Brownie (given name)

Brownie
Gender	Unisex
Language(s)	English
Origin
Meaning	Brownie; diminutive for the surname Brown or the color brown

Last updated August 14, 2025

Brownie is a given name or a hypocorism often used in reference to the brownie of Scottish folklore. The name came into use in the 1890s when poems and drawings about the mythical beings were published by Palmer Cox in the children's magazine St. Nicholas . Broonie is a variant.^[1] It was also a term for the Brownies, referring to Girl Scouts who are aged seven to ten. The term for the Girl Scouts was taken from a story about the mythological brownie. The word brownie is also a diminutive English word for someone with the surname Brown or for the color brown.

Usage

The name was in rare use for both boys and girls in the United States between 1890 and 1920.^[2]

Women with the given name

Brownie Wise (née Humphrey; 1913–1992), American saleswoman credited with the success of the Tupperware company

Women with the nickname

Mary Brown Williams "Brownie" Ledbetter (1932–2010), American political

activist, social justice crusader and lobbyist

Mildred Brown "Brownie" Schrumpf (1903–2001), American home economist, food educator, and author
Agnes "Brownie" Vernon (1895–1948), American silent film actress

Men with the given name

Brownie Doolan (1918–2011), Australian Aboriginal tracker
Brownie Samukai, former Liberian government official

Men with the nickname

Ernest "Brownie" Brown (1916–2009), American tap dancer and last surviving member of the Original Copasetics
Bernard "Brownie" Carslake (1886–1941), Australian jockey
John "Brownie" Foreman (1875–1926), American professional baseball pitcher
Brown Ifeanyi "Browny" Igboegwu (born 1976), Igbo-Nigerian actor
Bob "Brownie" King (born 1934), American retired NASCAR driver
Walter Brown "Brownie" McGhee (1915–1996), American folk and Piedmont blues singer and guitarist
Huatahi Turoa Brown 'Brownie' Paki (1900–1992), New Zealand rugby league footballer
Nau Pāraone Kawiti "Brownie" Pūriri (1924–1979), New Zealand land title officer and Māori welfare worker

Notes

↑ Charbonneau, Karen (March 17, 2023). American Baby Girl Names: 1587-1920s. Post Falls, Idaho: A Ship's Cat Book. p. 136. ASIN B0BYTTGH3L.
↑ Campbell, Mike. "Popularity in the United States". behindthename.com. Behind the Name. Retrieved 6 January 2024.

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[1] Charbonneau, Karen (March 17, 2023). American Baby Girl Names: 1587-1920s. Post Falls, Idaho: A Ship's Cat Book. p. 136. ASIN B0BYTTGH3L.

[2] Campbell, Mike. "Popularity in the United States". behindthename.com. Behind the Name. Retrieved 6 January 2024.

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