Brook
Brook is given to both girls and boys: 32 girls and 15 boys were given it in 2025 (#4,372 among girls’ names and #5,893 among boys’, #5,839 among all names counting both); 14,021 Americans have been recorded with it since 1915 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026). Girls have outnumbered boys among babies named Brook every year since 1972.
An estimated 13,200 Americans named Brook and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (94% of everyone recorded); the median is 36 years old and half are between 26 and 47.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Brook by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Brook mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Brook is “a female given name transferred from the surname, of modern usage, variant of Brooke.”
Also “a male given name transferred from the surname, variant of Brooks.”
As an English surname, from the noun brook.
As a north German surname, from Low German Brook (“swamp, marsh”), related to the above.
As a Dutch surname, Americanized from Broek, from broek, also related to the above.
As a Jewish and German surname, Americanized from Bruck, Bruch (from Bruch (“wetland, marsh”)).
/bɹʊk/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Brook?
#4,372 among girls’ names, 2025
Brook fell from #2,527 in 2015 to #4,372 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 39.8 to 19.9 per million.
496 babies in 1980, the peak
Brook peaked in 1980, when 496 babies were given it (405 girls, #503 among girls’ names). The 47 births of 2025 (girls and boys) are 9% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 32 | #4,372 | 15 | #5,893 |
| 2024 | 23 | #5,474 | 14 | #6,232 |
| 2023 | 34 | #4,205 | 17 | #5,491 |
| 2022 | 32 | #4,393 | 11 | #7,334 |
| 2021 | 36 | #4,031 | 17 | #5,368 |
| 2020 | 42 | #3,556 | 14 | #6,020 |
| 2019 | 51 | #3,133 | 20 | #4,825 |
| 2018 | 42 | #3,624 | 14 | #6,078 |
| 2017 | 57 | #2,909 | 14 | #6,094 |
| 2016 | 83 | #2,289 | 12 | #6,785 |
Every recorded year (95)
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 71 | #2,527 | 13 | #6,379 |
| 2014 | 62 | #2,786 | 15 | #5,766 |
| 2013 | 104 | #1,919 | 16 | #5,427 |
| 2012 | 119 | #1,735 | 18 | #5,060 |
| 2011 | 125 | #1,680 | 17 | #5,225 |
| 2010 | 114 | #1,798 | 22 | #4,379 |
| 2009 | 139 | #1,613 | 14 | #6,137 |
| 2008 | 168 | #1,417 | 19 | #4,918 |
| 2007 | 213 | #1,190 | 21 | #4,517 |
| 2006 | 195 | #1,235 | 17 | #5,099 |
| 2005 | 185 | #1,229 | 19 | #4,490 |
| 2004 | 183 | #1,215 | 22 | #4,022 |
| 2003 | 243 | #959 | 13 | #5,593 |
| 2002 | 194 | #1,093 | 18 | #4,337 |
| 2001 | 252 | #900 | 18 | #4,316 |
| 2000 | 279 | #811 | 33 | #2,742 |
| 1999 | 283 | #778 | 22 | #3,490 |
| 1998 | 342 | #675 | 25 | #3,101 |
| 1997 | 287 | #744 | 47 | #1,930 |
| 1996 | 311 | #695 | 41 | #2,072 |
| 1995 | 330 | #651 | 38 | #2,139 |
| 1994 | 345 | #635 | 49 | #1,772 |
| 1993 | 338 | #658 | 47 | #1,789 |
| 1992 | 312 | #693 | 39 | #2,002 |
| 1991 | 236 | #846 | 58 | #1,497 |
| 1990 | 225 | #868 | 53 | #1,563 |
| 1989 | 214 | #862 | 52 | #1,546 |
| 1988 | 195 | #897 | 53 | #1,446 |
| 1987 | 157 | #999 | 45 | #1,563 |
| 1986 | 151 | #1,013 | 52 | #1,364 |
| 1985 | 162 | #957 | 51 | #1,357 |
| 1984 | 173 | #875 | 58 | #1,198 |
| 1983 | 157 | #942 | 65 | #1,108 |
| 1982 | 259 | #679 | 62 | #1,164 |
| 1981 | 368 | #525 | 64 | #1,144 |
| 1980 | 405 | #503 | 91 | #938 |
| 1979 | 312 | #584 | 91 | #919 |
| 1978 | 261 | #632 | 65 | #1,080 |
| 1977 | 259 | #642 | 92 | #883 |
| 1976 | 242 | #637 | 103 | #825 |
| 1975 | 173 | #800 | 96 | #851 |
| 1974 | 162 | #825 | 95 | #825 |
| 1973 | 134 | #919 | 72 | #949 |
| 1972 | 131 | #939 | 86 | #869 |
| 1971 | 108 | #1,105 | 118 | #757 |
| 1970 | 75 | #1,390 | 112 | #779 |
| 1969 | 38 | #2,027 | 74 | #885 |
| 1968 | 53 | #1,575 | 66 | #884 |
| 1967 | 38 | #1,906 | 51 | #1,020 |
| 1966 | 55 | #1,492 | 63 | #916 |
| 1965 | 25 | #2,412 | 48 | #1,069 |
| 1964 | 26 | #2,414 | 63 | #960 |
| 1963 | 20 | #2,789 | 81 | #844 |
| 1962 | 18 | #2,933 | 85 | #822 |
| 1961 | 23 | #2,552 | 139 | #662 |
