Scott.

Scott, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Scott surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Scott in America

Scott is the 36th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Scott surname appeared 439,530 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 149 people would have the surname Scott.

We can also compare 2010 data for Scott to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Scott

The surname Scott is of Scottish origin and dates back to the 12th century. It is derived from an old word "Scot" which was used to refer to a person of Scottish descent or someone from Scotland. The name likely originated from the areas along the Anglo-Scottish border regions.

One of the earliest recorded references to the surname Scott can be found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a collection of homage rolls rendered to King Edward I of England. Several individuals bearing the name Scott are listed in these rolls, indicating the name was well-established in Scotland by the late 13th century.

The name Scott is also found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a survey of land ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. However, the spellings in this ancient manuscript vary, with forms such as "Scot" and "Scotte" being used.

In the 14th century, a prominent Scottish family bearing the name Scott emerged in the Borders region. Sir Michael Scott, who lived from around 1175 to 1234, was a renowned medieval scholar and philosopher. He was often referred to as "Michael Scot" and is considered one of the most influential figures in the transmission of knowledge from the Arabic world to Europe during the Middle Ages.

Another notable figure with the surname Scott was Sir Walter Scott, the famous Scottish novelist, playwright, and poet. Born in 1771 and died in 1832, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest writers of the Romantic era and is best known for his historical novels such as "Ivanhoe" and "Rob Roy".

In the 16th century, the Scotts of Buccleuch rose to prominence as one of the most powerful families in the Scottish Borders. Sir Walter Scott, 1st Lord Scott of Buccleuch, who lived from 1565 to 1611, played a significant role in the pacification of the Borders region and was a prominent figure in the court of King James VI of Scotland.

The surname Scott has also been associated with several place names in Scotland, such as Scotstoun, Scotston, and Scotscraig, which further reinforces its Scottish roots and origins.

Other notable individuals with the surname Scott include Robert Falcon Scott, the British Royal Navy officer and explorer who led the ill-fated Terra Nova Expedition to the South Pole in 1912, and Winfield Scott, an American military commander and political candidate who served as a general in the United States Army during the Mexican-American War and the Civil War.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Scott

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Scott.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Scott was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Scott has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Scott was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Scott, please contact us.

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