In no particular order, the 42 semifinalists are:
- Gokul Venkatachalam (Speller 142). He tied for 10th in 2012
- Rachael Cundey (Speller 48). It's her fifth appearance. She tied for 10th in 2012.
- Syamantak Payra (Speller 242). It's his first time at the Bee.
- Sriram J. Hathwar (Speller 156) tied for 6th place in 2011, 37th place in 2009 and was in the Bee in 2008.
- Mary Geneve Skirvin (Speller 74) is at her first Bee.
- Audrey M. Bantug (Speller 24) is at her first Bee.
- Pranav Sivakumar (Speller 64) tied for 22nd in 2012 and 27th in 2011. He had a perfect score on the preliminary test
- Matthew Richard Donohue (Speller 116). It's his first appearance.
- Ryan Devanandan (Speller 154). It's his first showing.
- Katharine S. Wang (Speller 28) was at the Bee in 2012, but didn't make the semifinals.
- Shobha Dasari (Speller 241) is making her first appearance.
- Piper Wynne Winkler (Speller 69) is here for the first time.
- Grace Remmer (Speller 39) got a perfect score on the preliminary test. She tied for 22nd in 2012, finished 14th in 2011 and was 9th in 2010.
- Kuvam Nirad Shahane (Speller 125) came to the Bee in 2012, but didn't make the semifinals.
- Himanvi Kopuri (Speller 30) is here for the first time.
- Ronan Howlett (Speller 257) is here for the second time, but making his first semifinal appearance.
- Sophia Limacher (Speller 273) is here for the first time.
- Alia Abiad (Speller 58) is here for the first time.
- Amber Born (Speller 115) is returning for the fourth year. She finished 42nd in 2012.
- Anuk Dayaprema (Speller 36) is going to his first semifinal after two other appearances.
- Christopher O'Connor (Speller 5) is here for the first time.
- Isabel Cholbi (Speller 18) is making her second appearance, and going to the semifinals for the first time.
- Christal Schermeister (Speller 41) finished tied for 22nd in 2012.
- Arvind V. Mahankali (Speller 163) received a perfect score on the preliminary test. He finished third in both 2012 and 2011 and ninth in 2010.
- Emma Greenlee (Speller 129) was here in 2012, but is a semifinalist for the first time.
- Caleb Miller (Speller 97) is making his first semifinals appearance in his third Bee.
- Nikitha Chandran (Speller 44), who is making her second Bee appearance.
- Eva Kitlen (Speller 29) was here in 2012, but this is her first semifinal.
- Shayley Martin (Speller 268) was here in 2011 and 2012, but is going to the semifinals for the first time this year.
- Joseph Cusi Delamerced (Speller 190) is here for the second time, but in his first semifinal. His sister was in the Bee in 2008 and his brother tied for 12th in 2009.
- Aditya Mohankumar Rao (Speller 209), who celebrated his birthday this week, is at his first national bee.
- Vanya Shivashankar (Speller 91) finished 10th in 2012 and was at the Bee in 2010. Her sister, Kavya, was the 2009 champion.
- Chetan G. Reddy (Speller 238) is at his fourth Bee. He finished tied for 22nd in 2012 and 27th in 2011.
- Emily Keaton (Speller 93) is at her fifth Bee. She tied for 22nd in 2012, 36th in 2011 and 20th in 2010.
- Neha Seshadri (Speller 122) is at her first Bee.
- Margaret Flaherty Peterson (Speller 83) is in her first semifinals round after attending in 2010 and 2012.
- Lucas Michael Urbanski (Speller 60) was here in 2011 and 2012, but this is his first time as a semifinalist.
- Vismaya J. Kharkar (Speller 256) is here for the third time after finishing 10th in 2012.
- Hannah Michele Citsay (Speller 211) is here for the first time.
- Joseph Kirkpatrick (Speller 73) is making his first semifinal appearance after two other trips to nationals.
- Ashwin Veeramani (Speller 191) is here for the first time. His sister, Anamika, was the 2010 champion.
- Jonathan Caldwell (Speller 234) is here for the first time.