Berkley
A locational surname meaning “of Berkeley,” from places in England called Berkeley.
The #7,050 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 64,999 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Berkley is a spelling variant of Berkeley, a surname taken from place names in England, especially Berkeley in Gloucestershire. The place-name is usually explained as meaning “birch clearing” or “birch wood,” from Old English roots for birch plus a woodland clearing. The surname therefore originally identified someone who came from Berkeley or from a similar “Berkeley” place.
History
The historical excerpts consistently treat Berkley as an early or alternate spelling of Berkeley, and Bardsley explicitly labels it a local surname meaning “of Berkeley.” The name is best known in the English nobility through the Berkeley family of Gloucestershire, whose name appears in medieval records in several spellings. Later, Berkley became one of several surname spellings that survived alongside Berkeley, Barclay, and Barkley.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Bardsley notes Berkley as an early variant of Berkeley rather than a separate origin, showing how flexible surname spelling could be in medieval records.
From the historical record
“MDB. (CD. Sawx), >. Borolar, Berkel«7, Berkley. —Local, ' of Berkeley.' An early variant. Berkeley is a parish and market town in co. Gloucester. Berkeley^ CO. Oif., 1171. A.”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances