Brecklyn
Of English origin, a feminine name meaning "brook from the glen".
Name Census estimates that about 733 living Americans carry the first name Brecklyn. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Brecklyn today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Brecklyn births was 2015 (52 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Brecklyn. 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.
People living today
733
~ 1 in 467,605 Americans
Peak year
2015
52 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,282
Tracked since 1993
Census
Brecklyn in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 549 people with the first name Brecklyn, which placed it at #19,324 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
#19,324
National first-name rank
People counted
549
549 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
89.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Brecklyn
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Brecklyn is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.6%) and Hispanic (3.6%). 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 Brecklyn 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 Brecklyn at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.8% · 493
- Two or more races4.6% · 25
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 20
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 7
- Black or African American0.5% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 1
Popularity
Brecklyn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Brecklyn from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 401 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Brecklyn remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Brecklyn 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 Brecklyn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Brecklyns live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. Texas, Utah, Kansas recorded the most babies named Brecklyn, while Illinois, Georgia, Missouri recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 27 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Brecklyn
The name Brecklyn is a relatively modern invention, with no clear historical roots or derivations from ancient languages or cultures. It appears to be a combination of the English word "breck," meaning a small stream or brook, and the suffix "-lyn," which is commonly used in English given names to add a feminine touch.
There are no known historical references or recordings of the name Brecklyn in ancient texts, religious scriptures, or historical records. The earliest known examples of the name's usage are from the late 20th century, likely influenced by the trend of creating unique and unconventional names for children.
While the name Brecklyn itself does not have a long history, there are a few notable individuals who have borne this name in recent times. One such person is Brecklyn Payne, an American actress and model known for her roles in television shows like "The Neighborhood" and "Mixed-ish." Another is Brecklyn Schlicht, a former American college basketball player who played for the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Beyond these contemporary figures, it is difficult to find any individuals of historical significance who have carried the name Brecklyn. This is likely due to the name's modern origin and relatively recent popularity.
Given its lack of a deep historical background, the name Brecklyn seems to be a product of the modern trend of creating unique and creative names for children. While it may not have the rich heritage of many traditional names, it reflects the individualistic and imaginative spirit of contemporary naming practices.
People
Brecklyn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Brecklyn 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
Brecklyn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Brecklyn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 733 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Brecklyn 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 467,605 US residents.
Is Brecklyn a common name?
We classify Brecklyn as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 740 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Brecklyn most popular?
The single biggest year for Brecklyn was 2015, when 52 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Brecklyn is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Brecklyn in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 549 people with the name Brecklyn, or 0.18 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #19,324 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 Brecklyn 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 Brecklyn?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Brecklyn leans strongly female. 534 people counted with this name were female (98.3%), compared with 9 male bearers (1.7%). 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 Brecklyn?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Brecklyn is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.6%) and Hispanic (3.6%). 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 Brecklyn most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Brecklyn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.8% (493 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 Brecklyn in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Brecklyn a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Brecklyn 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 Brecklyn still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Brecklyn 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 Brecklyn 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 common is the name Brecklyn?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.