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Berk Family History

Berk Surname Meaning

Dutch and Polish: from a pet form of an ancient Germanic personal name formed with ber(n) ‘bear’ e.g. Bernhard. Dutch (Van Berk) and North German: topographic name for someone who lived by a birch tree or in a birch wood from Middle Dutch Middle Low German berke ‘birch’.

Sorbian (Běrk): occupational name for a collector of taxes from a derivative of braś ‘to take’. It is found mainly in Germanized forms such as Berg and Birke.

Slovenian: probably a nickname from an old spelling of brk ‘a hair under the nose’ (singular of brki ‘mustache’).

Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant of Berg. Turkish: ornamental name or nickname from berk ‘firm strong’.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022


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Where is the Berk family from?

You can see how Berk families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Berk family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Berk families were found in USA in 1920. In 1891 there were 34 Berk families living in London. This was about 38% of all the recorded Berk's in United Kingdom. London had the highest population of Berk families in 1891.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Berk surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.
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What did your Berk ancestors do for a living?

In 1939, Unpaid Domestic Duties was the top reported job for people in the United Kingdom named Berk. 75% of Berk women worked as an Unpaid Domestic Duties.

View Census Data for Berk | Data not to scale

*We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

Top Female Occupations In 1939

  • Unpaid Domestic Duties
    75%
  • Private Means
    13%
  • Private Secretary
    13%

What Berk family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 19,000 census records available for the last name Berk. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Berk census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search UK census records for Berk

Passenger Lists

There are 5,000 immigration records available for the last name Berk. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in the UK, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

View all Berk immigration records

Draft Cards

There are 3,000 military records available for the last name Berk. For the veterans among your Berk ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

View all Berk military records

You've only scratched the surface of Berk family history

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What is the average Berk lifespan?

Between 1946 and 2004, in the United States, Berk life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1946, and highest in 2003. The average life expectancy for Berk in 1946 was 46, and 81 in 2004.

View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Berk

An unusually short lifespan might indicate that your Berk ancestors lived in harsh conditions. A short lifespan might also indicate health problems that were once prevalent in your family. The SSDI is a searchable database of more than 70 million names. You can find birthdates, death dates, addresses and more.

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