The Scripps National Spelling Bee annually showcases the very best and brightest students, and this year's edition is no different. At least one student will join the 109 champions whose spelling skills have paid off in a big way.
The Scripps National Spelling Bee first took place in 1925, when nine newspapers came together to hold the event. While World War II and the COVID-19 pandemic forced the spelling bee to take some time off, the storied event is nearing its 100th edition.
MORE SPELLING BEE NEWS:
- How Spelling Bee age eligibility works, including minimum & maximum ages allowed
- Rules, number of words, rounds & how a spell-off works at Spelling Bee
- Meet Dr. Jacques Bailly, the Scripps National Spelling Bee's longtime pronouncer
- What to know about the Scripps Cup, the intricately designed Spelling Bee trophy
Here's a complete look at the past spelling bee champions and the winning words by year.
Scripps National Spelling Bee winners by year
Below is a full list of Scripps National Spelling Bee winners, including years with multiple winners.
| Year | Winner | State/Territory |
| 1925 | Frank Neuhauser | Kentucky |
| 1926 | Pauline Bell | Kentucky |
| 1927 | Dean Lucas | Ohio |
| 1928 | Betty Robinson | Indiana |
| 1929 | Virginia Hogan | Nebraska |
| 1930 | Helen Jensen | Iowa |
| 1931 | Ward Randall | Illinois |
| 1932 | Dorothy Greenwalk | Iowa |
| 1933 | Alma Roach | Ohio |
| 1934 | Sarah Wilson | Maine |
| 1935 | Clara Mohler | Ohio |
| 1936 | Jean Trowbridge | Iowa |
| 1937 | Waneeta Beckley | Kentucky |
| 1938 | Marian Richardson | Kentucky |
| 1939 | Elizabeth Ann Rice | Massachusetts |
| 1940 | Laurel Kuykendall | Tennessee |
| 1941 | Louis Edward Sissman | Michigan |
| 1942 | Richard Earnhart | Texas |
| 1946 | John McKinney | Iowa |
| 1947 | Mattie Lou Pollard | Georgia |
| 1948 | Jean Chappelear | Ohio |
| 1949 | Kim Calvin | Ohio |
| 1950 | Colquitt Dean | Georgia |
| 1950 | Diana Reynard | Ohio |
| 1951 | Irving Belz | Tennessee |
| 1952 | Doris Ann Hall | North Carolina |
| 1953 | Elizabeth Hess | Arizona |
| 1954 | William Cashore | Pennsylvania |
| 1955 | Sandra Sloss | Missouri |
| 1956 | Melody Sachko | Pennsylvania |
| 1957 | Sandra Owen | Ohio |
| 1957 | Dana Bennett | Colorado |
| 1958 | Jolitta Schlehuber | Kansas |
| 1959 | Joel Montgomery | Colorado |
| 1960 | Henry Feldman | Tennessee |
| 1961 | John Capeheart | Oklahoma |
| 1962 | Nettie Crawford | Texas |
| 1962 | Michael Day | Missouri |
| 1963 | Glen Van Slyke III | Tennessee |
| 1964 | William Kerek | Ohio |
| 1965 | Michael Kerpan Jr. | Oklahoma |
| 1966 | Robert A. Wake | Texas |
| 1967 | Jennifer Reinke | Nebraska |
| 1968 | Robert L. Walters | Kansas |
| 1969 | Susan Yoachum | Texas |
| 1970 | Libby Childress | North Carolina |
| 1971 | Jonathan Knisely | Pennsylvania |
| 1972 | Robin Kral | Texas |
| 1973 | Barrie Trinkle | Texas |
| 1974 | Julie Ann Junkin | Alabama |
| 1975 | Hugh Tosteson Garcia | Puerto Rico |
| 1976 | Tim Kneale | New York |
| 1977 | John Paola | Pennsylvania |
| 1978 | Peg McCarthy | Kansas |
| 1979 | Katie Kerwin | Colorado |
| 1980 | Jacques Bailly | Colorado |
| 1981 | Paige Pipkin | Texas |
| 1982 | Molly Dieveney | Colorado |
| 1983 | Blake Giddens | Texas |
| 1984 | Daniel Greenblatt | Virginia |
| 1985 | Balu Natarajan | Illinois |
| 1986 | Jon Pennington | Pennsylvania |
| 1987 | Stephanie Petit | Pennsylvania |
| 1988 | Rageshree Ramachandran | California |
| 1989 | Scott Isaacs | Colorado |
| 1990 | Amy Marie Dimak | Washington |
| 1991 | Joanna Lagatta | Wisconsin |
| 1992 | Amanda Goad | Virginia |
| 1993 | Geoff Hooper | Tennessee |
| 1994 | Ned G. Andrews | Tennessee |
| 1995 | Justin Tyler Carroll | Tennessee |
| 1996 | Wendy Guey | Florida |
| 1997 | Rebecca Sealfon | New York |
