Berkeley is an English surname and place name from the Old English beorc and leah, meaning "birch clearing" or "birch meadow". Most Americans know it from the California city and its university, which were named after the Irish philosopher George Berkeley. As a girls' name it joined the preppy-surname group with Presley and Kinsley: Berkeley stood at number 5169 in 2000, peaked at number 1763 in 2017 and ranks number 2490 in 2025.