Brooke comes from an English surname and the Old English broc, meaning "stream" or "small brook", for a family that lived beside running water. Actress and model Brooke Shields made it a household name in the 1980s. Brooke ranked 51st in 2000, peaked at number 43 in 2003 and has gradually drifted down since, to 150 in 2015 and 313th place among girls' names in 2025.