Two and a half million people call Brooklyn home, and in 2011, more than 7,000 baby girls were given the name. I’m guessing that none of those 7,000 girls reside in New York – or at least not in Flatbush.
The Hated Names series continues with a very popular place name. Our Baby Name of the Day is Brooklyn.
The Dutch founded Breuckelen back in the 1600s, naming it after a place in the Netherlands. More information than that is open to debate. Some connect Breuckelen to broek – marsh. Or maybe a word meaning broken land. Either way, the spelling was probably influenced by the English word brook. The settlement grew and grew, and Brooklyn has been part of New York City since 1898.
But how did Brooklyn become a girl’s name? Besides the 7,115 girls named Brooklyn, we also find:
- Nearly 2400 called Brooklynn
- Almost 200 named Brookelynn
- Nearly as many named Brookelyn
The spellings give it away: to find the secret to her success, we need to first look at Brooke.
Socialite and philanthropist Brooke Astor made her name famous – though she was born Roberta Russell. Brooke was her middle name, and Vincent Astor her third husband. She was tremendously generous with the Astor fortune, and kept the name in the spotlight in an almost entirely positive fashion through the decades. Then along came Brooke Shields, with her Calvins and her successful, scandalous movies – in which she somehow managed to still seem smart and together, unlike many a child star.
At the same time, Lynn and Lynne were wildly popular middle names for girls. No doubt that some girls were named Brooke Lynn by parents who realized the joke only afterwards.
Of course, ends-in-lyn names for girls have always had some currency, from Evelyn to Marilyn to Carolyn. Brooke entered the US Top 100 in 1987, and Brooklyn was right behind her, joining the rankings in 1990.
Other -lyns of the moment included:
- Caitlin at #50, soon to be eclipsed by more phonetic Katelyn, at #75 and Kaitlyn, at #78
- Jaclyn and Jacklyn, though the authentically French Jacqueline was more popular than her simplified sisters
Brooklyn as a name was boosted by two high profile uses:
- The Brook Lynn connection reached pop culture in 1996, when a General Hospital character was given the name. Rebellious teenager rock star wannabe Brook Lynn Ashton was supposedly named after her mother’s birthplace.
- In 1999, Posh and Becks named the first of their four starbabies Brooklyn Joseph, giving the name to a son. Apparently the new mum was in Brooklyn when she learned she was expecting.
Countless fictional and real figures keep the name in the spotlight, like actress Brooklyn Decker – born in 1987, when the name could still be called original.
Today, while the New York borough has its passionate devotees, few imagine it as a beauty spot, likely to inspire a child’s name. And that’s not really what’s happening, either. Her sound is feminine, but frills-free, making her a successor to Lauren, Allison and Erin. Few parents are wandering around Williamsburg or Park Slope with Brooklyn on their short lists – but lots of parents likely embrace her sound and don’t mind her association with a part of the world that while gritty, seems edgy, artistic, and cool, too.
New Yorkers might not like this name, but it is easy to see why she’s caught on nearly everywhere else.
I have nothing against place names as a rule, though the “more famous as a place” names aren’t my style. (Virginia, is a very established place name that doesn’t even sound like one.) Paris was a name before it was a place, though Paris Hilton made that one way downmarket.
Brooklyn, to me, sounds too cutesy and dated, even though it’s a recent hit. Brooke is a very 80s name, like Tiffany or Tawny or Stephanie, and the -lyn ending is so overused on newer appellations that it’s overwhelmed traditional names that have it, like Madeline and Caroline. (pronounced -lyn instead of -line, though I know people who have named their children Madelyn and Carolyn to ensure the LYN ending.)
Tawny? How many Tawnys did you know in the 1980s?
I know at least 3 Tawnys born in the late 70s/early 80s.
I like the name Brooklyn and I don’t know why using a place name is considered a problem by some people (my name is a place name too, after all). I understand why New Yorkers wouldn’t want to use the name but if the child doesn’t live anywhere near NYC, I can see how some parents would find the name alluring.
My late-twenties male cousin, who’s lived in Minnesota his whole life, told our family a few years ago that if he ever had a daughter, Brooklyn was at the top of his list, and made all of us promise not to use it. I, who lived in Brooklyn for three years and swore never to live there again when I moved, could only smirk.
I don’t mind the sound of Brooklyn. I like place names generally, just not ones that are overused by people for no real reason. I secretly love Bricelyn, the name of a tiny town in central Minnesota. Now, it’s been discovered–I saw a baby Bricelyn featured on the local news last year. I assume her parents must have had a connection to the town.
I have friends who put Brooklyn on their shortlist after a car trip with their beloved 7 y.o. niece. They were driving to visit family on Long Island and passed a sign for Brooklyn, and the niece piped up “That’s what you should name your baby.” They went another direction, but I always loved that story.
I actually don’t mind Brooklyn. The only thing that bothers me about the name is that it just sounds flat out dated to my ears. I’m not an anti-place name person either. I’m sure if you scoured the world over, every name in existence is a place name somewhere, so that entire argument seems moot to me. What’s more, place names aren’t a new concept. A perusal of British Baby Names’ birth records lists from the 1800s will tell you that much.