| 1960 | 12 | #3,715 | 39 | #1,251 |
| 1959 | 15 | #3,117 | 31 | #1,416 |
| 1958 | 8 | #4,550 | 15 | #2,104 |
| 1957 | 6 | #5,436 | 24 | #1,634 |
| 1956 | 14 | #3,197 | 22 | #1,682 |
| 1955 | 15 | #2,986 | 18 | #1,850 |
| 1954 | 13 | #3,175 | 14 | #2,120 |
| 1953 | 10 | #3,720 | 11 | #2,407 |
| 1952 | 9 | #3,836 | 13 | #2,162 |
| 1951 | 8 | #4,053 | 10 | #2,514 |
| 1950 | 9 | #3,691 | 10 | #2,451 |
| 1949 | 11 | #3,205 | 13 | #2,133 |
| 1948 | 7 | #4,237 | 5 | #3,736 |
| 1947 | under 5 | 12 | #2,258 | |
| 1946 | under 5 | 7 | #2,945 | |
| 1945 | under 5 | 10 | #2,267 | |
| 1944 | 7 | #3,726 | under 5 | |
| 1943 | under 5 | 8 | #2,754 | |
| 1941 | under 5 | 10 | #2,352 | |
| 1940 | under 5 | 5 | #3,507 | |
| 1939 | under 5 | 7 | #2,861 | |
| 1938 | under 5 | 6 | #3,219 | |
| 1937 | under 5 | 6 | #3,213 | |
| 1935 | under 5 | 9 | #2,551 | |
| 1932 | under 5 | 8 | #2,877 | |
| 1931 | 5 | #4,407 | under 5 | |
| 1929 | under 5 | 6 | #3,601 | |
| 1918 | under 5 | 6 | #3,779 | |
| 1916 | under 5 | 6 | #3,553 | |
| 1915 | under 5 | 5 | #3,896 |
Ranks: girls’ names and boys’ names ranked separately in each year’s SSA file; “under 5” is a year SSA did not list the name for that sex.
Is Brook a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 14,021 Americans recorded as Brook, 76% are girls and 24% boys.
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Brook: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Brook, and how old are they?
13,200 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 94% of the 14,021 Americans ever recorded as Brook. The median Brook alive today is 36 years old; half are between 26 and 47.
The 2020 Census counted 14,890 people named Brook (11,816 women and girls, 3,074 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 13,172 born in the U.S. The Census count is 13% above that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census records the name people give, which for many is the short form Brook rather than the name on their birth record, and it counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 22 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 630 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 3,500 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 4,610 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 3,620 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 855 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Brook born?
The states with the most babies named Brook are California, Texas and Ohio, with 32% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 1,303 | #3,188 | 0.8× |
| Texas | 740 | not ranked | 0.6× |
| Ohio | 597 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| Michigan | 596 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| Indiana | 383 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| Pennsylvania | 373 | not ranked | 0.6× |
| Illinois | 327 | not ranked | 0.5× |
| New York | 322 | not ranked | 0.3× |
| Florida | 315 | not ranked | 0.5× |
| Wisconsin | 267 | not ranked | 0.9× |
Where Brook is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Brook is most over-represented in Utah: since 1915 it was given 1.4 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Brook with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 3 names spelled alike, given to 274,181 babies since 1880, Brook is the third most given (5.1% of them). In 2025 it was given to 47 of their 5,984 babies (<1%), again the third most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Brook
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Brook and names like it
- Compare Brook and BrookeBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1980sBrook peaked in 1980.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Brook since 1910.
- From surnamesWiktionary’s origin for Brook: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1980The year the most babies were named Brook.
- The names of the MillennialsMost people named Brook alive today were born 1981-1996.
- Names starting with BMost given first.