2019

The 92nd Scripps National Spelling Bee took place on May 30th, 2019. It was held at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland, and 567 spellers participated.

This year, a massive record was set for number of spellers competing in the National Competition — 562! For the first time, eight spellers were declared co-champions after proving themselves unstoppable against the dictionary. They are known as the Octochamps.

Learn more

About the 92nd Bee

Champion

Rishik Gandhasri

San Jose, California

Rishik Gandhasri, age 14, sponsored by the Bay Area Regional Spelling Bee, won the $50,000 prize by correctly spelling the word “auslaut.”

 

Winning Word

auslaut(n)

AUS-laut

The final sound in a word or syllable.

Rishik Gandhasri, 14, from San Jose, California, correctly spelled “auslaut,” a German noun meaning the final sound in a word or syllable. Its phonetic specificity and foreign etymology made it a precise and difficult word to master.

This word is from Latin.

Champion

Erin Howard

Huntsville, Alabama

Erin Howard, age 12, sponsored by Adventure Travel, won the $50,000 prize by correctly spelling the word “erysipelas.”

 

Winning Word

erysipelas(n)

er-uh-SIP-uh-lus

an acute febrile disease that is associated with intense local inflammation of the skin and is caused by a hemolytic streptococcus.

This word is from Greek.

Champion

Abhijay Kodali

Flower Mound, Texas

Abhijay Kodali, age 13, sponsored by the Dallas Sports Commission, won the $50,000 prize by correctly spelling the word “palama.”

 

Winning Word

palama(n)

PAL-uh-muh

the webbing on the feet of aquatic birds.

Abhijay Kodali, 13, from Flower Mound, Texas, spelled “palama,” a Greek-to-Latin-derived noun meaning the webbing on the feet of aquatic birds. Its zoological origin and limited use added to the challenge.

This word is from an originally Greek word that was taken into Latin before coming to English.

Champion

Shruthika Padhy

Cherry Hill, New Jersey

Shruthika Padhy, age 13, sponsored by Rosa International Middle School, won the $50,000 prize by correctly spelling the word “aiguillette.”

 

Winning Word

aiguillette(n)

ay-gwih-LET

a shoulder cord worn by a military aide to the president of the United States and to high-ranking officers.

Shruthika Padhy, 13, from Cherry Hill, New Jersey, spelled “aiguillette,” a French noun referring to a decorative shoulder cord worn by military aides and officials. Its foreign spelling and ceremonial context posed a serious challenge.

This word is from a Latin-derived French word.

Champion

Rohan Raja

Dallas, Texas

Rohan Raja, age 13, sponsored by the Dallas Sports Commission, won the $50,000 prize by correctly spelling the word “odylic.”

 

Winning Word

odylic(a)

oh-DIH-lik

of or relating to a force or natural power thought by some to reside in certain individuals and things and to underlie hypnotism, magnetism, an

Rohan Raja, 13, also from Dallas, Texas, correctly spelled “odylic,” a word formed from German, Greek, and English elements, meaning relating to a hypothetical natural force once linked to hypnotism and magnetism. Its historical and esoteric nature made it particularly difficult.

This word is from a German part plus a Greek part plus an English combining form.

Champion

Christopher Serrao

Whitehouse Station, New Jersey

Christopher Serrao, age 13, sponsored by Discover Lehigh Valley, won the $50,000 prize by correctly spelling the word “cernuous.”

 

Winning Word

cernuous(a)

SURN-yuh-wus

inclining, nodding, or drooping — used of a plant.

Christopher Serrao, 13, from Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, spelled “cernuous,” a Latin-derived adjective meaning drooping or nodding, typically used in botanical contexts. Its uncommon usage and classical roots added to the complexity.

This word consists of two German elements.

Champion

Sohum Sukhatankar

Dallas, Texas

Sohum Sukhatankar, age 13, sponsored by the Dallas Sports Commission, won the $50,000 prize by correctly spelling the word “pendeloque.”

 

Winning Word

pendeloque(n)

pahn-duh-LAHK

a usually pear-shaped glass pendant used for ornamenting a lamp or chandelier.

Sohum Sukhatankar, 13, from Dallas, Texas, won with “pendeloque,” a French noun referring to a pear-shaped glass pendant used in chandeliers or ornamental lighting. The word’s French spelling and decorative context required careful attention.

