girl's name
Brooklyn
BROOK-lin
- Origin Dutch
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 8
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 147,075
the United States
#118
2025 births
Brooklyn is a girl's name taken from the New York borough, whose name comes from the Dutch village of Breukelen. That name most likely means "broken land" or "marshland," describing terrain rather than anything to do with brooks.
- Brooklyn is a name of Dutch origin.
- Peaked in 2011, when 7,257 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 1,419 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1972.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Brooklyn over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1970s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1970s | 152 |
| 1980s | 930 |
| 1990s | 8,627 |
| 2000s | 37,514 |
| 2010s | 61,046 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 18,786 |
What Brooklyn means
Brooklyn means broken land or marshy ground, from the Dutch place it is named for. The apparent connection to "brook" is a coincidence of English spelling — the original has nothing to do with streams.
Where Brooklyn comes from
Brooklyn takes its name from Breukelen, a town in the Netherlands, applied by Dutch settlers to their settlement in New Netherland in 1646. Breukelen is generally derived from elements meaning broken land or marsh, describing wet or uneven ground. English speakers reshaped it to Brooklyn, which made it look like a compound of brook and lyn, and reference sources frequently gloss it that way — a reinterpretation rather than an etymology. Its use as a given name is recent and American, and it belongs to the small set of place names that became first names, alongside Dakota and Savannah.
Brooklyn in use
Brooklyn has nothing to do with brooks — the Dutch original describes broken or marshy land.
How popular is Brooklyn?
In 2025, Brooklyn was given to 2,337 babies in the United States, ranking #118 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Brooklyn is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Brooklyn
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Brooklyn also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Brooklyn over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
3 nicknames for Brooklyn
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Brooklyn in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
- Other forms
- Forms we hold no single language for — some are used across several, some are simply spelled differently.
- Brooklynn Brooklynne
Sibling names for Brooklyn
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Brooklyn — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Brooklyn
What does the name Brooklyn mean?
It most likely means "broken land" or "marshland," from the Dutch village of Breukelen.
Is Brooklyn related to the word brook?
No. The resemblance comes from English reshaping the Dutch name.
Where does Brooklyn come from?
Dutch settlers named their New Netherland settlement after Breukelen in the Netherlands.
How popular is the name Brooklyn?
In 2025, Brooklyn was given to 2,337 babies in the United States, ranking #118 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Is Brooklyn a girl's or a boy's name?
Brooklyn is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Brooklyn?
Brooklyn has 2 syllables.
When was Brooklyn most popular?
Brooklyn peaked in 2011, when 7,257 babies were given the name. It has been falling over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Brooklyn?
Brooklyn is usually shortened to Brook, Lyn and Brooke.
Is Brooklyn a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Brooklyn currently ranks #118 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.