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Berry Family History

Berry Surname Meaning

Irish and Manx: Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Béara ‘descendant of Béara’ a personal name of unexplained etymology; or in some cases perhaps an Anglicized form of Irish and Manx Ó Beargha. Compare Barry.

Scottish and northern Irish: variant of Barrie. English: habitational name from any of several places called in Devon named with Old English byrig dative case of burh ‘fortified manor house stronghold’ such as Berry Pomeroy and Berrynarbor.

English: from Middle English (atte) beri ‘(at the) manor house’ denoting someone who lived and worked at such a place from Middle English beri biri buri (from the Old English dative case byrig of Old English burg ‘fort fortified manor house’). See also Atterbury.

French: habitational name from Berry a former province of central France so named with Latin Biturica the land of the Bituriges a Gaulish tribe. Swiss German: from a pet form of an ancient Germanic personal name formed with Old High German bero ‘bear’ (see Baer).

Altered form of French Baril. Compare Barry. Altered form (loose translation into English) of French Canadian Laframboise ‘the raspberry’.

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


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Where is the Berry family from?

You can see how Berry families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Berry family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Berry families were found in USA in 1880. In 1891 there were 7,127 Berry families living in Lancashire. This was about 29% of all the recorded Berry's in United Kingdom. Lancashire had the highest population of Berry families in 1891.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Berry 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 Berry ancestors do for a living?

In 1939, General Labourer and Unpaid Domestic Duties were the top reported jobs for men and women in the United Kingdom named Berry. 7% of Berry men worked as a General Labourer and 65% of Berry women worked as an Unpaid Domestic Duties. Some less common occupations for Americans named Berry were Cotton Weaver and Cotton Weaver.

View Census Data for Berry | 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 Male Occupations In 1939

  • General Labourer
    7%
  • Incapacitated
    3%
  • Builders Labourer
    3%
  • Cotton Weaver
    2%

Top Female Occupations In 1939

  • Unpaid Domestic Duties
    65%
  • Unpaid Domestic
    3%
  • Housewife
    2%
  • Cotton Weaver
    2%

What Berry family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 1 million census records available for the last name Berry. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Berry census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search UK census records for Berry

Passenger Lists

There are 146,000 immigration records available for the last name Berry. 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 Berry immigration records

Draft Cards

There are 163,000 military records available for the last name Berry. For the veterans among your Berry ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

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