List of Scripps National Spelling Bee champions


The Scripps National Spelling Bee is an annual spelling bee held in the United States. The competition began in 1925, and was initially organized by The Courier-Journal of Louisville, Kentucky, until the Scripps Howard Broadcasting Company assumed sponsorship in 1941. Every speller in the competition has previously participated in a local spelling bee, usually organized by a local newspaper.
The first champion was Frank Neuhauser of Louisville, who beat eight other finalists to win the inaugural competition. He was honored with a parade in his hometown, where and when he was presented with bouquets of gladioli in commemoration of the winning word "gladiolus", and returned to the Bee a number of times as a guest of honor. The first girl to win was Pauline Bell, also of Louisville, the following year. Girls won nine consecutive competitions from 1932 to 1940. Joint winners have been crowned on seven occasions in the Bee's history. The first such occurrence was in 1950, when Colquitt Dean and Diana Reynard were declared co-champions after the contestants had exhausted the list of available words. In both 1957 and 1962 joint champions were declared when both remaining contestants spelled the same word incorrectly. After three consecutive ties between 2014 and 2016, a written tiebreaker round was introduced, but it was discontinued for the 2019 Bee, which subsequently resulted in an unprecedented eight-way tie when the organizers ended the final session after the remaining contestants had completed five consecutive perfect rounds.
Although the competition is titled "National", it is not restricted to spellers from the United States. In 1998, Jody-Anne Maxwell from Jamaica became the first speller from outside the US to win the Bee, as well as the first black winner. In recent decades the competition has been dominated by Indian-American students. Although people of South Asian origin make up less than one percent of the U.S. population, the vast majority of the winners since 1999, including all fourteen champions between 2008-2018 and seven of the eight co-champions in 2019, have come from the South Asian community.
One such speller, Nihar Janga from Austin, Texas, became the youngest champion in the Bee's history when he won the title in 2016 at the age of 11. The 93rd Scripps National Spelling Bee was the first time that an African-American became the champion and only the second time that the champion was a black person.
The competition was not held from 1943 to 1945 because of World War II. The 2020 competition was canceled due to concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic.
On May 29, 2025, returning entrant Faizan Zaki of Allen, Texas, who was first runner-up in 2024, won the 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee title and trophy over 242 other contestants, including runner-up Sarvadnya Kadam of Visalia, California. This year marked the 100th year anniversary of the spelling competition which began on June 17, 1925. Forty-two former National Spelling Bee winners returned to attend the centennial celebration, the earliest two from 1960 and 1961 to then-current reigning champion Bruhat Soma. Next year the 2026 Scripps National Spelling Bee finals will be held in Washington, D.C. at the DAR Constitution Hall.

