Scarlet

Meaning of Scarlet

Scarlet is a name steeped in color and quiet drama, rising from the Persian-tinted word for a luxurious crimson cloth, passing through medieval French markets as “escarlate,” and finally unfolding in English as the distilled essence of red itself—a shade revered in Japan as akane, the deep glow that lingers on maple leaves at twilight. She carries the poise of a Kyoto geisha gliding beneath lantern light, yet her syllables strike clean and modern, pronounced SKAHR-lit, like a swift brushstroke of vermilion ink across rice paper. Beyond the loom and the palette, Scarlet’s story threads through literature—most famously in the unflinching spirit of Miss O’Hara—and through pop culture’s vigilant “Scarlet Witch,” each avatar wearing the color’s bold resolve. Though her single-t spelling is rarer than the double-t cousin, American parents have steadily gathered it like autumn leaves for decades, drawn to a name that suggests passion without noise, heat held within cool composure, and a hint of sunrise promising that tomorrow may yet burn brighter than today.

Pronunciation

British English

• Pronunced as SKAH-lit (/ˈskɑː.lɪt/)

American English

• Pronunced as SKAHR-lit (/ˈskɑr.lɪt/)

• Rose
• Scarlett
• Sienna
• Violet
• Ruby
• Crimson
• Ember