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Brook Family History

Brook Surname Meaning

English: topographic name for someone who lived by a brook, stream, water-meadows, or low marshy ground from Middle English brook, Old English brōc ‘brook, stream’; or a habitational name from any of various places called with this word such as Brook (Kent, Rutland) or Brooke (Norfolk).

North German: topographic name for someone who lived by a water meadow or marsh from Low German brook (cognate with German Bruch ‘swamp’ and Old English brōc; see 1 above).

Americanized form of Dutch Broek: topographic name from broek, a cognate of 2 above.

Americanized form of German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) Bruck or German Bruch.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022


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Where is the Brook family from?

You can see how Brook families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Brook family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Brook families were found in United Kingdom in 1891. In 1840 there were 32 Brook families living in Pennsylvania. This was about 17% of all the recorded Brook's in USA. Pennsylvania had the highest population of Brook families in 1840.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Brook surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.
  • 1840
  • 1880
  • 1920
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What did your Brook ancestors do for a living?

In 1940, Laborer and Maid were the top reported jobs for men and women in the USA named Brook. 19% of Brook men worked as a Laborer and 9% of Brook women worked as a Maid. Some less common occupations for Americans named Brook were Clerk and Stenographer.

View Census Data for Brook | Data not to scale

*We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

Top Male Occupations In 1940

  • Laborer
    19%
  • Farmer
    17%
  • Salesman
    5%
  • Clerk
    4%

Top Female Occupations In 1940

  • Maid
    9%
  • Teacher
    8%
  • Cook
    7%
  • Stenographer
    7%

What Brook family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 335,000 census records available for the last name Brook. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Brook census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search US census records for Brook

Passenger Lists

There are 21,000 immigration records available for the last name Brook. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in the USA, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

View all Brook immigration records

Draft Cards

There are 17,000 military records available for the last name Brook. For the veterans among your Brook ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

View all Brook military records

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