Brooklyn

How to say it

/ˈbrʊk.lɪn/

What it means

From the Dutch Breukelen (a village in the Netherlands), 'broken land' or 'marshland.' The borough of Brooklyn in New York City (originally Dutch Breukelen) is the dominant cultural anchor; David and Victoria Beckham named their son Brooklyn (1999) and it took off.

Brooklyn comes from the Dutch Breukelen, a village in the Netherlands whose name probably means 'broken land' or 'marshland.' The Dutch West India Company named the New Amsterdam settlement after the original village in 1646; the British anglicized it to Brooklyn after taking New York from the Dutch in 1664. As a given name Brooklyn is recent and American: David and Victoria Beckham named their first son Brooklyn (born 1999, conceived during the World Cup in Brooklyn — that's their account), and the name spread rapidly thereafter. It's been in the US top 100 since 2009, predominantly feminine in US records but appears for both. Common short: Brook.

Heads-up notes

• Pop culture

  Brooklyn (the New York borough) is the dominant US association; the Beckhams' eldest son Brooklyn Beckham (1999) sparked the first-name surge.

Who's worn it

Historical figures, characters, and public faces who share the name. The cultural surface, for whatever weight you want to give it.

• Brooklyn (NYC borough) New York City's most populous borough, originally Dutch Breukelen
• Brooklyn Beckham Photographer and chef, David and Victoria Beckham's eldest

Spelling variants

• Brooklynn
• Brooklynne

Names with the same feeling

• Paisley From Paisley, Scotland
• Addison Son of Adam
• Kennedy Helmeted head
• Harper Harp player
• Kinsley King's meadow

See Brooklyn from another angle