Brooklyn
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Meaning
the New York borough, originally Dutch Breukelen, a village name from the old country; American parents heard Brook and the -lyn ending of Lynn inside it and made it a girls' name in the 1990s. Place name, blend, and hometown tribute at once
The story
Brooklyn started as Breukelen, a village in the Netherlands whose name Dutch settlers carried across the Atlantic and pinned to a corner of New Amsterdam; the borough kept it long after the Dutch were gone. American parents eventually heard something else inside it: the nature name Brook, the familiar -lyn ending of Lynn, and a hometown, all at once. As a girls' name it surfaced in US records only in the 1990s, climbed sharply through the 2000s, and peaked in the 2010s. David and Victoria Beckham famously chose it for their son in 1999, and while their Brooklyn was a boy, the publicity landed just as the American girls' climb was steepening; the timing is suggestive, if nothing more. The curve has eased in the 2020s, but the name keeps its unusual triple identity: place name, sound blend, and borough-sized tribute in eight letters.
How popular is Brooklyn around the world?
In the United States, 18,786 babies were named Brooklyn between 2020 and 2025. In South Australia, 16 girls were registered as Brooklyn in 2017.
Brooklyn is on the official records of the United States, South Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Ireland, England and Wales, France, Austria and Spain.
United States
1 in 1,200
In the United States, 18,786 babies were named Brooklyn between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Brooklyn peaked in the 2010s. Brooklyn went to 6,400 US babies in 2015 and 2,337 in 2025, 37% of the earlier figure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
South Australia
1 in 8002017
In South Australia, 16 girls were registered as Brooklyn in 2017.
In South Australia, 7 boys were registered as Brooklyn in 2017.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
New Zealand
1 in 1,300
In New Zealand, 25 girls named Brooklyn were registered in 2025.
In New Zealand, 18 boys named Brooklyn were registered in 2025.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Canada
1 in 1,700
In Canada, 204 girls named Brooklyn were born in 2024, the 130th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
Ireland
1 in 6,800
In Ireland, 5 boys named Brooklyn were born in 2025, the 577th most common name among boys that year.
In Ireland, 3 girls named Brooklyn were born in 2025, the 885th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
England and Wales
1 in 7,100
In England and Wales, 46 boys named Brooklyn were born in 2025, the 745th most common name among boys that year.
In England and Wales, 37 girls named Brooklyn were born in 2025, the 951st most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
France
1 in 64,000
In France, about 10 girls named Brooklyn were born in 2025, ranked 3,056th among girls that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
Austria
1 in 76,000
In Austria, 1 boy named Brooklyn was born in 2025, ranked 1,842nd among boys that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Spain
1 in 880,000
In Spain, 51 residents are named Brooklyn, ranked 14,217th among men, with a mean age of 10.2 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Mexico City City
last on record 2020
Brooklyn is not on the 2022 record for Mexico City, where small counts are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Scotland
last on record 2023
Brooklyn is not on the 2024 record for Scotland, where spellings under 3 in total are suppressed at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
Not on the record in Argentina, Puerto Rico and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Brooklyn
Most people given the name Brooklyn in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
Names like Brooklyn · Names that go with Brooklyn · Middle names for Brooklyn · Climbers and fallers
The Brooklyn deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Brooklyn truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Brooklyn fits with your family’s names and surname.
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