Boy Scouts of America to change name to Scouting America; focus on inclusion

Girls have been part of the Boy Scouts of America for about six years, and the name of the organization is now changing to become more inclusive, dropping the word “boy.”

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Boy Scouts of America will be called Scouting America, the first change of the group’s name since it began 114 years ago, The Associated Press reported.

The name change was adopted during the BSA’s annual meeting in Florida.

“In the next 100 years we want any youth in America to feel very, very welcome to come into our programs,” the group’s president and chief executive officer, Roger Krone, said before the announcement.

Scouting America will become the official name on Feb. 8, 2025, the organization said in a news release. It will be the group’s 115th anniversary.

While Boy Scouts of America is the U.S. version of scouting, the movement is worldwide. In the U.K., it’s called The Scout Association or Scouts UK. In Mexico, it is called Scouts Mexico. In Canada, it’s called Scout Canada.

The Boy Scouts of America first allowed gay members in 2013, while the ban on gay adult leaders was lifted in 2015. Cub Scouts allowed girls in its program in 2018, while girls entered Boy Scout troops in 2019. To reflect girls being allowed to join troops, that level of scouting was changed to Scouts BSA.

Currently, there are more than 176,000 females in Boy Scouts of America, with more than 6,000 who have earned the Eagle Rank. There are more than 1 million members currently registered overall, with 477,000 volunteers nationwide, the BSA said.

There have been several challenges for the Boy Scouts of America. Membership dwindled during the pandemic.

The organization also had to declare bankruptcy after setting tens of thousands of sexual abuse allegations, some dating back decades, Reuters reported in February. Some of those who had sued the BSA were in their 70s and 80s.

The settlement cost $2.46 billion and was allowed to proceed earlier this year. BSA filed for bankruptcy in 2020 and reached a settlement that would pay victims amounts ranging from $3,500 to $2.7 million for the abuse the men said they had done to them.

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