Brodie
Masculine · “From the lands of Brodie in Moray”
Brodie is given to both — 11,391 boys and 498 girls since 1880. See other names given to both
Brodie starts as a patch of ground in Moray, on Scotland's northeast coast — the lands that gave a clan its surname and the surname its shape. It is still in use in Scotland as well as here, which not many boys' names on American lists can say. Two beats, both plain in the mouth: BROH-dee.
How old is the name Brodie?
Brodie first appears in US birth records in 1912 — 113 years ago. The typical Brodie alive today was born around 2008, making them about 17 years old. About 11,000 people named Brodie are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Brodie most popular?
Brodie peaked in 2008, reaching #421 nationally. Today it ranks #1038, 617 places below that high. See the whole 2008 chart.
Brodie appears on these lists:
- Scottish gems the US hasn't discovered
- Names ranked #1001–1500: outside the famous thousand
- Scottish heritage names with highland spirit
- all guides
Works in British families too:
Where it comes from
From Brodie (lands in Moray, Scotland) to Brodie
The story of Brodie
Brodie is a place first, a family second, a first name third. The lands of Brodie lie in Moray, and the family that held them carried the name out of the estate and into the wider record, where Brodie Castle still stands. Like Cameron, Douglas and Kelly before it, the surname crossed into given-name use in North America, part of a long habit of turning Scottish family names into boys' names. It kept both spellings on the journey: Brodie closer to the Scottish original, Brody the flatter American respelling.
Meaningscholars disagree
From the lands of Brodie in Moray, Scotland; the place-name itself is disputed
Everyone agrees the name is territorial — it comes from the estate of Brodie in Moray, held by Clan Brodie. What the place-name meant is the open question. One reading takes it from Gaelic words for a ditch or muddy hollow; another treats it as Pictish, from the older language of northeastern Scotland, and therefore beyond confident translation. Both are seriously held, and neither has won.
How the name formed
- Brodielands in Moray, Scotland
- BrodieScottish clan surname
- Brodie / Brodygiven name
Related forms: Brody · Brodey
Pronouncing Brodie
BROH-dee
Stress on the first syllable, rhyming with Jody. One pronunciation on both sides of the Atlantic — the -ie and -y spellings sound identical.
Nicknames for Brodie
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1912
- Most boys named
- 2008693 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #421reached in 2008
- Change vs 2023
- −26.3%213 in 2025, from 289
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Brodie in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Brody in English (US) — spelling variant
- Brodey in English — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, California, Florida. International figures from National Records of Scotland. Sources
Brodies among us
people named Brodie are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 8,019 born in 2025 was named Brodie
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Emmitt test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Brodie's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Emmitt climbed just as high around 1905, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Emmitt's path sketches the road Brodie is walking now.
Brodie sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Brodie is headed
Brodie should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Brodie beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Brodie in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Two syllables, spelled the way it sounds; almost no one will need it pronounced twice.
- Still in use in Scotland as well as the United States, so it travels without translation.
- A documented territorial surname behind it — a real place in Moray and the clan that held it.
- Common enough to be recognized instantly, uncommon enough that a class is unlikely to hold two.
- Brody is the more familiar American spelling, so expect to spell this one out for teachers, coaches and forms. It is a small, lifelong correction rather than a real obstacle.
- Surname-style boys' names arrived together as a group — Brodie sits alongside Cody, Brady and Colby, and shares their era in the ear more than an older Scottish name would.
- "Bro" comes free with the name, whether or not anyone in the family plans on it.
- It has stepped back a little from its busiest stretch, which means fewer namesakes in a classroom and a name that still reads current rather than dated.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Brodie to the vote.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Brodie
Masculine · #1038 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Brodies are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 11,000 people named Brodie are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Brodie in 2025?
- Brodie ranks #1038 among US boy names in 2025, with 213 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Brodie?
- About 1 in every 8,019 US boys born in 2025 was named Brodie — 213 in all.
- Will my child share the name Brodie with classmates?
- Brodie will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Brodie
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Trenton#1038 · Blaise#1038 · Ernest#1038 · Ren#1038 · Ulises#1038 · Zavier#1034 · Kelvin#1034 · Carmine#1034
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Brodie? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Brodie and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration; international figures from national statistics agencies. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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