| 1998 | Jody-Anne Maxwell | Jamaica |
| 1999 | Nupur Lala | Florida |
| 2000 | George Abraham Thampy | Missouri |
| 2001 | Sean Conley | Minnesota |
| 2002 | Pratyush Buddiga | Colorado |
| 2003 | Sai Gunturi | Texas |
| 2004 | David Scott Pilarski Tidmarsh | Indiana |
| 2005 | Anurag Kashyap | California |
| 2006 | Katharine Close | New Jersey |
| 2007 | Evan M. O'Dorney | California |
| 2008 | Sameer Mishra | Indiana |
| 2009 | Kavya Shivashankar | Kansas |
| 2010 | Anamika Veeramani | Ohio |
| 2011 | Sukanya Roy | Pennsylvania |
| 2012 | Snigdha Nandipati | California |
| 2013 | Arvind Mahankali | New York |
| 2014 | Sriram Hathwar | New York |
| 2014 | Ansun Sujoe | Texas |
| 2015 | Gokul Venkatachalam | Missouri |
| 2015 | Vanya Shivashankar | Kansas |
| 2016 | Jairam Hathwar | New York |
| 2016 | Nihar Janga | Texas |
| 2017 | Ananya Vinay | California |
| 2018 | Karthik Nemmani | Texas |
| 2019 | Rishik Gandhasri | California |
| 2019 | Saketh Sundar | Maryland |
| 2019 | Shruthika Padhy | New Jersey |
| 2019 | Sohum Sukhatankar | Texas |
| 2019 | Erin Howard | Alabama |
| 2019 | Abhijay Kodali | Texas |
| 2019 | Christopher Serrao | Pennsylvania |
| 2019 | Rohan Raja | Texas |
| 2021 | Zaila Avant-garde | Louisiana |
| 2022 | Harini Logan | Texas |
| 2023 | Dev Shah | Florida |
| 2024 | Bruhat Soma | Florida |
Full list of Spelling Bee-winning words since 1925
Below is a list of the winning words from the Scripps National Spelling Bee since the event began in 1925.
| Year | Word |
| 1925 | Gladiolus |
| 1926 | Cerise |
| 1927 | Abrogate |
| 1928 | Knack |
| 1929 | Luxuriance |
| 1930 | Albumen |
| 1931 | Foulard |
| 1932 | Invulnerable |
| 1933 | Torsion |
| 1934 | Brethren |
| 1935 | Intelligible |
| 1936 | Interning |
| 1937 | Promiscuous |
| 1938 | Sanitarium |
| 1939 | Canonical |
| 1940 | Therapy |
| 1941 | Initials |
| 1942 | Sacrilegious |
| 1946 | Semaphore |
| 1947 | Chlorophyll |
| 1948 | Psychiatry |
| 1949 | Dulcimer |
| 1950 | Meticulosity |
| 1951 | Insouciant |
| 1952 | Vignette |
| 1953 | Soubrette |
| 1954 | Transept |
| 1955 | Crustaceology |
| 1956 | Condominium |
| 1957 | Schappe |
| 1958 | Syllepsis |
| 1959 | Catamaran |
| 1960 | Eudaemonic |
| 1961 | Smaragdine |
| 1962 | Esquamulose |
| 1963 | Equipage |
| 1964 | Sycophant |
| 1965 | Ezcema |
| 1966 | Ratoon |
| 1967 | Chihuahua |
| 1968 | Abalone |
| 1969 | Interlocutory |
| 1970 | Croissant |
| 1971 | Shalloon |
| 1972 | Macerete |
| 1973 | Vouchsafe |
| 1974 | Hydrophate |
| 1975 | Incisor |
| 1976 | Narcolepsy |
| 1977 | Cambist |
| 1978 | Defication |
| 1979 | Maculature |
| 1980 | Elucubrate |
| 1981 | Sarcophagus |
| 1982 | Psoriasis |
| 1983 | Purim |
| 1984 | Luge |
| 1985 | Milieu |
| 1986 | Odontalgia |
| 1987 | Staphylococci |
| 1988 | Elegiacal |
| 1989 | Spoliator |
| 1990 | Fibranne |
| 1991 | Antipyretic |
| 1992 | Lyceum |
| 1993 | Kamikaze |
| 1994 | Antediluvian |
| 1995 | Xanthosis |
| 1996 | Vivisepulture |
| 1997 | Euonym |
| 1998 | Chiaroscurist |
| 1999 | Logorrhea |
| 2000 | Demarche |
| 2001 | Succedaneum |
| 2002 | Prospicience |
| 2003 | Pococurante |
| 2004 | Autochthonous |
| 2005 | Appoggiatura |
| 2006 | Ursprache |
| 2007 | Serrefine |
| 2008 | Guerdon |
| 2009 | Laodicean |
| 2010 | Stromuhr |
| 2011 | Cymotrichous |
| 2012 | Guetapens |
| 2013 | Knaidel |
| 2014 | Stichomythia |
| 2014 | Fueilleton |
| 2015 | Nunatak |
| 2015 | Scherenschnitte |
| 2016 | Feldenkrais |
| 2016 | Gesellchaft |
| 2017 | Marocain |
| 2018 | Koinonia |
| 2019 | Erysipelas |
| 2019 | Auslaut |
| 2019 | Bougainvillea |
| 2019 | Aiguillette |
| 2019 | Pendeloque |
| 2019 | Palama |
| 2019 | Cernuous |
| 2019 | Odylic |
| 2021 | Murraya |
| 2022 | Moorhen |
| 2023 | Psammophile |
| 2024 | Abseil |