Etymology & Historical Origin of the Baby Name Brooks

Brooks is derived from an old English surname meaning “dweller by the brook”. The name originates from the Olde English “bróc” – the word for ‘brook’ or ‘stream.’ The surname derived from a place name in medieval times to indicate someone who lived near a brook or a stream. The surname is also found among English-speaking Ashkenazi Jews, deriving from the male Hebrew given name Boruch, meaning ‘blessed’ (consider Mel Brooks the Jewish filmmaker). As a given name, Brooks is generally considered the masculine version of this surname, while Brooke is commonly used for females.

All About the Baby Name – Brooks

Personality

OF THE BOY NAME BROOKS

The number Eight personality has everything to do with power, wealth and abundance. Somehow, this personality has been blessed on the material plane, but their authoritative and problem-solving traits provide evidence that their good fortunes are not just the luck of the lottery. They are well earned. This is the personality of CEOs and high-ranking military personnel. Eights are intensely active, hard-driving individuals. Success is only meaningful to them after a job well-done.  They are remarkable in their ability to see the larger picture right down to the smallest details, and organize a strategy around success. They then have the ability to direct a group around them toward any goal, and realize individual potential to get the most out of their team.

Popularity

OF THE BOY NAME BROOKS

Brooks has been on the U.S. male naming charts since the late 19th century. While the name has remained on the charts consistently for well over 100 years, it has never experienced anything beyond light-moderate usage. The name experienced some popularity in the 1980s, but it’s right now that Brooks is seeing his peak historical success. The name has a rather lofty, aristocratic sensibility. It also has a 1980s-style preppy quality but without sounding as high and mighty as Sebastian or Maximilian. Brooks is saved by his simple one-syllable sound and unpretentious etymology. The name has never been fashionable, which makes it original and different (although familiar). The superstar country musician Garth Brooks might have some influence on the increased popularity of this name; it’s hard to say. Brooks is not exactly the most masculine sounding name. It’s more genteel and refined.

Quick Facts

ON BROOKS

GENDER:

Boy

ORIGIN:

English

NUMBER OF SYLLABLES:

1

RANKING POPULARITY:

301

PRONUNCIATION:

BROOKS

SIMPLE MEANING:

Dweller by the brook, stream

Characteristics

OF BROOKS

Authoritative

Powerful

Tough

Tenacious

Wealthy

Problem-solver

Achiever

Cultural References to the Baby Name – Brooks

Literary Characters

OF THE BABY NAME BROOKS

We cannot find any significant literary characters by the name of Brooks

Childrens Books

ON THE BABY NAME BROOKS

We cannot find any childrens books with the first name Brooks


Popular Songs

ON BROOKS

Brooks Was Here
a song by Fall River

Famous People

NAMED BROOKS

Brooks Robinson (baseball player)
Brooks Adams (historian)
Brooks Atkinson (theatre critic)
Brooks Orpik (hockey player)

Children of Famous People

NAMED BROOKS

We cannot find any children of famous people with the first name Brooks

Historic Figures

WITH THE NAME BROOKS

(Mary) Louise Brooks was an American actress in the silent era whose beautifully coiffed bobbed haircut started a trend in the twenties. Kansas born, Louise started her career as a dancer (George White’s Scandals and Ziegfeld’s Follies) and was soon spotted and signed by Paramount in 1925. After a series of successful silents, Louise walked out on Paramount over a wage dispute and went to Germany, where she made her most famous film, Pandora’s Box, with Austrian filmmaker, G. W. Pabst. Upon her return to Hollywood, she was essentially black-listed, a fact that seemed not to matter to her, as she claimed to have loathed the town anyway. Louise spent the remainder of her career, until 1938, playing bit parts and acting in un-credited roles. She briefly returned to Wichita, Kansas, and finally wound up in New York, where she worked as a clerk at Saks Fifth Avenue. She enjoyed a revival in the fifties after being rediscovered by French filmmakers, and then again in the eighties, when American film historians sought her out and interviewed her in depth on film. Louise married twice, briefly, and had no children. An affair with William Paley, the founder of CBS, netted her a small stipend; she lived alone and modestly until her death, shortly after publishing her memoir, Lulu in Hollywood. Today Louise Brooks is a cult figure, looked up to by thousands who never heard of other silent stars, as an icon of reckless independence and open sexuality in an age that frowned upon anything of the sort for women.