Berlin
Meaning of Berlin
Berlin, pronounced BEHR-leen, originated as the toponym of Germany’s capital, a name that most scholars trace to the Slavic root berl-, “riverbank” or “marsh,” although a secondary folk association with the German Bär, “bear,” has long colored the city’s heraldry and, by extension, the name’s iconography. As a given name it functions without gender restriction, a rarity among place-derived appellations, and its American usage profile—never numerous yet remarkably persistent from the 1920s through the present—suggests a niche appeal to parents who favor geographic modernities while eschewing overt trendiness; in the past decade it has hovered around the 880th position, with annual counts oscillating between approximately 45 and 65 births. The semantic field of Berlin inevitably evokes historical resilience, artistic avant-gardism, and cosmopolitan intellect, associations reinforced by the city’s post-reunification renaissance and its reputation as a hub for design, music, and scholarship. Consequently, the name Berlin conveys an understated urban sophistication, balancing Old World gravitas with contemporary neutrality, and thus offers expectant parents a technically unisex, culturally resonant option that remains distinctive yet accessible within Anglo-American contexts.
Pronunciation
German
- Pronunced as BEHR-leen (/bɛˈliːn/)
U.S. Popularity Chart
States Popularity Chart