I also wanted to add that I understand the hesitance to use place names associated with bad places. On boards you will see me advise against names like Memphis and Atlanta. Yes, there are good aspects to both cities and Memphis and Atlanta certainly have rich histories. However, Memphis and Atlanta are two of the most dangerous cities in America. I’ve never been to Memphis, but I can tell you that the ER nurses at a certain hospital in downtown Atlanta have to wear bulletproof vests as part of their uniforms. Is that the type of place you want to name your child after? I think not…
I don’t think one rough neighborhood disqualifies a place name from use … but then, I’ve lived most of my adult life in urban areas, many of which have reputations for being less than genteel. It is a funny puzzle, though. If you’re from Atlanta, you probably wouldn’t use the name. But if you’re not from Atlanta, you’ll be asked if you are every time you introduce your daughter …
I looked at the NYC Health Dept’s Vital Statistics website – https://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/vs/vs.shtml – and in 2010 there were actually 24 girls named Brooklyn in the city, making it #138 for girls’ names. I couldn’t find any of the variant spellings listed.
Maybe it was an ironic/hipster thing. There are a lot of hipsters in Brooklyn, and some of them have babies. 😉
Seven years ago, had my nephew been a niece, my sister was debating between Maya Bliss and Brookelynn Susannah. I pushed for Maya, big time. Brookelynn (obviously) was Brooke and Lynn smooshed together for her. She’d loved the name Brooke for decades, and added the Lynn in honor of our mother. To put it mildly, I am not a fan of Brooklyn and its many spellings for either gender.
In 2000, when I was living in Charleston, SC, my husband (then fianc̩) and I got a dog and named her Brooklyn. Why? Because its my hometown, and we thought it a clever, cute idea for a pet. (Our second dog is Annapolis РAnnie Рnamed for the town he went to college in.)
In 2001, I was telling a girl about my dog, an she said, “Ooooh, That’s what I want to name my daughter.” “No, no, no,” I responded, “I said my DOG is Brooklyn. It’s not a people name.” Brooklynn Eliz@beth was born 2004ish. Yep.
I can hear the pretty sound. I get it. I do love the name Brooke. But it does seem like folks are adding -lyn to names almost carelessly these days.
I’ve seen
Ashlyn – debatably related to Aisling
Gracelyn
Dannielynn
Kaylynn
Jaelynn
Kallen (pronounce somehow like Kaylyn)
So Brooklyn seems to fit into that club. “Hmm, Brooke is pretty. Let’s just tack -lynn on there. Yes, that’s better.”
Being in Brooklyn with my dog is sometimes embarrassing. I always make sure to announce my native/non-residential status when people “meet” her. If I had a daughter named Brooklyn, I might never go home at all though now that it is quite an accepted people name, I can see it. In 2004ish when I realized it was becoming popular, I still couldn’t see it. It was still weird, a place name or a pet name. But now, I can see former Brooklynites using it as an homage, or maybe big time Dodgers fans. 😉
Still , to me, the name evokes images of home. I can’t imagine what others hear. Does Brooklyn still have the bad rap of tough guys? Or do people think of wide, tree lined, pretty Park Slope streets? I grew up near Sheepshead Bay. The real Brooklyn, not the neighborhood transplants move to.
This one, being so tied to my dog, whom I love enormously, and my frst home, is off the list for me.
Id be more willing to give the benefit of the doubt for
Ashlyn. I love the look of Aislinn but fh cannot get around the pronunciation, so if we ever go for it she will have to be phonetic. Ashling, or something. And for Kallen, I know a 20-something Kallan which gives it a bit more cred. That, and my initial snooping finds it has a decent history of use.
The first Madison I met was a dog (her owners were from Wisconsin). When people starting using it as a name, I had the same sort of “no, no, no” reaction. I now have a doggie niece and a kiddo niece both named Sadie.
Add Adelyn to that club. My SIL is considering it (actually, Adelynn) but I am using every opportunity to try to convince her that Adeline is a thousand times nicer!
Somehow or other this name already sounds dated to me. I think it’s because it seems like such an easy, trendy choice that’s very definitely tied to a certain time. It’s like Brittany was an “easy” option in the ’80s, Brooklyn is an easy option today. It’s not surprising, it isn’t tied to a historical figure, it’s feminine without being overly girly, and it’s linked to a placename. I don’t hate it, I just find it boring and not particularly attractive. Many, on the other hand, obviously do find the name attractive. It’s a good thing the world is made up of different tastes!
I should have said, historical or literary figure.
I think of Brooklyn as being the younger sister or cousin of Brittany. It’s all 1990s to me.
I think Brooklyn is more likely to be Brittany’s daughter.
Brooklyn is a PLACENAME, not a childs name.
And at least they are not named Flatbush! How awful would that be. Worse than Park Slope.
It’s not just New Yorkers who don’t like it, believe me.