The name Brooklyn is derived from the original
Dutch town of
Breukelen. The oldest mention of the settlement in the Netherlands is in a charter of 953 by
Holy Roman Emperor Otto I as
Broecklede. This form is made up of the words
broeck, meaning bog or
marshland, and
lede, meaning small (dug) water stream, specifically in peat areas. Breuckelen on the American continent was established in 1646, and the name first appeared in print in 1663.