Champions

EditionYearCompetition-ending wordWinnerSponsorSponsor's location
1st1925gladiolusThe Courier-JournalLouisville, Kentucky
2nd1926ceriseThe Courier-JournalLouisville, Kentucky
3rd1927abrogateAkron Beacon JournalAkron, Ohio
4th1928knackSouth Bend News-TimesSouth Bend, Indiana
5th1929luxuriance
Omaha World-HeraldOmaha, Nebraska
6th1930albumenThe Des Moines Register and TribuneDes Moines, Iowa
7th1931foulardWhite Hall Register-RepublicanWhite Hall, Illinois
8th1932invulnerableThe Des Moines Register and TribuneDes Moines, Iowa
9th1933torsionAkron Beacon JournalAkron, Ohio
10th1934brethrenPortland Evening ExpressPortland, Maine
11th1935intelligibleAkron Beacon JournalAkron, Ohio
12th1936eczemaThe Des Moines Register and TribuneDes Moines, Iowa
13th1937promiscuousThe Courier-JournalLouisville, Kentucky
14th1938sanitariumThe Louisville TimesLouisville, Kentucky
15th1939canonicalTelegram & GazetteWorcester, Massachusetts
16th1940therapyThe Knoxville News-SentinelKnoxville, Tennessee
17th1941initialsThe Detroit NewsDetroit, Michigan
18th1942sacrilegiousEl Paso Herald-PostEl Paso, Texas
19th1946semaphoreThe Des Moines Register and TribuneDes Moines, Iowa
20th1947chlorophyllAtlanta JournalAtlanta, Georgia
21st1948psychiatryAkron Beacon JournalAkron, Ohio
22nd1949onerousCanton RepositoryCanton, Ohio
23rd1950meticulosityCleveland PressCleveland, Ohio
23rd1950meticulosityAtlanta JournalAtlanta, Georgia
24th1951insouciantMemphis Press ScimitarMemphis, Tennessee
25th1952vignetteWinston-Salem JournalWinston-Salem, North Carolina
26th1953soubretteArizona RepublicPhoenix, Arizona
27th1954transeptNorristown Times HeraldNorristown, Pennsylvania
28th1955crustaceologySt. Louis Globe-DemocratSt. Louis, Missouri
29th1956condominiumPittsburgh PressPittsburgh, Pennsylvania
30th1957schappeRocky Mountain NewsDenver, Colorado
30th1957schappeCanton RepositoryCanton, Ohio
31st1958syllepsisTopeka Daily CapitalTopeka, Kansas
32nd1959catamaranRocky Mountain NewsDenver, Colorado
33rd1960eudaemonicThe Knoxville News-SentinelKnoxville, Tennessee
34th1961smaragdineTulsa TribuneTulsa, Oklahoma
35th1962esquamuloseEl Paso Herald-PostEl Paso, Texas
35th1962esquamuloseSt. Louis Globe-DemocratSt. Louis, Missouri
36th1963equipageThe Knoxville News-SentinelKnoxville, Tennessee
37th1964sycophantAkron Beacon JournalAkron, Ohio
38th1965eczemaTulsa TribuneTulsa, Oklahoma
39th1966ratoonHouston ChronicleHouston, Texas
40th1967chihuahuaThe Omaha World-HeraldOmaha, Nebraska
41st1968abaloneThe Topeka Daily CapitalTopeka, Kansas
42nd1969interlocutoryDallas Morning NewsDallas, Texas
43rd1970croissantWinston-Salem Journal & SentinelWinston-Salem, North Carolina
44th1971shalloonPhiladelphia BulletinPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania
45th1972macerateLubbock Avalanche-JournalLubbock, Texas
46th1973vouchsafeFort Worth PressFort Worth, Texas
47th1974hydrophyteBirmingham Post-HeraldBirmingham, Alabama
48th1975incisorSan Juan StarSan Juan, Puerto Rico
49th1976narcolepsySyracuse Herald-JournalSyracuse, New York
50th1977cambistThe Pittsburgh PressPittsburgh, Pennsylvania
51st1978deificationThe Topeka Capital-JournalTopeka, Kansas
52nd1979maculatureRocky Mountain NewsDenver, Colorado
53rd1980elucubrateRocky Mountain NewsDenver, Colorado
54th1981sarcophagusEl Paso Herald-PostEl Paso, Texas
55th1982psoriasisRocky Mountain NewsDenver, Colorado
56th1983PurimEl Paso Herald-PostEl Paso, Texas
57th1984lugeLoudoun Times-MirrorLeesburg, Virginia
58th1985milieuChicago TribuneChicago, Illinois
59th1986odontalgiaThe Patriot NewsHarrisburg, Pennsylvania
60th1987staphylococciThe Pittsburgh PressPittsburgh, Pennsylvania
61st1988elegiacalThe Sacramento BeeSacramento, California
62nd1989spoliatorRocky Mountain NewsDenver, Colorado
63rd1990fibranneThe Seattle TimesSeattle, Washington
64th1991antipyreticWisconsin State JournalClintonville, Wisconsin
65th1992lyceumThe Richmond News LeaderRichmond, Virginia
66th1993kamikazeThe Commercial AppealMemphis, Tennessee
67th1994antediluvianThe Knoxville News-SentinelKnoxville, Tennessee
68th1995xanthosisThe Commercial AppealMemphis, Tennessee
69th1996vivisepultureThe Palm Beach PostWest Palm Beach, Florida
70th1997euonymNew York Daily NewsNew York City
71st1998chiaroscuristPhillips & Phillips Stationery SuppliersKingston, Jamaica
72nd1999logorrheaThe Tampa TribuneTampa, Florida
73rd2000demarcheSt. Louis Post-DispatchSt. Louis, Missouri
74th2001succedaneumAitkin Independent AgeAitkin, Minnesota
75th2002prospicienceRocky Mountain NewsDenver, Colorado
76th2003pococuranteDallas Morning NewsDallas, Texas
77th2004autochthonousSouth Bend TribuneSouth Bend, Indiana
78th2005appoggiaturaSan Diego Union-TribuneSan Diego, California
79th2006UrspracheAsbury Park Press/Home News TribuneSpring Lake, New Jersey
80th2007serrefineContra Costa TimesWalnut Creek, California
81st2008guerdonJournal & CourierWest Lafayette, Indiana
82nd2009LaodiceanThe Olathe NewsOlathe, Kansas
83rd2010stromuhrThe Plain DealerCleveland, Ohio
84th2011cymotrichousTimes LeaderWilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
85th2012guetapensU-T San DiegoSan Diego, California
86th2013knaidelNew York Daily NewsNew York City
87th2014stichomythiaCorning Rotary ClubCorning, New York
87th2014feuilletonTexas Christian UniversityFort Worth, Texas
88th2015scherenschnitteThe Olathe NewsOlathe, Kansas
88th2015nunatakSt. Louis Post-DispatchSt. Louis, Missouri
89th2016FeldenkraisCorning Rotary ClubCorning, New York
89th2016gesellschaftHouston Public MediaAustin, Texas
90th2017marocainThe Fresno BeeFresno, California
91st2018koinoniaKarthik NemmaniScoggins Middle SchoolMcKinney, Texas
92nd2019auslautBay Area Regional Spelling BeeSan Jose, California
92nd2019erysipelasAdventure TravelHuntsville, Alabama
92nd2019bougainvilleaHoward County LibraryClarksville, Maryland
92nd2019aiguilletteRosa International Middle SchoolCherry Hill, New Jersey
92nd2019pendeloqueDallas Sports CommissionDallas, Texas
92nd2019palamaDallas Sports CommissionFlower Mound, Texas
92nd2019cernuousDiscover Lehigh ValleyWhitehouse Station, New Jersey
92nd2019odylicDallas Sports CommissionIrving, Texas
93rd2021murrayaNew Orleans Chapter of the LinksNew Orleans, Louisiana
94th2022moorhenHarini LoganThe Brauntex Performing Arts Theatre AssociationSan Antonio, Texas
95th2023psammophileDev ShahSNSB Region One BeeLargo, Florida
96th2024abseilBruhat SomaRays Baseball Foundation and Rowdies Soccer FundSt. Petersburg, Florida
97th2025éclaircissementFaizan ZakiDallas Sports CommissionAllen, Texas