Berlin
Usually a surname taken from the city of Berlin, so it is a locational name meaning “from Berlin.”
The #4,729 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 41,150 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Berlin is most naturally understood as a locational surname formed from the name of the German capital. In surname use, it would originally have identified someone who came from Berlin or had some connection with the place. The city name itself is older than the surname and has been explained in different ways, but for the family name the simplest sense is “of Berlin” or “from Berlin.”
History
As a surname, Berlin is found mainly in German-speaking contexts and in later emigrant communities abroad. It likely arose independently in a number of places from people identified by their city of origin rather than from a single family line. In English-language records it is uncommon and may sometimes reflect immigrant spelling retention or occasional anglicization.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The surname is one of many that simply preserve a place-name as a family identifier, much like London, York, or Paris in English.
From the historical record
“N.S.W. ii copies.) ASHER & Co., Booksellers, Berlin. Ayrb, Rev. Canon, Ulverston. Baker, T., Bookseller, London, W. Bardsley, Rev. J. U. N., Ulverston. Bardsley, Mrs. J. W., Huddersfield.”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances