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Berger History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables World Ranking

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Suggested Reading Citations

Berger History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Netherlands-Alt
Netherlands
England
France
Germany
Israel

The prestigious surname Berger comes from the beautiful and majestic country of France. Berger is a topographic surname, which belongs to the category of hereditary surnames. Topographical surnames were given to a person who resided near a physical feature such as a hill, stream, church, or type of tree. Habitation names form the other broad category of surnames that were derived from place-names. They were derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. Other local names are derived from the names of houses, manors, estates, regions, and entire counties. As a general rule, the greater the distance between an individual and their homeland, the larger the territory they were named after. For example, a person who only moved to another parish would be known by the name of their original village, while people who migrated to a different country were often known by the name of a region or country from which they came. All of these name types belong to a larger category of surnames, known as hereditary surnames. The name Berger is derived from the Old German word berg, which indicated someone who lived beside a hill or mountain.

Some sources also believe that the name Bergeron derived from the French word "berger", which translates to "shepherd". 1

Early Origins of the Berger family

The surname Berger was first found in Burgundy (French: Bourgogne), an administrative and historical region of east-central France, where the family was anciently seated.

The family flourished on their estates for many centuries and intermarried with other distinguished families. Several members of this family were servicemen in the army and one became bishop at the church in Montpellier. Documents of 1820 show that the family was registered in several regions of Pas-de-Calais.

André Bergeron, born 1643, son of Pierre Bergeron and Catherine Marchand, came to New France from Saint-Saturnin-du-Bois, Charente-Maritime, France around the year 1666. He was employed in Lauzon, Quebec on the farm of Eustache Lambert and eventually owned his own business in Lauzon. André's descendants were still found in Lauzon as of 1909. 2

Early History of the Berger family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Berger research. Another 53 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1500, 1641, 1655, 1672, 1694, 1741, 1839 and 1905 are included under the topic Early Berger History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Berger Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Berger, Bergey, Bergez, Bergier, Bergeret, Bergerot, Bergereau, Bergeron, Bergerron, Bergerone, Bergeronne, Bergeronneau, Bergerat, Bergerie, Bergère, Bergière, Bergiron, Bergirone, Bergironne, le Berger, le Bergeron, de Bergeron, Leberger and many more.

Early Notables of the Berger family

Notable amongst the family at this time was

Pierre Bergeron, a renowned historian and geographer in the late 1500's
Jean-Louis Bergeret (1641-1694), Advocate General to the Metz Parliament in 1672
Étienne Bergeron, born in 1741, one of the principal settlers in the region of Carleton (New Brunswick), Canada
Jules Bergeret (1839-1905), politician, Paris, France

Berger World Ranking

In the United States, the name Berger is the 881^st most popular surname with an estimated 34,818 people with that name. 3 However, in Canada, the name Berger is ranked the 983^rd most popular surname with an estimated 5,510 people with that name. 4 And in Quebec, Canada, the name Berger is the 766^th popular surname. 5 France ranks Berger as 115^th with 25,157 people. 6 Netherlands ranks Berger as 686^th with 2,719 people. 7

Berger migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Berger Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Kornelis Reusner Berger, who landed in New York in 1709 8
Hans Berger, who arrived in America in 1732 8
Johannes Berger, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1738 8
Casper Berger, age 30, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1738
Peter Berger, age 50, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1740
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Berger Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Benedict Berger, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1803 8
Barbara Berger, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1803 8
Anna Maria Berger, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1803 8
Elizabeth Berger, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1803 8
Michel Berger, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1803 8
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Berger Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Mr. John S. Berger, (b. 1876), aged 29, Cornish miner, from Camborne, Cornwall, UK travelling aboard the ship "Umbria" arriving at Ellis Island, New York on 30th July 1905 en route to the United States 9
Harry Berger, who landed in Alabama in 1917 8
Karl Frederick Albert Berger, who landed in Alabama in 1917 8

Berger migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Berger Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Jacob Berger, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1749
Philip Berger, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1757

Berger migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Berger Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Charles W. Berger, aged 30, a farmer, who arrived in South Australia in 1848 aboard the ship "Alfred" 10
George Berger, aged 40, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Prince Regent" in 1849 11
Mary Berger, aged 38, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Prince Regent" in 1849 11
Augustus Berger, aged 6, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Prince Regent" in 1849 11
Edwin Berger, aged 3, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Prince Regent" in 1849 11
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Berger (post 1700) +

Norma A. Berger Taylor (1932-2023), American baseball pitcher who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League during the 1950 season
Wolfgang "Wolf" Helmut Berger (1937-2017), German-American oceanographer, geologist, micropaleontologist and emeritus professor at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California
Barbara Berger (1930-2016), American baseball catcher who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
Samuel Richard "Sandy" Berger (1945-2015), American political consultant, United States National Security Advisor (1997-2001)
Samuel Berger (1884-1925), American gold Olympic medalist for boxing at the 1904 games
Peter Ludwig Berger (b. 1929), American (Austrian born) sociologist and theologian
Thomas Berger (b. 1924), American novelist, best known for his novels "Crazy in Berlin" (1958) and "Little Big Man" (1964)
Charles W. Berger, American Democratic Party politician, Member of Kentucky State Senate 17th District, 1980- 12
Charles E. Berger, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Pennsylvania, 1916 12
Carl Berger, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for New York State Senate 2nd District, 1920 12
... (Another 54 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Berger family +

Bismarck

Walter Berger (1920-1941), German Matrosengefreiter who served aboard the German Battleship Bismarck during World War II when it was sunk heading to France; he died in the sinking 13
Johannes Berger (1921-1941), German Funkgefreiter who served aboard the German Battleship Bismarck during World War II when it was sunk heading to France; he died in the sinking 13
Albert Berger (1921-1941), German Matrose who served aboard the German Battleship Bismarck during World War II when it was sunk heading to France; he died in the sinking 13

Triangle Waist Company

Mrs. Yetta Berger (b. 1893), "nee Rechtschafer", Austrian Jewish garment worker who was working at Triangle Waist Company factory at the Asch building in Greenwich Village on the 25th March 1911 when fire broke out; she died in the fire 14

Citations +

Dionne, N.-E., Origine Des Familles Canadiennes-Français. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1969. Print.
Olivier, Reginald L. Your Ancient Canadian Family Ties. Logan: The Everton Publishers, Inc., P.O. Box 368, 1972. Print
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
"Surnames Meanings, Origins & Distribution Maps - Forebears." Forebears, https://forebears.io/surnames
"The first 1,000 family names by rank, Quebec (in French only)" Institut de la statistique du Quebec, https://statistique.quebec.ca/en/document/family-names-in-quebec/tableau/the-first-1000-family-names-by-rank-quebec
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
"Most Common Last Names in Netherlands." Forebears, https://forebears.io/netherlands/surnames
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retreived 3rd May 2018). Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_ellis_island_1892_on.pdf
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) ALFRED 1848. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1848Alfred.htm
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) "PRINCE REGENT" 1849. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1849PrinceRegent.htm
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 4) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Bismarck & Tirpitz Class - Crew List Bismarck. (Retrieved 2018, February 06). Retrieved from https://www.bismarck-class.dk/bismarck/crew/bismarck_crew.html#crew_details
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire (retrieved on 3rd August 2021.) Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triangle_Shirtwaist_Factory_fire