Greenberg
A Jewish surname meaning “green mountain,” often adopted or adapted in Central and Eastern Europe.
The #1,720 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 14,775 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Greenberg is built from Germanic words for “green” and “mountain/hill”: German grün/green and Berg, “mountain.” In many Jewish naming traditions, such two-part surnames were chosen or assigned as ornamental names rather than inherited from an older family byname. The form is especially common among Ashkenazi Jewish families from German- and Yiddish-speaking areas.
History
The name became widespread among Ashkenazi Jews in the 18th and 19th centuries, especially in Central and Eastern Europe, when fixed surnames were required or increasingly used. The historical excerpts you provided treat Greenberg as a name found among Jewish immigrants from Russia, which fits that broader pattern. In English-speaking countries the surname is often kept in its Germanic spelling, with no change beyond standard anglicized pronunciation.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Greenberg is one of several common Jewish surnames built from attractive nature words, alongside names like Goldberg and Rosenberg.
From the historical record
“gruoni + herg\ Often partly Anglicized as Greenberg. GUERRIER (Fr.) Warrior [f.(with Fr. agent. suff. -ier) Fr. guerre, war ; O.H.Ger. wert,”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)