Alternatives to Brooklyn
- Brook
Origin:
English nature nameMeaning:
"small stream"Description:
Brooke variation – or is the other way around? – that makes it more a nature name, less an eighties-style androgynous name.
- Brooke
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"small stream"Description:
Brooke has long projected an aura of sleek sophistication, and can also be seen as a stylish water name.
- Brooklynn
Origin:
Spelling variation of Brooklyn, place name from DutchMeaning:
"marshland"Description:
This extra-N variation matches up with the current preferred spellings of Oaklynn, Raelynn, and Adalynn, however it has always been outranked by popular Brooklyn. Though both spellings have trended downwards since their peak in 2011, Brooklyn maintains its place in the US Top 100, while Brooklynn lags behind in the #300s.
- Brooks
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"of the brook"Description:
A fresh and gender-neutral take on Gen Z favorite Brooke, Brooks is a stylish and sleek choice. Currently in the US Top 100 for boys, Brooks is also given to 70 girls each year. A small number at the moment, but, with Harper, Avery, Emerson and Marlowe trending upwards, that number could increase in coming years.
- Brooksie
- Bryn
Origin:
WelshMeaning:
"hill"Description:
Bryn is an up-and-coming gentle, yet substantial, Welsh name that would also be effective in the middle spot. In Wales it's a traditional boys' name, but it's far more popular for girls now in the US.
- Brynn
Origin:
Spelling variation of Bryn, WelshMeaning:
"hill"Description:
Brynn outshines the original Welsh Bryn in the popularity stakes. This simple, brisk name might be seen as a combination of Bree and Lynn, an androgynous-sounding choice that especially in this spelling is not truly unisex: Brynn, for boys, is not even in the Top 1000.
- Bronx
- Charleston
Origin:
American place-nameMeaning:
"Charles' town"Description:
Charleston is one of those baby names that may become more popular thanks to its nickname Charlie, now used about equally for boys and girls. If you want to call your daughter Charlie but believe she needs a more formal name, you might try Charleston instead of Charlotte. And Charleston is a lovely city in South Carolina.
- Chelsea
Origin:
London and New York place-nameDescription:
Chelsea is still being used, with about 400 baby girls named Chelsea in the US last year. But it was much more popular a few decades ago, peaking at Number 15 in 1992.
- Dylan
Origin:
WelshMeaning:
"son of the sea"Description:
Boys' favorite retains more of its poetic, windswept quality when used for a girl, as Robin Wright and Sean Penn did. Alyssa Milano gave her daughter Elizabella Dylan as a middle name.
- Ellington
Origin:
English place-name and surnameMeaning:
"Ellis' town"Description:
Ellington's popularity may be inspired by jazz great Duke, but the name is used slightly more often for girls today, perhaps because of its trendy El- beginning. Like a host of other El- names, from the familiar Ella to Eleanor to the more niche Elodie and Elula, Ellington carries the popular Ellie nickname.
- Fallon
Origin:
IrishMeaning:
"leader"Description:
Fallon is one of several boyish surname names introduced in the over-the-top 1980s nighttime soap Dynasty: they sounded cutting-edge at the time, but no longer.
- Franklin
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"free landholder"Description:
When Frankie meets Brooklyn, what happens? You get Franklin, a Presidential name used almost exclusively for boys up until now. But parents who want an out-of-the-box long form for popular nickname Frankie might consider this.
- Gracelyn
Origin:
Modern invented name, combination of Grace and LynMeaning:
"graceful + lake; pretty"Description:
This name is a combination of the traditional Grace and the popular suffix -lyn. Gracelyn could work as an alternative to the popular Brooklyn while also sharing the modern feel of Emberlynn and Oaklyn.
- Harlem
Origin:
Place-nameDescription:
With Brooklyn, Trenton, and Camden on the rise, Harlem can't be far behind -- it's already been picked by one celebrity, and it certainly has a strong historical and cultural identity.
- Harlyn
Origin:
Variation of Harlan, German and EnglishMeaning:
"rocky land"Description:
Modern, feminine form of the rustic, boyish name Harlan. With the popularity of Harley and Harlow in recent years, it is no surprise that Harlyn on the rise too. The name Harlyn was given to 134 baby girls in 2022.
- Ireland
Origin:
Place nameDescription:
Kim Basinger and Alec Baldwin put Ireland on the map when they chose it as a first for their daughter, saying that geographic names were a family tradition. And it seems they were a bit ahead of the curve (or trendsetting)—Ireland has been among the fastest-rising names of recent years. Other Irish place names include Shannon, Kerry, Galway, and Dublin.
- Jacklyn
- Jocelyn
Origin:
GermanMeaning:
"member of the Gauts tribe"Description:
Jocelyn has gotten new life and popularity as a result of the current passion for lyn endings. Though it was a male name in medieval times, now Jocelyn couldn't sound more softly feminine.