Scarlett
A nickname surname for someone linked with scarlet red—often from clothing, sometimes from complexion.
The #7,261 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 67,265 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Scarlett comes from Middle English scarlet, a word for scarlet-red cloth or colour, ultimately from Old French escarlate and a Persian source for the cloth itself. In surname use, it was likely a nickname for someone who wore scarlet or was strikingly red-complexioned. Early writers also treat it as a descriptive byname meaning “the scarlet one.”
History
The surname is recorded in medieval England, with forms such as de Scarlett and Skarlett appearing in 14th- and 16th-century records cited by older surname dictionaries. William Scarlet, the companion of Robin Hood, was traditionally explained as a nickname based on the colour of his dress, which helped reinforce the name’s association with red clothing. It has remained an established but not especially common English surname.
Origin
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Fun fact
Older surname writers note that scarlet could once be used simply as an adjective meaning “red,” which makes the surname a good example of how colour words became family names.
From the historical record
“cleft) : — 4- brekka, a slope] SCARLETT (A.-Fr.-Pers.) Of Scarlet Com- plexion or Dress [M.E.' scarlet(t,, O.Fr. escarlate (Fr. dcarlate) ; Pers. sflqaldt, etc., scarlet cloth] Robin Hood'scompanion,Will Scarlet(t, seems to have been so nicknamed from the colour of his attire — And Scarlett he was flyinge a-foote…”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)