Brooklyn

Usage of Brooklyn as a given name is a recent trend. Considered androgynous (although largely used on baby girls), Brooklyn comes from a geographical place name, one of the boroughs of New York City, which Dutch settlers originally named “Breukelen” (meaning “broken land”). When one views a map of New York City and its five boroughs, one can quickly see that “broken land” says it all. Place names as given names have become particularly trendy since the 1990s (other examples currently on the U.S. female naming charts include Madison, Savannah, London – even Kimberly and Brittany are place names transferred into female given names). Brooklyn, however, is one of the most recent of these examples, and one which has taken off in popularity faster than a blink of the eye. Brooklyn is really a North American favorite (popular for baby girls only in Canada and the U.S.). For boys, the name shows up with mild success in England, thanks to the British celebrity couple (the Beckhams) who named their firstborn son Brooklyn in 1999.