What is Scout's real first name?

Scout’s real first name is Jean Louise. Her full name is Jean Louise Finch, although nearly everyone calls her by her childhood nickname, Scout.

Scout narrates To Kill a Mockingbird as an adult looking back on events from her childhood. The novel opens when she is six years old and follows several years of life in Maycomb, Alabama, during the Great Depression. Her formal name appears in more serious or ceremonial moments, helping distinguish Jean Louise from the spirited child known as Scout.

The name also matters in Go Set a Watchman, where the adult version of the character is generally called Jean Louise. That later novel grew from an earlier manuscript connected to To Kill a Mockingbird, so readers may encounter the same character under both names.

A common mix-up is assuming that Scout is her legal name. It is a nickname, while Jean Louise is her given name. Elizabeth, Mary Louise, and Sarah Louise are not names used for the character in Harper Lee’s novel.