Brooke

Where Brooke comes from

A topographic surname for someone who lived near a brook.
— Wiktionary's entry for Brooke
  • 1 syllable
  • Vowel-ended
Along the way
  1. 1934
    First appearance
    #3,449 among girls, 7 babies — the first year at least five got the name.
  2. 1940
    Mostly girls from here
    Until now more boys than girls got the name; from this year it's the other way round, and has stayed that way.
  3. 1949
    Brooke Adams born
    American actress
  4. 1965
    Brooke Shields born
    U.S. model and actress
  5. 2003
    Peak, #43
    5,971 babies named Brooke — more than any year before or since.
  6. 2012
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #102.
In the dictionary
  • A female given name transferred from the surname, fairly popular since the 1970s. it was further popularized by Brooke Shields in the 80s.
Namesakes
  • Brooke Shields · U.S. model and actress, born 1965
  • Brooke Adams · American actress, born 1949

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.