Boy Scouts is dropping 'boy' from its name in an appeal to girls - and Girl Scouts is already firing back

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Boy Scouts is changing its name as it prepares to accept girls into its ranks.

• Boy Scouts dropped "boy" from its name Wednesday in a bid to attract more girls into its program.
• The newly named "Scouts BSA" will start accepting girls next year.
• Girl Scouts' CEO fired back at the name change on Wednesday, saying, "We are, and will remain, the first choice for girls and parents."
• The organization also tweeted, "Fact: Girl Scouts works. That's why we're the best leadership development organization for girls in the world."

Boy Scouts of America said Wednesday that it's changing the name of its Boy Scouts program to Scouts BSA. 

The decision to drop "boy" from its name comes as the organization prepares to start accepting girls into its program next year.

The Girl Scouts fired back shortly after the announcement with a tweet that said, "Fact: Girl Scouts works. That's why we're the best leadership development organization for girls in the world."

Girl Scouts CEO Sylvia Acevedo also responded to the move in an emailed statement to Business Insider, saying: "We are, and will remain, the first choice for girls and parents who want to provide their girls opportunities to build new skills, explore STEM and the outdoors, participate in community projects, and grow into happy, successful, civically engaged adults."

The Girl Scouts has previously criticized the decision to start accepting girls into the Boy Scouts program. 

In a letter sent to the Boy Scouts of America last year, the Girl Scouts accused the organization of seeking to "upend a paradigm that has serviced both boys and girls so well through the years by moving forward with a plan that would result in fundamentally undercutting Girl Scouts of the USA." 

Michael Surbaugh, chief scout executive of the Boy Scouts of America, said Wednesday that the name change is necessary because the organization is entering a "new era."

"It is important that all youth can see themselves in Scouting in every way possible," he said. "That is why it is important that the name for our Scouting program for older youth remain consistent with the single name approach used for the Cub Scouts."