This word was formed in French from a Latin-derived French word plus another French word.

Champion

Saketh Sundar

Clarksville, Maryland

Saketh Sundar, age 13, sponsored by Howard County Library, won the $50,000 prize by correctly spelling the word “bougainvillea.”

 

Winning Word

bougainvillea(n)

boo-gun-VIL-yuh

a vine of a small genus of ornamental tropical American woody vines with brilliant red or purple floral bracts.

Saketh Sundar, 13, from Clarksville, Maryland, conquered “bougainvillea,” a Latinized French noun for a tropical ornamental vine known for vibrant floral bracts. The word’s botanical context and complex spelling made it especially tricky.

This word was formed in Latin from a French name.

Location

Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center

at the Maryland Ballroom

OFFICIALS

Directors

Paige P. Kimble

Judges

  • Mary Brooks
  • Blake Giddens
  • George Thampy
  • Barrie Trinkle
  • Kristin Hawkins
  • Sameer Mishra

Pronouncers

  • Dr. Jacques Bailly
  • Dr. Brian Sietsema
  • Dr. Kevin Moch

SPELLER ROSTER

  • John Abbott
  • Shireen Abdolmohammadi
  • Nidhi Achanta
  • Honey Advani
  • Misha Agrawal
  • Gabriella Agunanne
  • Kyu-Carlo Alegre
  • Abey Alex
  • Cal Alexander
  • Daniel Alexis
  • Stacy Alexis
  • Dean Alkhairy
  • Gavin Anderson
  • Rhonoya Anderson
  • Lorena Andrade
  • Sebastian Arias-Obando
  • Sarvesh Arivarasu
  • Brayden Armes
  • Camden Armstrong
  • Michael Atwell
  • Isabelle Aujla
  • Ian Austin
  • Zaila Avant-garde
  • Taten Ayers
  • Sehej Bajwa
  • Ananya Balachander
  • Akshita Balaji
  • Trisha Balakrishnan
  • Atman Balakrishnan
  • Cecilia Balog
  • Nealin Banerjee
  • Aritra Banerjee
  • Kayla Barnes
  • Heidi Bauer
  • Katherine Bautista
  • Cianna Bazemore
  • Sohan Bendre
  • Kolbe Berend
  • Diego Bermudez
  • Annabelle Besonen
  • Omkar Bharath
  • Ishya Bhavsar
  • Saida Bidiwala
  • Abigail Bierman
  • Pritikaa Biswas
  • Patricia Block-Sheehan
  • Ananya Bommineni
  • Isabella Dia Bonsu
  • Lucas Bottorff
  • Layla Bouber
  • Blake Bouwman
  • Hudson Brenner
  • Bella Brown
  • Sophia Brown
  • Joshua Brown
  • Bryson Browning
  • Morgan Bumgardner
  • Alyssa Burgos
  • Natalie Burnett
  • Dorothy Maria Burton
  • Hannah Campbell
  • Henry Campbell
  • Leilani Campos
  • Taulant Cara
  • Neila Nezryn Carias
  • Kampton Carter
  • Jordan Carter
  • Sebastian Castilla
  • Hannah Cere
  • Megan Cereno
  • Shreyas Chakravarty
  • Alisha Chakravarty
  • Pranav Chandar
  • Neil Chandran
  • Aaron Chang
  • Agatha Chang
  • Sharanya Chatterjee
  • Joshua Chelliah
  • Benjamin Chen
  • Jiming Chen Jr.
  • Jason Cheng
  • Cody Cheng
  • Teresa Cherian
  • Thomas Cherry
  • Saroj Chilakuri
  • Vikrant Chintanaboina
  • Roderick Chittem
  • Srikar Chittemsetty
  • Pavani Chittemsetty
  • Emeline Chopin
  • Nicole Chowdhury
  • Maria Ciobanu
  • Anna Cloonan
  • Olivia Coleman
