Explore the Family Name Berk
The meaning of Berk
1. Dutch and Polish: from a pet form of an ancient Germanic personal name formed with ber(n) ‘bear’, e.g. Bernhard. 2. 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’. 3. 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. 4. Slovenian: probably a nickname from an old spelling of brk ‘a hair under the nose’ (singular of brki ‘mustache’). 5. Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant of Berg. 6. Turkish: ornamental name or nickname from berk ‘firm, strong’.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Berk in the United States?
Based on data from the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Berk has slightly decreased between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, it ranked as the 8101st most popular surname in the United States, but by 2010, it had fallen to 8736th place, indicating a -7.84% change. The count of individuals with the Berk surname also experienced a minor decrease during this decade, moving from 3,771 in 2000 to 3,754 in 2010, demonstrating a drop of -0.45%. The proportion of Berk out of every 100,000 people similarly decreased from 1.4 in 2000 to 1.27 in 2010, denoting a decline of -9.29%.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #8,101 | #8,736 | -7.84% |
| Count | 3,771 | 3,754 | -0.45% |
| Proportion per 100k | 1.4 | 1.27 | -9.29% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Berk
Reflecting on the ethnic identity associated with the surname Berk, based on Decennial U.S. Census data, there was a notable increase in its association with Asian/Pacific Islander and Hispanic ethnicity between 2000 and 2010. The percentage of Berk individuals identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander increased from 0.50% to 1.55%, marking a substantial growth of 210.00%. Similarly, those identifying as Hispanic rose from 1.56% to 2.98%, an increase of 91.03%. Despite these increases, the majority of individuals with the Berk surname identified as White, although this figure did see a slight decrease from 94.51% in 2000 to 92.41% in 2010. During the same period, the proportion of Berk individuals identifying as Black or American Indian and Alaskan Native both saw decreases, falling by -15.45% and -11.11%, respectively. A small growth occurred in those identifying with two or more races, rising from 0.82% to 0.85%.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 94.51% | 92.41% | -2.22% |
| Hispanic | 1.56% | 2.98% | 91.03% |
| Black | 2.33% | 1.97% | -15.45% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 0.5% | 1.55% | 210% |
| Two or More Races | 0.82% | 0.85% | 3.66% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.27% | 0.24% | -11.11% |
Berk ancestry composition
23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Berk is Ashkenazi Jewish, which comprises 46.1% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are British & Irish (20.8%) and French & German (13.8%). Additional ancestries include Eastern European, Anatolian, Italian, Scandinavian, and Spanish & Portuguese.
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| ANCESTRY BREAKDOWN | COMPOSITION |
|---|---|
| Ashkenazi Jewish | 46.1% |
| British & Irish | 20.8% |
| French & German | 13.8% |
| Other | 19.3% |
Possible origins of the surname Berk
Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.
Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Berk have recent ancestry locations in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Ireland.
| RECENT ANCESTRY Location | Percentage |
|---|---|
| West Midlands, United Kingdom | 52.70% |
| Glasgow City, United Kingdom | 52.70% |
| Greater Manchester, United Kingdom | 52.70% |
| Greater London, United Kingdom | 52.70% |
| Merseyside, United Kingdom | 51.80% |
What Berk haplogroups can tell you
Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.
The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Berk is J-CTS5368, which is predominantly found among people with European ancestry. Haplogroup J-CTS5368 is descended from haplogroup J-M304. Other common haplogroups include E-M34 and J-M172, which are predominantly found among people with European and European ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Moskowitz, Gottlieb, Rothman, Meltzer, Lieberman, Sachs, Fogel, Kravitz, Weinstein, Berkowitz.
The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Berk surname are: K1a1b1a, H1, H. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.
Paternal Haplogroup Origins J-M304
Your paternal lineage may be linked to men who spread the Semitic languages
Men carrying the J-M267 lineage took part in many waves of migrations over the millennia, and domesticated animals and plants weren't the only things they carried. They may also have been among the communities that spread the Semitic languages, a diverse group that bloomed from a single proto-Semitic tongue in the Levant nearly 5,750 years ago. These men likely carried branches of both haplogroup J and of the Semitic language family through the Arabian Peninsula to the Horn of Africa. Still later, some J-M267-bearing men re-expanded from the Arabian Peninsula back through the Middle East and across North Africa in migrations associated with the emergence and spread of Islam.
Your maternal lineage may be linked to Marie Antoinette
Because it is so dominant in the general European population, haplogroup H also appears quite frequently in the continent's royal houses. Marie Antoinette, an Austrian Hapsburg who married into the French royal family, inherited the haplogroup from her maternal ancestors. So did Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whose recorded genealogy traces his female line to Bavaria. Scientists also discovered that famed 16th century astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus traced his maternal lineages to haplogroup H.
What do people with the surname Berk have in common?
Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.
Preferences
Chocolate Ice Cream
Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.
"Berk" Surname 36.1%
23andMe Users 41.3%
Traits
Misophonia
When sounds made by others, like the sound of chewing or yawning, provoke strong emotional reactions in an individual.
"Berk" Surname 17.1%
23andMe Users 27.9%
Habits
Sugary Drink
Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.
"Berk" Surname 26.8%
23andMe Users 21.1%
Wellness
Migraine
A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.
"Berk" Surname 18.2%
23andMe Users 16.4%
Are health conditions linked to the last name Berk?
The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.
Disease variant frequency by ancestry
Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Berk are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition