Brooks (surname)

Brooks is a toponymic surname that is thought to have been derived residing near a stream (or brook) from both the Swedish surname Bäckland, meaning bäck "brook, stream" and lund "grove" and English , Gaelic and Scottish from the possessive case of Brook (i.e. ‘of the brook’) from pre 7th century English origins; Old English broc and appearing in the Medieval predecessors of "Brooks" such as "Ate-Broc" and "Atte-Broc". The surname Brooks has many Germanic (Anglo Saxon) links and is sometimes associated with the countries Denmark , Sweden and Norway within Scandinavia and has wide links to the Scandinavian Peninsula. Commonly recorded in Germany , where it is sometimes found with the aristocratic "von", England, Scotland and Ireland it has many possible origins.[2] The word "brook" derives from the Old English broc and appears in the Medieval predecessors of "Brooks" such as "Ate-Broc" and "Atte-Broc".[2][3][4] The surname arrived in North America from England in the mid-seventeenth century.[2]

Brooks
Origin
Meaning"residing near a stream or brook"
Region of originEngland / Anjou, France / Germany / Scandinavia
[1]

The surname is recorded in Ireland from the 1600s. O'Laughlin reports that "some of the name could stem from Irish origins, the name being changed into the English word 'Brook' or Brooks."[5] The surname is also found among English-speaking Ashkenazi Jews, deriving from the male Hebrew given name Boruch, meaning "blessed".

The surname Brooks is shared by many notable people:

A

B

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D

E

F

G

H

I
  • Ian James Brooks (b. 1928), New Zealand politician
  • Irvin Brooks (1891–1966), American baseball player

J
  • J. Brooks (fl. 1892), English cricketer
  • J. Stewart Brooks (1910–2000), Canadian politician
  • J. Twing Brooks (1884–1956), U.S. congressman from Pennsylvania
  • Jack Brooks (disambiguation)
  • Jai Brooks, member of Australian group "The Janoskians"
  • Jamal Brooks (b. 1976), American football player
  • James Brooks (disambiguation)
  • Jamie Brooks (born 1983), English football player
  • Janice Young Brooks, birth name of American mystery writer Jill Churchill
  • Jason Brooks (disambiguation)
  • Javille Brooks (b. 1984), Anguillan footballer
  • Jay Brooks, fictional character from the movie I'm Through with White Girls (The Inevitable Undoing of Jay Brooks)
  • JC Brooks, lead singer of JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound
  • Jean Brooks, American actress
  • Jeff Brooks (disambiguation)
  • Jehiel Brooks (1797–1886), American soldier and politician
  • Jeremy Brooks (1926–1994), British writer
  • Jerry Brooks (b. 1967), American baseball player
  • Jerry Brooks (b. 1966), American actor and writer, known by the stage name J. B. Smoove
  • Jess Lee Brooks (1894–1944), American actor
  • Jessica Brooks (b. 1981), English actress
  • Jim or Jimmy Brooks, see James Brooks (disambiguation)
  • Joanna Brooks, American author and professor
  • Jody Brooks, American country music singer, better known as Jody Miller
  • Joe Brooks, see Joseph Brooks (disambiguation)
  • Joel Brooks (b. 1949), American actor
  • John Brooks (disambiguation)
  • Johnny Brooks (b. 1931), English footballer
  • Jon Brooks (disambiguation)
  • Jordyn Brooks (b. 1997), American football player
  • Joseph Brooks (disambiguation)
  • Joshua Brooks (disambiguation)
  • Josie Brooks, fictional character from the British soap opera Brookside
  • Juanita Brooks, American writer
  • Julia Evangeline Brooks (1882–1948), American educator
  • Justin Brooks (b. 1965), American attorney

K

L
  • Lance Brooks (b. 1984), American discus thrower
  • Larry Brooks (b. 1950), American football player
  • Lawrence Brooks (fl. 1940s–1960s), American singer and actor
  • Lee Brooks (b. 1983), American composer
  • Lela Brooks (1908–1990), Canadian skater
  • Leo Brooks (1947–2002), American football player
  • Leo A. Brooks, Jr. (b. 1957), American general
  • Leo A. Brooks, Sr., American general
  • Leslie Brooks (1922–2011), American actress
  • Lexie Brooks, fictional character on the American soap opera Days of Our Lives
  • Linton Brooks (b. 1938), American diplomat
  • Linus Brooks, early settler in Brooks, Oregon
  • Lonnie Brooks (1933–2017), American blues musician
  • Lorie Brooks, fictional character on the soap opera The Young and the Restless
  • Louise Brooks (1906–1985), American actress and dancer
  • Louise Cromwell Brooks (c. 1890–1965), American socialite
  • Louise Susannah Brooks, fictional character from the British sitcom Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps
  • Luke Brooks (b. 1994), Australian rugby league footballer
  • Luke Brooks (singer), member of the Australian group The Janoskians
  • Lyall Brooks (b. 1978), Australian actor
  • Lydia Brooks (1818–1905), Labradorian diarist, better known by her married name, Lydia Campbell
  • Lyman Brooks (1910–1984), American educator

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N

O

P

Q
  • Quincy Brooks IV (b. 1977), American rapper, known by the stage name San Quinn

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S

T

V

W

Z
  • Zoey Brooks, title character of the American TV show Zoey 101

Compound surnames

See also

References
  1. Brooks Family Crest and History
  2. Origin and History of the Name of Brooks: With Biographies of All the Most Noted Persons of that Name (PDF). The Crescent Family Record. Chicago, Illinois (United States): American Publishers' Association. 1905 [1905]. Retrieved 2008-01-10. The name of Brooks is said to have derived from residence near a stream.
  3. Harper, Douglas (November 2001). "brook". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 2007-01-10.
  4. "brook". Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language (1989 ed.). New York: Portland House. 1989. p. 189. ISBN 0-517-68781-X.
  5. Michael C. O'Laughlin. The Book of Irish Families, Great & Small.
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