Brooklyn

What Brooklyn means

Means “wetland, marsh”

From Dutch Breukelen, from broek (“wetland, marsh”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Brooklyn” (revision 94535082), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Brooklyn?

US: Falling: down from #31 in 2015. England & Wales: Falling: down from #428 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 2011, when 7,178 girls got the name (#21 that year). First in the US records in 1972.

How common

• About 1 in 699 baby girls in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 6,845 baby girls in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 2,556 baby girls in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in ND (4.44 per 1,000 girls), DE (4.43 per 1,000 girls), MS (3.82 per 1,000 girls) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed girls born in each state.

US vs UK

Brooklyn is #118 in the US and #951 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (girls). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 98.4% of US babies named Brooklyn were girls.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Brooklynn608 US · 6 E&W
• Brecklyn27 US
• Brooklynne14 US
• Brooklin11 US
• Brooklyne10 US
• Brookyln5 US

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

If you like Brooklyn

Girls

• Dakota#295“ally”^*
• Isla#28Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #142 in 2015, #28 in 2025. Short and simple: 4 letters
• Savannah#135From the word “savannah”^*
• Reagan#248“descendant of Riagán”^*
• Lilly#252Form of Lilian, possibly meaning “lily”^*
• Sophia#5“wisdom”^*

For a brother

• Dallas#238“dweller at the house in the dale”^*
• Jackson#36Editor’s note Down from #17 in 2015 to #36 in 2025 in the US. About 1 in 260 US boys in the 2025 records
• Brayden#229Variant of Braden, meaning “descendant of Bradán”^*
• Mason#39From a surname for “a stonemason”^*
• Jayden#70Editor’s note Cooling off in the US: #20 in 2015, #70 in 2025
• Aiden#62Variant of Aidan, meaning “fire”^*

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under From a place name where there are enough, topped up with common names whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Brooklyn’s. Place names are only included if they are in the top 300. Rank is US 2025.