Origin
Berlin : Jewish (Ashkenazic) and German: habitational name from the city of Berlin capital of Germany. This city takes its name from a West Slavic word meaning ‘river rake’ a scaffold of beams built over a river to prevent logs from jamming; the river in question is the Spree. Folk etymology however has put a bear into the arms of the city as if the name were derived from Bärlin a diminutive of Bär ‘bear’. The German name is also found in the Hamburg area where it may be derived from the village of the same name but of uncertain origin in Holstein. In some cases the Jewish name may be a patronymic from a pet form of the Yiddish personal name Ber (see Berenson) formed with the Slavic possessive suffix -in.
Arensdorf : 1: Altered form of German Ahrensdorf: habitational name from a place called Ahrensdorf ‘village of Ahrens’ (see Arend and Dorf). There are several places called Ahrensdorf north and south of Berlin.2: Luxembourgish: cognate of 1 above.
Beetz : German:: 1: variant of Betz.2: habitational name from a place so named on the Havel river northwest of Berlin.
Berliner : Jewish (Ashkenazic) and German: habitational name for someone from the city of Berlin (see Berlin).
Berlinski : 1: Polish (Berliński): habitational name for someone from Berlin in Germany (see Berlin) or Berlinek (formerly Berlino) a village in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship.2: Jewish (from Poland and Ukraine; also Berliński): habitational name for someone from Berlin in Germany (see Berlin compare 1 above).
Cilley : 1: English: variant of Silley itself a variant of Seeley.2: Possibly an Americanized form of German Zille: perhaps a metonymic occupational name for a bargee from Middle High German zülle ‘barge’ mainly used in Saxony and the Berlin area.
Dahlem : 1: Norwegian: habitational name from any of several farmsteads named Dalem from Old Norse dalr ‘valley’ + heim ‘home farm’.2: German: habitational name from any of the places in western Germany named Dahlem: near Lüneburg Bitburg Trier and Berlin (now a suburb).
Damm : 1: North German and Danish: topographic name from Middle Low German dam ‘dike pavement’ and a habitational name from the frequent placename Damm in northern Germany and Damme in Lower Saxony Brandenburg. In large parts of northern Germany (including Berlin) dam denoted the main i.e. paved road which was generally raised in areas of swampy or sandy terrain.2: German: from a short form of a personal name containing the Old High German element thank ‘thanks reward’.
Falkenhagen : German: habitational name from any of several places called from Old High German falke ‘falcon’ + hag ‘hedge fencing’. A place so named is documented west of Berlin in the 14th century.
Garlitz : 1: German: habitational name from either of two places so named in Mecklenburg and near Berlin.2: Possibly an altered form of the German surname Görlitz a habitational name from any of several places so named.
Holbeck : 1: German: habitational name from a place so named south of Berlin.2: Danish and Norwegian: habitational name from Holbæk and Holbekk a compound of Old Norse hol hola ‘hollow depression’ and bekkr ‘stream brook’.
Koelle : German (Kölle):: 1: from the ancient Germanic personal name Kolo or from a pet form of Nikolaus (see Nicholas).2: habitational name from the city of Cologne (German Köln) or places so named near Berlin in Saxony Pomerania or the Palatinate.
Koepnick : Altered form of German Köpenick a habitational name from a former place so named near Berlin or from Köpernick in Saxony.
Kohorst : German: habitational name from Kuhhorst northwest of Berlin a place called with Low German kō kau ‘cow’ + horst ‘group of trees brushwood’.
Marzan : 1: Spanish (Marzán): habitational name from any of the many places in Galicia (Spain) named Marzán from Latin villa Martiani a derivative of the personal name Martius.2: Altered form of German Marzahn a habitational name from either of two places so named near Berlin.
Mellenthin : German: habitational name from any of the places so called near Berlin and on the island of Usedom.
Rudow : East German: habitational name from a place so named near Berlin from Slavic ruda ‘iron ore’.
Sydow : North German: habitational name from any of several places so named for example near Berlin in Pomerania and Anhalt. The surname is also established in Sweden presumably having been taken there from Germany.
Wittner : German: habitational name for someone from any of several places called Witten (for example in the Ruhr) or Wittenau (for example near Berlin and in Silesia). Compare Whitner.
Wittstock : North German: habitational name from any of several places so named for instance north of Berlin.
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Source : DAFN2 : Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, ©2022 by Patrick Hanks and Oxford University Press
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