  • Annie Condon
  • Adam Connors
  • Anson Cook
  • Arcadia Corn
  • Matthew Cosentine
  • Noah Couch
  • Ryan Crawford
  • Braydon Crowder
  • Mia Cuevas
  • Arushi Cumer
  • Adonis Cusu
  • Nicholas D’Sa
  • Malcolm D’Souza
  • Josiah Carter Daily
  • Rishi Damarla
  • Kwabena Darko-Asare
  • Neil Dave
  • John David
  • David De Coursy
  • Jordi De Jong
  • Richard Deng
  • Raghav Dhandi
  • Prithvi Dixit
  • Siri Doddapaneni
  • Tanish Doshi
  • Darian Douglas
  • James Dover
  • Devika Dua
  • Matthew Dufour
  • Alice Dunning
  • Marin Eckerson
  • Benjamin Edmunds
  • Reagan Edson
  • Aaron Ehsan
  • Pranav Elavarthi
  • Isaac Elliott
  • Ahilan Eraniyan
  • Sky Estrada
  • Alyssa Evans
  • William Farrell III
  • Jaden Fellows
  • Charles Fennell
  • Jasmine Fernandez
  • Riker Fesperman
  • Mazie Finch
  • Chris Fleig
  • Grant Flora
  • Kamari Floyd
  • Trinity Foster
  • Johanna Foulk
  • Calvin Franke
  • Sarah Fuccello
  • Sahana Gade
  • Morgan Gagnon
  • Ashrita Gandhari
  • Rishik Gandhasri
  • Amulya Ganta
  • Chloe Garvin
  • Samantha Gass
  • Ananya Gautam
  • Sankalp Gautam
  • Ethan George
  • Robert Gerloff
  • Colette Giezentanner
  • Jenna Giles
  • Vikram Goddla
  • Marielle Gorlach
  • Harini Gottumukkala
  • Emily Gouger
  • Immanuel Goveas
  • Dhruv Grandhe
  • Arjun Grandhe
  • Connor Greally
  • Jael Green
  • Max Greenspan
  • Sophia Grierson
  • Louise Julia Grimaldo
  • Ayle Guevarra
  • Christopher Gugleta
  • Anika Gundlapalli
  • Lauren Guo
  • Ethan Haeri
  • Darius Haft
  • Rachel Hamilton
  • Anna Hammer
  • Thomas Hamrick
  • Harrison Hanley
  • Sonika Harish
  • Clara Harmon
  • Malachi Harrison
  • Hawa-Larai Harruna
  • Srivarun Hathwar
  • Kelly Haven
  • Janzen Haynes
  • Thomas Hays
  • Riya Hegde
  • Sheridan Hennessy
  • Carter Herron
  • Lily Hersch
  • Raza Hidayath
  • Caitlin Higuchi
  • Ava Himmelsbach
  • David Hix
  • Angelina Holm
  • Seung Min Hong
  • Seunga Hong
  • Dhruv Hosamane
  • Erin Howard
  • Tian Hu
  • Jerry Huang
  • Zekey Huang
  • Enya Hubers
  • Rena Humes
  • Jaxson Hundt
  • Evan Hunter
  • Fetin Hussain
  • Elliott Husseman
  • Kyra Hutchison
  • Mark Imbing
  • Isabella Jackson
  • Tanishka Jadhav
  • Maya Jadhav
  • Triyatha Jammula
  • Pranathi Jammula
  • Rohan Jamtgaard
  • Akshaya Janakiraman
  • Ashleigh Jarrett
  • Dario Javier
  • Liz Jergensen
  • Madison Johnson
  • Will Jones
  • Joel Jose
  • Avani Joshi
  • Eliana Juarez
  • Vikram Kakaria
  • Aryan Kalluvila
  • Shomoy Kamal
  • Sukesh Kamesh
  • Akshainie Kamma
  • Simone Kaplan
  • Surya Kapu
  • Arik Karim
  • Nitya Kathiravan
  • Eesha Katta
  • Sirjana Kaur
  • Cameron Keith
  • Sarah Khoury
  • Annika Kim
  • Charlie Kim
  • Michael Kittredge
  • Neha Kodali
  • Abhijay Kodali
  • Michael Kolagani
  • Pranav Kollu
  • Arnav Kolluru
  • Brylie Koopman
  • Sanjana Kota
  • Caroline Kovacs
  • Maitri Kovuru
