Brooker
A name of uncertain origin, possibly referring to a brook or stream.
Name Census estimates that about 10 living Americans carry the first name Brooker. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Brooker today is around 34 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Brooker births was 1914 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Brooker. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Brooker. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
10
~ 1 in 34,275,434 Americans
Peak year
1914
5 babies that year
Average age
34
years old
2020 SSA rank
#12,312
Tracked since 1914
Popularity
Brooker: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Brooker from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 20 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1910s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Brooker 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 Brooker during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Brooker
The name Brooker is an English occupational surname derived from the Old English word 'brook', meaning a small stream or creek. It likely originated as a descriptive name for someone who lived near a brook or worked as a brook keeper, responsible for maintaining and overseeing the local waterways.
One of the earliest documented instances of the name Brooker can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of England compiled in 1086 under the orders of William the Conqueror. The name appears in various spellings, such as 'Brocor' and 'Brokere', suggesting its longstanding usage in medieval times.
While the name Brooker has no direct religious or scriptural connections, it may have been influenced by the symbolic significance of water in various belief systems, representing life, purification, and renewal. Brooker could have been a subtle reference to these symbolic associations.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Brooker. One of the earliest was John Brooker (c. 1390-1451), an English philosopher and theologian known for his work on the concept of free will. Another notable Brooker was William Brooker (1599-1672), a prominent English merchant and Member of Parliament during the 17th century.
In the 19th century, Sir Ranulf Brooker (1812-1891) was a British naval officer and explorer who played a significant role in the exploration of the Arctic region. He commanded several expeditions and was instrumental in mapping previously uncharted territories.
More recently, Jewel Brooker (1908-1995) was an American actress and singer who appeared in numerous films and television shows during the mid-20th century. She was particularly known for her roles in Western movies.
Another notable figure was Gordon Brooker (1924-2007), a Canadian artist and sculptor renowned for his abstract works and contributions to the development of modern art in Canada. His sculptures can be found in public spaces across the country.
While the name Brooker may not be as common today as it once was, it carries a rich history and connection to the natural world, reflecting the importance of water and streams in shaping human settlements and livelihoods throughout the ages.
People
Brooker + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Brooker 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
Brooker: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Brooker?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 10 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Brooker 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 34,275,434 US residents.
Is Brooker a common name?
We classify Brooker as "Very Rare". It ranks above 28.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 30 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Brooker most popular?
The single biggest year for Brooker was 1914, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Brooker is about 34 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Brooker a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Brooker in the SSA data are male. 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.
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.