Show ContentsBergey History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The prestigious surname Bergey comes from the beautiful and majestic country of France. Bergey 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 Bergey 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 Bergey family

The surname Bergey 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 Bergey family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bergey 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 Bergey History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bergey 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 Bergey 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...
Another 27 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Bergey Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


United States Bergey migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Bergey Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Henry Bergey, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1762 3
Bergey Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Emile Bergey, aged 29, arrived in New York, New York in 1892 aboard the ship "La Touraine" from Le Havre, France 4
  • Antoinette Bergey, aged 23, arrived in New York City in 1892 aboard the ship "La Champagne" from Havre, France 4
Bergey Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • Henriette Bergey, aged 27, originally from Bordeaux, France, arrived in New York in 1907 aboard the ship "La Lorraine" from Havre, France 4
  • Jean Bergey, aged 26, arrived in New York in 1920 aboard the ship "Caroline" from Bordeaux, France 4

Canada Bergey migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Bergey Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century
  • Isaac Bergey, who arrived in Canada in 1832

Contemporary Notables of the name Bergey (post 1700) +

  • Jake Bergey (b. 1974), American retired professional lacrosse player who played from 1998 to 2008
  • Earle K. Bergey (1901-1952), American pulp fiction cover illustrator for magazines and paperback books
  • David Hendricks Bergey (1860-1937), American bacteriologist, chairman of the first edition of Bergey's Manual of Determinative Bacteriology in 1923
  • Bill Bergey (b. 1945), former American collegiate and NFL football player who played from 1969 to 1980
  • Lillian D. Bergey, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Pennsylvania, 1928 5


  1. Dionne, N.-E., Origine Des Familles Canadiennes-Français. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1969. Print.
  2. Olivier, Reginald L. Your Ancient Canadian Family Ties. Logan: The Everton Publishers, Inc., P.O. Box 368, 1972. Print
  3. 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)
  4. Ellis Island Search retrieved 15th November 2022. Retrieved from https://heritage.statueofliberty.org/passenger-result
  5. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 4) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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