  • Riya Koya
  • Brody Krause
  • Vayun Krishna
  • Keerthana Krishnan
  • Soham Kulkarni
  • Storrie Kulynych-Irvin
  • Samhita Kumar
  • Zachary Kuntz
  • Arjun Kurup
  • Jack Lado
  • Dhruva Lahoti
  • Saisurya Lakkimsetti
  • Samritha Lakshmikanthan
  • Sahil Langote
  • Sofía Larrea
  • Adrian Lawrence
  • Hannah Leach
  • Sadie Leary
  • Jaeho Lee
  • Austin Leong
  • Cerelia Lesko
  • Sky Lewit
  • Leah Li
  • Helen Li
  • Eleanor Limbaugh
  • Brendan Lindsey
  • Isabel Liu
  • Alice Liu
  • Austin Loar
  • Harini Logan
  • Zachary Long
  • Sophia Lopez
  • Leann Loveland
  • Samuel Low
  • Melodie Loya
  • Megan Lynch
  • Emilia Lytle
  • Krrish Madduru
  • Bhavana Madini
  • Nachiket Magesh
  • Satvik Mahendra
  • Thevy Mak
  • Arabella Mallari
  • Aanvi Manda
  • Eshaan Mani
  • Kolton Manuel
  • Nicla Marabito
  • Aaron Marcev
  • Andrew Marcev
  • Jeremiah Markose
  • Kristina Martos
  • Cole Masterman-Smith
  • Will McCollom
  • Alecia McCulley
  • Mira McInnes
  • Caitlyn McKernan
  • Kieran McKinney
  • Jackie Meador
  • Quinn Meadows
  • Rodrigo Medinilla
  • Baileigh Meinhard
  • Aaron Mejiritski
  • Haleigh Mensinger
  • Owen Mercer
  • Jonnen Messer
  • Catherine Mew
  • Olivia Meyer
  • Jacob Mijalli
  • Emily Mike
  • Kristin Milburn
  • Simona Milev
  • Charles Millard
  • Dina Miranda
  • Dhyana Mishra
  • Aashi Mishra
  • Hannah Moddes
  • Naysa Modi
  • Maya Mollick
  • Mason Montgomery
  • Karina Montoya
  • Camille Mooney
  • Penelope Moore
  • Joseph Moran
  • Albin Mullan
  • Joseph Mullins
  • Navneeth Murali
  • Brianna Murchison
  • Helen Murphy
  • Catherine Myers
  • Chloe Na
  • Keshav Nair
  • Ganesh Nair
  • Tai Nakamura
  • Meghana Nakkanti
  • Pranav Nandakumar
  • Ariya Narayanasamy
  • Maryclare Nestor
  • Janelle Newell
  • Jenna Ng
  • Rachel Nguyen
  • Yolanda Ni
  • Katherine Nilles
  • Aryan Nindra
  • Ananth Nithin
  • Gabriel Nobleza
  • Matthew Noel
  • Zaara Noor
  • Anushka Noori
  • Owen Norwalk
  • Samuel Nystrom
  • Caroline O’Donnell
  • Ozioma Obi
  • Abigail Oblena
  • Rina Olsen
  • Braedon Olsen
  • Wyatt Opperman
  • Nathan Ostermann
  • Sophia Overstreet
  • Shruthika Padhy
  • Theodore Palmore
  • Arnav Paluri
  • Christian Ted Pamintuan
  • Rohit Paradkar
  • Chloe Park
  • Yena Park
  • Jack Parker
  • Connor Parks
  • Arav Patel
  • Deeya Patel
  • Taj Patel
  • Noah Paticoff
  • Brendan Pawlicki
  • Sydney Jo Peña
  • Guy Peretz
  • Nicholas Perry
  • Arden Peterson
  • Rohan Phanse
  • Spencer Phillips
  • Isaac Phillips
  • Rodolfo Plata
  • Caitlin Pooler
  • Fabian Powell
  • Lily Pragle
  • Anika Pundir
  • Shradha Rachamreddy
  • Mehtan Rahman
  • Rohan Raja
  • Nilla Rajan
  • Vikram Raju
  • Bharath Ram
  • Yuvan Ram
  • Navin Ramesh
  • Ranjana Ramesh
  • Aisha Randhawa
  • Benjamin Rands
  • Nithika Rangan
  • Anisha Rao
  • Srinidhi Rao
  • Robert Rasmussen III
  • Ekansh Rastogi
  • Tanya Rastogi
  • Alesya Rathinasamy
  • Annaliese Rauschenberger
  • Arya Reddyvari
  • Rachel Reese
  • Isabelle Reinecke
  • Reagan Remmers
  • Rishabh Rengarajan
  • Brian Riley Jr.
  • James Roach
  • Silvana Rocco
  • Samuel Rodríguez
  • Violetta Rohr
  • Joshua Roodhouse Hale
  • Rahul Sachdev
  • Mark Salama
  • Sophia Saleeby
  • Morgan Salvador
  • Frank Salzeider
  • Ben Samek
  • Eshaan Sanka
  • Aryan Sant
  • Maria Sargent
  • Aryanna Sarmiento
  • Maanvi Sarwadi
  • Siddharth Satish
  • Wolfgang Schaff
  • Jordan Schwartz
  • Roy Seligman
  • Miles Sellami
  • Christopher Serrao
  • Arsh Shah
  • Dev Shah
  • Armaan Sharma
  • Arjun Shetty
  • Sebastian Shields
  • Katelyn Shu
  • Nikil Shyamsunder
  • Ganga Sivanta Siddam
  • Rouida Siddiqui
  • Saloni Singh
  • Pranet Sirikonda
  • Shijay Sivakumar
  • Santino Slipkovich
  • Jeremy Slywczak
  • Payton Smidt
  • Phoebe Smith
  • Ryan Smith
  • Keller Smith
  • Tessa Snicker
  • Immanuel Soh
  • Almudena Soler
  • Jethro Adriel Solidum
  • Jason Sorin
  • John Spahr
  • Anthony Spalvieri
  • Tejas Sreedhar
  • Aberam Sriganesh
  • Manu Sripathi
  • Sia Srivastava
  • Emma Sroka
  • Gavin Starr
  • Henry Stauch
  • Olivia Strandberg
  • Maria Stuckey
  • Rishab Subramanya
  • Hephzibah Sujoe
  • Sohum Sukhatankar
  • Luke Suko
  • Saketh Sundar
  • Saran Sundar
  • Bhavya Surapaneni
  • Logan Swain
  • Eleanor Tallman
  • Jameson Tan
  • Arthur Tang
  • Sameer Tangirala
  • Maozache Taufetee
  • Matthew Taylor
  • Anish Tejomurtula
  • Madhavendra Thakur
  • Raj Thakwani
  • Neha Thawani Nanda
  • Edmund Thomas
  • Chaitra Thummala
  • Alexander Tiu
  • Andrew Toney
  • Anh Thu Tran
  • Annabelle Tran
  • Cheyenne Trujillo
  • Kyla Truong
  • Veer Tuliani
  • Henry Turner
  • Tyler Turnpaugh
  • Chinenye Ude
  • Vishnoy Vadakkancheri
  • Sharvani Vadlamani
  • Nidhi Vadlamudi
  • Ali Van Tassel
  • Abigail Vanasse
  • Amith Vasantha
  • Gabriella Velinova
  • Lakshmi Vemula
  • Varshaa Venkitesh
  • Joseph Vicente
  • Victoria Vidal
  • Joshua Villanova
  • Achuth Vinay
  • Vishal Vinjamuri
  • Hannah Visel
  • Alayna Vogel
  • Isa Vora
  • Amrita Vukoti
  • Akash Vukoti
  • Deetya Vuppala
  • Saharsh Vuppala
  • Devan Waghray
  • Alyssa Walker
  • Charlotte Walsh
  • Merry Wang
  • Tyler Want
  • Julianne Washa
  • Bre’Ann Washington
  • Kaiden Webb
  • Selena Wheeler
  • Louisiana White
  • Grant Wiebe
  • Manischa Wijayawardhana
  • Aiden Wijeyakulasuriya
  • Erik Williams
  • Kevin Williams
  • Nathaniel Wintraub
  • Evan Wolitzer
  • Daniel Wu
  • Caleb Xiao
  • Rebecca Xue
  • Sebastian Yaeger
  • Nicole Yang
  • Sarah Yee
  • Alexandra Ying
  • Emma Ymeri
  • Luke Zacharek
  • Faizan Zaki
  • Nawrah Zamir
  • Rebekah Zeigler
  • Lawrence Zhang
  • Jaden Zhang
  • Sophie Zhang
  • Pearl Zhang
  • Yifan Zhang
  • Jeff Zheng
  • Benjamin Zobian

* Winner
** Runner-Up