The Berkley surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 4,750 people carried this name — #7,050 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 62,100 people counted. That is up 5% from 4,514 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Berkley surname

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a local name, from where the family lived: ‘of Berkeley’.

An early record he cites: Robert de Berclay, Northumberland, 1195 — History of Northumberland (Hodgson).

His entry covers Barclay, Berkeley and Berkley.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 77 · public domain.

In print

Berkley in American newspapers,
1856–1915.

Newspaper page from The Somerset Reporter carrying the name Berkley
The Somerset Reporter 1906-11-01
Newspaper page from Granite Farmer And Visitor carrying the name Berkley
Granite Farmer And Visitor 1856-10-04
Newspaper page from The Tupelo Journal carrying the name Berkley
The Tupelo Journal 1915-10-08

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 99,403 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Berkley in Australian newspapers,
1830s–1990s.

8,574 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Berkley. The most, 1,722, date from the 1890s. Queensland 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 the Northern Territory, at 24.8 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Queensland 3,755
New South Wales 1,809
Victoria 1,498
South Australia 668
Western Australia 313
Northern Territory 286
Tasmania 218
ACT (Canberra) 18

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

Who carried it

People named Berkley,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Lydia Berkley Tague
    Lydia Berkley Tague 1868–1937 · judge
  • John Berkley 1796–
  • Isabella Shiell 1799–
  • Theresa Berkley 1800–1836 · inventor
  • George Berkley 1821–1893 · engineer
  • Henry Johns Berkley 1860– · physician

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 Berkley,
in the records of 5 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 States416 records

416 records of the Berkley name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 158
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 97
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 78
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 43
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 27
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 8
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 4
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Northum E. Berkley

    Born 1914 in Arkansas. Enlisted 1944 at Little Rock; stenographer from Sebastian County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1961, buried at Fort Smith National Cemetery, Arkansas.

    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 Natilda Berkley

    Arrived at New York in 1866 aboard the United Kingdom from Glasgow, aged 17; servant. From Ireland.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Patrick J. Berkley

    Born 1930; from Twin Falls, Idaho. U.S. Marine Corps; killed in action 1950 in Korea.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)

Showing 3 of 416 records for Berkley in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). 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); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain).

Australia88 records

88 records of the Berkley name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 43
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 26
  • Tasmanian Names Index 8
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 7
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 4
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Michael Berkley

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Susan, arriving 1834; ticket of leave 1838. Native of Newcast on Tyne.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Alex Berkley

    Arrived in Queensland in 1877 aboard the Scottish Knight, aged 18.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Reginald M. Berkley

    Gentleman of Camberwell, Victoria; died 1906.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 88 records for Berkley in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

Canada7 records

7 records of the Berkley name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 4
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 1
  • Ontario immigration records, 1865–1883 1
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 1
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Alf Berkley

    Came to Ontario in 1873 aboard the Delta, landing at Quebec, bound for Aurora, Ontario; English.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Norton William Berkley

    Buried in 1981 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 73.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Mary E. Berkley

    Married 1896 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Showing 3 of 7 records for Berkley in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

United Kingdom5 records

5 records of the Berkley name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 3
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 2
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record J. Berkley

    King's (Liverpool Regiment). Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record M. Berkley

    Cheshire Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record C. Berkley

    Lieutenant. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1919.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Showing 3 of 5 records for Berkley in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Netherlands4 records

4 records of the Berkley name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch population registers 2
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 2
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Philip Berkley

    Married in 1845 in Amsterdam; merchant.

    Open Archives, Noord-Hollands Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Culie Berkley

    In a population register; born 1839 in Schoonhoven.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Francina Berkley

    Died 1942 in Oswiecim, Poland, aged 46.

    Open Archives, Noord-Hollands Archief (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 4 records for Berkley 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); U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Berkley.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Berkley 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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