Brook
A name derived from a small stream or creek.
Name Census estimates that about 13,093 living Americans carry the first name Brook. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 75.8% of registrations being female. The average person named Brook today is around 37 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Brook births was 1980 (496 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Brook. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Brook with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Brook started out as a boys' name but over the decades crossed over and is now given to girls far more often.
People living today
13K
~ 1 in 26,178 Americans
Peak year
1980
496 babies that year
Average age
37
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,634
Tracked since 1915
Census
Brook in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 14,890 people with the first name Brook, which placed it at #1,904 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#1,904
National first-name rank
People counted
15K
14,890 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
4.9
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
81.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Brook
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Brook is White at 81.7%. The next largest groups are Black (7.3%) and Hispanic (5.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Brook described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Brook at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White81.7% · 12,168
- Black or African American7.3% · 1,087
- Hispanic or Latino5.0% · 748
- Two or more races4.0% · 592
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 160
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 135
Gender
Gender distribution for Brook
Brook is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 13,973 total registrations, 3,376 (24.2%) were male and 10,597 (75.8%) were female.
Brook as a male name
- Ranked #6,206 in 2024
- 14 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1961 (139 births)
Brook as a female name
- Ranked #5,634 in 2024
- 22 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1980 (405 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Brook on both sides of the split. Of the 14,890 people counted with this name, 3,074 were male (20.6%) and 11,816 were female (79.4%).
Popularity
Brook: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Brook from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 3,428 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Brook by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Brook during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Brooks live
The SSA's state-level files cover 41 states and territories. California, Texas, Ohio recorded the most babies named Brook, while South Dakota, Massachusetts, Montana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 199 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Brook
Brook is an English name derived from the Old English word "broc," which means a small stream or brook. It is believed to have originated as a surname given to people who lived near a brook or a stream. The earliest recorded use of the name Brook dates back to the 13th century.
The name Brook has its roots in the Germanic languages, with similar words found in Old Norse, Old Saxon, and Old High German. In Old Norse, the word "brukka" meant a brook or a stream, while in Old Saxon, it was "broc," and in Old High German, it was "bruoh."
One of the earliest known references to the name Brook can be found in the Domesday Book, a manuscript record of the great survey of England completed in 1086 AD. The name is mentioned in various entries, indicating that it was in use as a surname during the Norman Conquest.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Brook. One of the earliest was Sir David Brook (c. 1275-1326), an English knight and landowner who served under King Edward II. Another notable figure was Sir John Brook (c. 1430-1513), an English soldier and courtier who fought in the Wars of the Roses.
In the 16th century, the name gained prominence with the English philosopher and statesman Sir Robert Brook (1537-1598), who served as a Member of Parliament and was involved in the translation of the Bible into English.
During the 17th century, the name was associated with the English clergyman and author Thomas Brook (1608-1680), known for his religious writings and sermons. Another noteworthy individual from this period was the English naturalist and explorer John Brook (1631-1691), who explored and documented the natural history of New England.
In the 18th century, the name was carried by the English poet and playwright Henry Brook (1705-1763), known for his satirical works and collaborations with writers like Alexander Pope.
While the name Brook has been used predominantly as a masculine name throughout history, it has also been given to females, particularly in more recent times. However, the historical records and references mainly focus on its use as a male name.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Brook
People
Brook + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Brook as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with B
Other first names starting with B with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Brook: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Brook?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 13,093 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Brook going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 26,178 US residents.
Is Brook a common name?
We classify Brook as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 13,973 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Brook most popular?
The single biggest year for Brook was 1980, when 496 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Brook is about 37 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Brook in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 14,890 people with the name Brook, or 4.93 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #1,904 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Brook in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Brook?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Brook on both sides of the split. Of the 14,890 people counted with this name, 3,074 were male (20.6%) and 11,816 were female (79.4%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Brook?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Brook is White at 81.7%. The next largest groups are Black (7.3%) and Hispanic (5.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Brook most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Brook in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.7% (12,168 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Brook in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Brook a female name?
Yes, 75.8% of people registered as Brook in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Brook still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Brook in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Brook can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are called Brook?
You can see how many people share the name Brook on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.