The Brook surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 4,607 people carried this name — #7,240 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 64,100 people counted. That is up 3% from 4,461 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Brook surname

A habitational surname from Middle English for someone living by a brook.

As an English surname, from the noun brook.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Brook» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a local name, from where the family lived: ‘at the brook’.

An early record he cites: Richard atte-Brook, vicar of Horseford, Norfolk, 1419 — History of Norfolk (Blomefield and Parkin).

His entry covers Brook, Brooke, Brookes and Brooks.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 138 · public domain.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

27 people named Brook live in Switzerland.

They live in 4 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Zurich 15
Valais 5
Ticino 4
Basel-Landschaft 3

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

In Argentina’s national register

At least 25 people named Brook live in Argentina.

RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Buenos Aires Province 25

RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.

In the Nordic population registers

28 people named Brook is counted in Sweden.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 28

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Brook was found among the farmers of 9 counties.

It was most frequent in Yorkshire, West Riding: 38 in every 10,000 farmers there — about 1 in 263. Guppy counted the farmers listed in each county’s directory and recorded a name only where it reached about 7 in every 10,000; where it does not appear, it was rarer than that, not absent. His list gives one count for the spellings Brook and Brooke.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Per 10,000 farmers, by county

Yorkshire, West Riding 38
Sussex 21
Suffolk 18
Worcestershire 18
Hampshire 17
Nottinghamshire 16
Devon 11
Norfolk 11

And 1 more county.

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), alphabetical list of English and Welsh names — public domain · farmers in Kelly’s Post Office Directories of the 1880s, per 10,000 farmers in each county.

In print

Brook in American newspapers,
1883–1922.

Newspaper page from The Iowa Plain Dealer carrying the name Brook
The Iowa Plain Dealer 1883-09-13
Newspaper page from Albuquerque Morning Journal carrying the name Brook
Albuquerque Morning Journal 1921-10-21
Newspaper page from Albuquerque Morning Journal carrying the name Brook
Albuquerque Morning Journal 1922-09-21

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 57,348 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Brook in Australian newspapers,
1810s–2000s.

63,625 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Brook. The most, 10,276, date from the 1930s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in South Australia, at 1.8 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 19,400
South Australia 13,870
Queensland 11,751
Victoria 11,585
Western Australia 3,597
Tasmania 3,049
ACT (Canberra) 225
Northern Territory 30

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Brook.

Who carried it

People named Brook,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Mary Brook
    Mary Brook 1726–1782 · writer
  • Benjamin Brook
    Benjamin Brook 1776–1848 · historian
  • Benjamin Brook
    Benjamin Brook 1776–1848 · historian
  • Charlotte Brook d. 1924
  • Sarah Ann Brook d. 2012
  • Mana Euphemia Ross Eyre d. 1904

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Brook,
in the records of 8 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States1,138 records

1,138 records of the Brook name in the United States
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 392
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 331
  • Other U.S. records 415
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Billy J. Brook

    Born 1926 in Kentucky. Enlisted 1945 at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, from Nueces County, Texas. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1997, buried at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, Texas.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Wilhelm Brook

    Arrived at New York in 1862 aboard the Shakespeare from Bremen, aged 26; joiner. From Prussia, Germany; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. A U.S. Army record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864
    Example: U.S. burial record, 1864
    Burial record Kenneth Raymond Brook

    U.S. Air Force veteran. Born 1960, died 1999; buried at San Joaquin Valley National Cemetery, California.

    U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)

Showing 3 of 1,138 records for Brook in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864, U.S. National Archives (public domain).

Australia1,116 records

1,116 records of the Brook name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 693
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 168
  • Other Australian records 255
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Stephen Brook

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Ocean, arriving 1818; ticket of leave 1831. Native of Mr.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Agnes Brook

    Arrived in Victoria in 1858 aboard the Harmonides, aged 9; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Henry H. Brook

    Clerk of Surrey Hills, Victoria; died 1917.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 1,116 records for Brook in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

Netherlands130 records

130 records of the Brook name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch population registers 63
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 57
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 10
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Salomon Bonevang Brook

    Married in 1838 in Deventer; merchant. Died 1844 in Deventer, aged 38.

    Open Archives, Collectie Overijssel locatie Zwolle (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Betje Brook

    Married in 1889 in Zutphen. Died 1892 in Zutphen, aged 27.

    Open Archives, Gelders Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Nathan Brook

    Born 1813 in Haskerland. Died 1869 in Sneek, aged 55; tailor.

    Open Archives, AlleFriezen (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 130 records for Brook in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

United Kingdom70 records

70 records of the Brook name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 54
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 11
  • Other British records 5
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Davina Cairns Brook

    Died 2000, aged 55; buried at Snowdon Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Jane Brook

    Will proved in 1932; of [Swansea], [Glamorgan].

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record Alexander Brook

    Born 1865. Died 1915. Named in the University of Edinburgh roll of honour, 1914-1919.

    National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain)

Showing 3 of 70 records for Brook in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain) · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0) · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Canada56 records

56 records of the Brook name in Canada
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 17
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 14
  • Other Canadian records 25
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Robt Brook

    Came to Ontario in 1879 aboard the Phoenecian, landing at Quebec, bound for Simcoe, Ontario; Scotch.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Dorothy Brook

    Buried in 1993 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 76.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Reginald Augustine Brook

    Died 1969; buried at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

    City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver.

Showing 3 of 56 records for Brook in Canada.

Counts: City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

New Zealand40 records

40 records of the Brook name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 33
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 3
  • Other New Zealand records 4
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Alice Brook

    Died 1906, aged 77; buried at Linwood Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record George Maffett Brook

    Died 1938, aged 83; buried at Omaka Cemetery, Marlborough.

    Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Clarence Cardigan Brook

    Died 2001; buried at Rangiora Lawn Cemetery, Canterbury.

    Waimakariri District Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 40 records for Brook in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Canterbury Maps (Environment Canterbury), Timaru and Mackenzie District Councils (CC BY 3.0 NZ) · Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Waimakariri District Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Germany20 records

20 records of the Brook name in Germany Germany's First World War casualty lists, 1914–1919
  1. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Johann Brook

    From Wemkendorf-Wiefelstede. Reported missing in the Prussian casualty list of 14 October 1916 (Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 77).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)
  2. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Hans Brook

    From Schwachhausen, Bremen. Reported missing in the Prussian casualty list of 21 October 1914 (Infantry Regiment No. 75).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)
  3. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Karl Brook

    From Coblenz. Reported dead in the Prussian casualty list of 17 March 1917.

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)

Showing 3 of 20 records for Brook in Germany.

Counts: Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Deutsche Verlustlisten, Prussian list 1116, 18 April 1918 (scan via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0).

France2 records

2 records of the Brook name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Jacqueline Paulette Brook

    Born 1920 in Paris; died 2001 in Melun (Seine-et-Marne).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 1 of 2 records for Brook in France.

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Other spellings of this name

The same name, spelled another way.

Spellings that H. B. Guppy (England and Wales, 1890) or the Registrar-General for Ireland (births index of 1890) counted as one name together with Brook.

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Brook.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Brook is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See the Brook volume
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