Scott

The name originated as an Old English byname for someone from Scotland, derived from the Late Latin Scottus. It migrated from a regional surname to an American given name in the nineteenth century, helped along by the popularity of Sir Walter Scott and General Winfield Scott. Postwar parents adopted it as an independent first name, pushing it to tenth place nationwide in 1971.

The name reads today as an emblem of the early nineteen-seventies, carrying the texture of rec-league basketball and cassette decks. A Scott is rarely pictured in a stroller; with an average age of fifty-three, the name sits squarely in middle management. The record shows that nearly half of all living bearers belong to Generation X, while new registrations have slid past rank five hundred. In an office email directory, the name almost always requires a middle initial to avoid delivery errors.