The Berk surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 3,754 people carried this name — #8,736 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 78,700 people counted. About the same as in 2000 (3,771).

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In Poland’s population register

517 people named Berk have a registered home in Poland.

Of the 592 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 9 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Masovian.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they live today

Masovian 228
Warmian-Masurian 140
Pomeranian 54
West Pomeranian 51
Silesian 21
Podlaskie 13
Subcarpathian 5
Lower Silesian 3

PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.

In Belgium’s population register

At least 84 people named Berk live in Belgium.

Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Limburg.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Limburg 58
Antwerp 20
Brussels-Capital 6

Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

54 people named Berk live in Switzerland.

They live in 9 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Aargau.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Aargau 12
Zurich 9
Basel-Landschaft 6
Geneva 6
Bern 5
Glarus 5
Basel-Stadt 4
Fribourg 4

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

In France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 27 people named Berk.

Most of them — 21 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 3 départements, most often Moselle.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born

Born outside France 21
Moselle 4
Paris 1
Somme 1

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

In national population registers

266 people named Berk are counted in Slovenia and Sweden.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Slovenia counts its residents on 1 January 2026.

Counted, by country

Slovenia (2026) 233
Sweden (2022) 33

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown) · source: Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia (SURS), SiStat tables 05X1015S–05X1018S, family names of the population, 1 January 2026 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).

In print

Berk in American newspapers,
1896–1922.

Newspaper page from The Progressive Farmer And Southern Farm Gazette carrying the name Berk
The Progressive Farmer And Southern Farm Gazette 1910-06-25
Newspaper page from The Anaconda Standard carrying the name Berk
The Anaconda Standard 1896-11-12
Newspaper page from The Semi-weekly Leader carrying the name Berk
The Semi-weekly Leader 1922-07-22

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 166,611 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Berk in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1980s.

1,765 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Berk. The most, 294, date from the 1920s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in South Australia, at 2.1 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 557
South Australia 461
Queensland 416
Victoria 225
Western Australia 55
Tasmania 42
ACT (Canberra) 5
Northern Territory 1

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Berk.

Who carried it

People named Berk,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Mehmet Kâmil Berk
    Mehmet Kâmil Berk 1878–1958 · physician
  • Mehmet Kâmil Berk
    Mehmet Kâmil Berk 1878–1958 · physician
  • Hasan Tahsin Berk
    Hasan Tahsin Berk 1881–1943 · politician
  • Hasan Tahsin Berk
    Hasan Tahsin Berk 1881–1943 · politician
  • Sammy Berk 1894–1983 · dancer
  • Suat Berk 1901–2002 · lawyer

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Berk,
in the records of 6 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States685 records

685 records of the Berk name in the United States
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 243
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 211
  • Other U.S. records 231
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Robert Berk

    Born 1921 in New York. Enlisted 1941 at Fort Jay Governors Island; office clerk from Bronx County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1988, buried at Calverton National Cemetery, New York.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Feige Berk

    Arrived at New York in 1890 aboard the Wisconsin from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 18; domestic. From Hamburg, Russia.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. The receipt card sent under the U.S. Alien Registration Act of 1940
    Example: U.S. alien registration card, 1940s
    Alien registration Mollie Berk

    Born 1896 in Russia. Registered as a foreign national in Detroit, Michigan, under the Alien Registration Act of 1940.

    U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain)

Showing 3 of 685 records for Berk in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Alien Registration Receipt Card, Form AR-3, photo by Bobjgalindo via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0).

Netherlands1,917 records

1,917 records of the Berk name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 885
  • Dutch population registers 686
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 346
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Jacobus Berk

    Married in 1860 in Hazerswoude; labourer. Died 1867 in Hazerswoude, aged 37.

    Open Archives, Gemeentearchief Alphen aan den Rijn (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Cornelia Berk

    Married in 1924 in Zandvoort; domestic servant. Died 1957 in Haarlem, aged 66.

    Open Archives, Noord-Hollands Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Leonardus Berk

    Married in 1922 in Arnhem; driver. Died 1962 in Arnhem, aged 83.

    Open Archives, Gelders Archief (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 1,917 records for Berk in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Germany111 records

111 records of the Berk name in Germany Germany's First World War casualty lists, 1914–1919
  1. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list August Berk

    From Gr. Halbuhnen, Rastenburg. Reported missing in the Prussian casualty list of 20 January 1919 (Infantry Regiment No. 43).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)
  2. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Josef Berk

    From Erp, Euskirchen. Reported missing in the Prussian casualty list of 1 August 1916 (Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 65).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)
  3. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Walter Berk

    From Schmalkalden. Reported wounded in the Prussian casualty list of 23 May 1918.

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)

Showing 3 of 111 records for Berk in Germany.

Counts: Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Deutsche Verlustlisten, Prussian list 1116, 18 April 1918 (scan via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0).

Australia13 records

13 records of the Berk name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 6
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 3
  • Other Australian records 4
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Margarethe Berk

    Arrived in Queensland in 1873 aboard the Humboldt, aged 13.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)
  2. The first page of an emigration file from Gündlingen, Baden, 1883
    Example: German emigration file, 1883
    Emigration record Henry Berk

    Left Hobart in 1857 aboard the City of Hobart, bound for Melbourne.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Elisabeth Lisette Berk

    Of Melton South, Victoria; died 2000.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 13 records for Berk in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Emigration file, Gündlingen, 1883, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Freiburg B 694/1 Nr. 1389 (CC BY 4.0); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

France8 records

8 records of the Berk name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Johannes Adrianus Maria Berk

    Born 1932 in the Netherlands; died 1992 in Rodez (Aveyron).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Jacqueline Berk

    Born 1921 in Paris; died 1985 in Boulogne-Billancourt (Hauts-de-Seine).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  3. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Alfred Berk

    Born 1906 in Germany; died 1995 in Toulon (Var).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 3 of 8 records for Berk in France.

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Belgium1 record

1 record of the Berk name in Belgium Belgian population registers
  1. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Gustave Berk

    In the population register of Moorsele; born 1840 in Moorsele.

    Open Archives, Erfgoedcel Denderland (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Berk.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Berk is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

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