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Berke Family History

Berke Surname Meaning

German: topographic name for someone who lived by a birch tree or birch grove Middle Low German berke. In Westphalia, Berke Birke also means ‘brook stream’ and in some cases it may have been a topographic name for someone who lived by a stream.

Altered form of Swiss German Bürki: from a pet form of the personal name Burkhard (see Burkhart). Hungarian: variant of Berkes.

Slovenian: of Hungarian origin (see 3 above) or perhaps a topographic name derived from dialect berek ‘marsh with groves’ a loanword from Hungarian (compare Berkey).

Jewish (Ashkenazic): from the Yiddish personal name Berke, a pet form of Ber ‘bear’.

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


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Where is the Berke family from?

You can see how Berke families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Berke family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Berke families were found in USA in 1920. In 1840 there were 2 Berke families living in Pennsylvania. This was 100% of all the recorded Berke's in USA. Pennsylvania had the highest population of Berke families in 1840.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Berke surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.
  • 1840
  • 1880
  • 1920
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What did your Berke ancestors do for a living?

In 1940, Salesman and Stenographer were the top reported jobs for men and women in the USA named Berke. 15% of Berke men worked as a Salesman and 15% of Berke women worked as a Stenographer. Some less common occupations for Americans named Berke were Clerk and Cook.

View Census Data for Berke | 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 1940

  • Salesman
    15%
  • Laborer
    15%
  • Farmer
    8%
  • Clerk
    6%

Top Female Occupations In 1940

  • Stenographer
    15%
  • Secretary
    12%
  • Nurse
    10%
  • Cook
    6%

What Berke family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 7,000 census records available for the last name Berke. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Berke census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search US census records for Berke

Passenger Lists

There are 2,000 immigration records available for the last name Berke. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in the USA, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

View all Berke immigration records

Draft Cards

There are 1,000 military records available for the last name Berke. For the veterans among your Berke ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

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