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| Origins Available: |
| | Germany |
The ancestral home of the Berliner family is Bavaria. Berliner is a local name for a person who lived in the city of Berlin, the capital of Germany. The city took its name from a Wendish word which means river rake, or a scaffold of beams built over a river to prevent logs from jamming; the river in question was the Spree. The German name is also found in the Hamburg area, where it may be derived from the village of the same name. Berlin is also an Ashkenazic Jewish local name, derived from the same origins as the German form of the local name. The Berliner family emerged as an influential family and they became noted for their involvement in social, economic and political affairs.
The surname Berliner was first found in Nuremburg, where the name Berlin was closely identified in early mediaeval times with the feudal society of early European history. The name would later emerge as a noble family with great influence, having many distinguished branches, and become noted for its involvement in social, economic and political affairs.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Berliner research. Another 54 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1725 and 1799 are included under the topic Early Berliner History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Many cultural groups lived in the German states in medieval times. Each had its own dialect and traditions, and unique variations of popular names. Low German, which is similar to contemporary Dutch, was spoken in Westphalia. German names are characterized by additions such as regional suffixes and phrases that tell something about the origin or background of its original bearer. Further contributing to the variation in German names was the fact that there were no spelling rules in medieval times: scribes recorded names according to their sound. The recorded spelling variations of Berliner include Berlin, Berliner, Berling, Berlen, Burlin, Burling, Barlin, Barling and many more.
More information is included under the topic Early Berliner Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Between the mid-17th and mid-20th centuries, German settlers arrived in North America by the thousands. Persecution based on religion and poverty were great motivators in this large-scale migration. So too was the opportunity for tenant farmers to own their own land. Ample land and opportunity awaited the settlers who went to such states as Pennsylvania, Texas, New York, Illinois, and California, as well as Ontario and the prairie provinces of Canada. Research into the origins of individual families in North America revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Berliner or a variant listed above: