Berger is a surname in both
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
and
French, although there is no etymological connection between the names in the two languages. The French surname is an occupational name for a shepherd, from Old French ''bergier'' (Late Latin ''berbicarius'', from ''berbex'' 'ram'). The German surname derives from the word ''Berg'', the word for "mountain" or "hill", and means "a resident on a mountain or hill", or someone from a
toponym
Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''wikt:toponym, toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage, and types. ''Toponym'' is the general term for ...
Berg
Berg may refer to:
People
*Berg (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name)
* General Berg (disambiguation)
* Berg Ng (born 1960), Hong Kong actor
* Berg (footballer, born 1963), Ninimbergue dos Santos Guerra, Brazilian footba ...
, derived from the same. The pronunciation of the English name may sometimes be , following the French phonetics
; the German one is , anglicized as . Notable people with this surname include:
Politics
*
Charles W. Berger (1936–2016), American politician
*
Gianna Berger (born 1999), Swiss politician
*
James S. Berger (1903–1984), American politician
*
Jan Johannis Adriaan Berger
Jan Johannis Adriaan Berger (18 September 1918 – 6 September 1978) was a Dutch politician. During World War II, WWII he hid people who were supposed to be shipped off to Nazi Germany, Germany as forced labourers. In 1946 he became a member of th ...
, Dutch politician
*
Józef Berger
Józef Berger (14 March 1901 – 11 June 1962) was a Polish Lutheran pastor, theologian and politician from the region of Trans-Olza, Czechoslovakia. He was a member of the Polish People's Party, a political party active amongst middle-class Lu ...
(1901–1962), Polish theologian and politician
*
Karine Berger (born 1973), French politician
*
Laurent Berger
Laurent Berger (born 27 October 1968) is a French labor leader. He has been the general secretary of the French Democratic Confederation of Labour (CFDT) between 2012 and 2023.
Life Youth
Berger is the son of a worker of the Chantiers de l'A ...
(born 1968), French trade unionist
*
Lieselotte Berger (1920–1989), German politician
*
Luciana Berger
Luciana Clare Berger, Baroness Berger (; born 13 May 1981) is a British politician who served as Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament for Liverpool Wavertree from 2010 to 2019, and a Member of the House of Lords since 2025 ...
(born 1981), British Liberal Democrat politician
*
Maria Berger (born 1956), Austrian politician
*
Markus Berger (1913–1988), German politician
*
Mateusz Berger (born 1986), Polish politician
*
Matthias Berger
Matthias Berger (born 2 January 1968) is a German politician who is a member of the Landtag of Saxony. On 1 December 2023 Berger was selected as the top candidate for the Free Voters of Saxony for the 2024 Saxony state election in which he was ...
(born 1968), German politician
*
Óscar Berger
Óscar José Rafael Berger Perdomo (; born 11 August 1946) is a Guatemalan businessman and politician who served as the 46th president of Guatemala from 2004 to 2008. He previously served as mayor of Guatemala City from 1991 to 1999.
Early y ...
(born 1946), President of Guatemala
*
Ossian Berger
Ossian Berger (13 February 1849 – 28 December 1914) was a Swedish politician and lawyer. He was the minister of justice from 1902 to 1905 and member of the Riksdag (parliament) from 1907 to 1912.
Early life and education
Berger was born in Ny ...
(1849–1914), Swedish politician and lawyer
*
Phil Berger (born 1952), American politician
*
Samuel D. Berger (1911–1980), American diplomat
*
Sandy Berger
Samuel Richard "Sandy" Berger (October 28, 1945 – December 2, 2015) was a Democratic attorney who served as the 18th US National Security Advisor for U.S. President Bill Clinton from 1997 to 2001 after he had served as the Deputy National Secu ...
(1945–2015), American attorney and politician
*
Thomas R. Berger (1933–2021), Canadian politician
*
Tina Berger
Tina Angela Berger (born 7 September 1981) is an Austrian politician of the Freedom Party. She was elected member of the National Council in the 2024 legislative election, and previously served as a municipal councillor of Lendorf.
Referenc ...
(born 1981), Austrian politician
*
Ulrich Berger
Ulrich Berger (October 24, 1921 – January 21, 2003) was a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and former member of the German Bundestag
The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet (assembly), Diet") is the lower house of the ...
(1921–2003), German politician
*
Victor L. Berger
Victor Luitpold Berger (February 28, 1860August 7, 1929) was an Austrian–American socialist politician and journalist who was a founding member of the Social Democratic Party of America and its successor, the Socialist Party of America. Born in ...
(1860–1929), American politician
Sports
*
Alfred Berger
Alfred Berger (25 August 1894 – 11 June 1966) was an Austrian pair skater. With his skating partner, Helene Engelmann, he became the 1924 Olympic champion and a two-time world champion ( 1922, 1924).
Results
with Helene Engelmann
Navig ...
(1894–1966), Austrian pair skater
*
Andrea Berger
Andrea Berger (born January 28, 1970) is an American former professional tennis player. At the 1989 Maccabiah Games in Tel Aviv, she won a gold medal in the women's doubles event, and was runner-up to Ilana Berger (no relation) in the singles, ...
(born 1970), American tennis player
*
Andreas Berger (athlete)
Andreas Berger (born 9 June 1961 in Gmunden, Oberösterreich) is a former Austrian track and field sprinter, who ran in the 100 m and 200 m. In 1993 he tested positive for the banned steroid Metandienone, together with his teammates Franz Ratz ...
(born 1961), Austrian sprinter
*
Ann-Katrin Berger
Ann-Katrin Berger (born 9 October 1990) is a German professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Gotham FC in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the Germany national team, where she has been the number one since 2024. She ha ...
(born 1990), German football goalkeeper
*
Barbara Berger
Barbara Berger (December 6, 1930 – January 27, 2016) was an American baseball catcher who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 2", 120 lb., she batted and threw right handed.
Born in Maywood, Illino ...
(1930–2016), American baseball player
*
Chris Berger
Christiaan David "Chris" Berger (27 April 1911 – 12 September 1965) was a Dutch athlete, competing in the sprints.
Career
Berger was a football player and changed to running after winning a 100 national title among footballers. In 1930 he ...
(1911–1965), Dutch sprinter
*
Daniel Berger (born 1993), American golfer
*
David Mark Berger (1944–1972), Israeli weightlifter; one of 11 hostages murdered in the Munich massacre
*
Frederick Berger (1849–?), American baseball umpire
*
Gerhard Berger
Gerhard Berger (; born 27 August 1959) is an Austrian former racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Berger won 10 Formula One Grands Prix across 14 seasons.
Berger competed in Formula One for 14 seasons, ...
(born 1959), Austrian racing driver
*
Grace Berger (born 1999), American basketball player
*
Guylaine Berger (born 1956), French swimmer
*
Han Berger (born 1950), Dutch football coach
*
Ike Berger (1936–2022), American weightlifter
*
Ilana Berger (born 1965), Israeli tennis player
*
Jan Berger (born 1976), Czech-Swiss football player
*
Jay Berger
Jay Berger (born November 26, 1966) is an American former professional tennis player. He won three singles and one doubles title on the ATP Tour and reached his career-high singles ranking of World No. 7 in April 1990.
Early and personal life
...
(born 1966), American tennis player
*
Johann Berger (1845–1933), Austrian chess master, theorist, endgame study composer, author and editor
*
Lars Berger
Lars Berger (born 1 May 1979) is a former Norwegian biathlete and cross-country skier.
Life and career
Fellow former biathlete Tora Berger is his sister. Berger's family moved to Lesja Municipality in Oppland county in 1985. At the age of six, ...
(born 1979), Norwegian biathlete
*
Mark Berger (born 1954), Canadian judoka
*
Maxie Berger (1917–2000), Canadian boxer
*
Norma Berger
Norma A. Berger Taylor (December 22, 1932 – November 1, 2023) was an American baseball pitcher who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League during the season. Berger was nicknamed "Bergie״. Listed at , , she batted and th ...
(1932–2023), American baseball player, sister of Barbara
*
Ola Berger (born 1979), Norwegian ski mountaineer and cross-country skier
*
Olia Berger
Olia Berger (born June 30, 1980) is a female judoka from Canada. Her father is judoka Mark Berger (judoka), Mark Berger, who was an Olympic medalist for Canada in 1984.
Berger, who is Jewish, earned a bronze medal for Canada in judo in the O72 ...
(born 1983), Canadian judoka
*
Patrik Berger
Patrik Berger (; born 10 November 1973) is a Czech former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He started his career in his own country with Slavia Prague and spent a season in Germany playing for Borussia Dortmund. He moved to ...
(born 1973), Czech football player
*
Ruud Berger (born 1980), Dutch football player
*
Sam Berger
Sam, SAM or variants may refer to:
Places
* Sam, Benin
* Sam, Boulkiemdé, Burkina Faso
* Sam, Bourzanga, Burkina Faso
* Sam, Kongoussi, Burkina Faso
* Sam, Iran
* Sam, Teton County, Idaho, United States, a populated place
People and fictio ...
(1900–1992), Canadian football team owner
*
Samuel Berger (1884–1925), American boxer
*
Ségolène Berger (born 1978), French tennis player
*
Steve Berger
Stephen Richard Berger (born May 20, 1973) is an American retired professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Welterweight division. Berger is probably best known for fighting in the UFC, most notably participating in the first mixed ...
(born 1973), American mixed martial artist
*
Tora Berger
Tora Berger (born 18 March 1981) is a retired Norwegian biathlete and Olympic champion.
Personal life
Berger married in 2010, having met her husband in high school. (born 1981), Norwegian biathlete, sister of Lars
*
Wally Berger (1905–1988), American baseball player
Music
*
Arthur Berger (1912–2003), American composer
*
Christian Wilhelm Berger (born 1964), Romanian composer and musician
*
Dominique II Berger
Dominique II Berger (1 January 1780 in Bruges – 23 March 1845) was a Flemish organist and the official city carillonneur of Bruges between 1807 and 1838.
Levensloop
Dominique or Dominiek II Berger was the eldest son of Dominique I Berger (1747� ...
(1780–1845), Flemish organist and carillonneur
*
Erna Berger (1900–1990), German soprano singer
*
Henri Berger
Henry or Henri Berger (August 4, 1844 – October 14, 1929) was a Prussian Kapellmeister, composer and royal bandmaster of the Kingdom of Hawaii from 1872 to 1915.
Biography
Berger was born Heinrich August Wilhelm Berger in Berlin, and becam ...
(1844–1929), Hawaiian musician
*
Karl Berger
Karl Hans Berger (March 30, 1935 – April 9, 2023) was a German-American jazz pianist, vibraphonist, composer, and educator. He was a leading figure in jazz improvisation from the 1960s when he settled in the United States for life. He founde ...
(1935–2023), German jazz musician and educator
*
Ludwig Berger (composer) (1777–1839), German composer and piano teacher
*
Margaret Berger (born 1985), Norwegian singer, songwriter, and disc jockey
*
Michel Berger
Michel Jean Hamburger (28 November 1947 – 2 August 1992), known professionally as Michel Berger, was a French singer and songwriter. He was a figure of France's pop music scene for two decades as a singer. As a songwriter he wrote for artists ...
(1947–1992), French singer and songwriter
*
Wilhelm Berger
Wilhelm Reinhard Berger (9 August 1861 – 16 January 1911) was a German composer, pianist and conductor.
Life
Berger's father, originally a merchant from Bremen, worked in Boston (where Berger was born) as a music shopkeeper and made a name for ...
(1861–1911), German composer
*
Wilhelm Georg Berger (1929–1993), Romanian composer
*
Wilhelm Peterson Berger (1867–1942), Swedish musician
Culture
*
Alex Berger, (born 1962), American producer, creator, consultant and entrepreneur
*
Charlotta Berger (1784–1852), Swedish poet and novelist
*
Edward Berger
Edward Berger (; born 1970) is a Swiss nationality , Swiss and Austrian nationality law, Austrian director and screenwriter. He is known for his work in Germany, where he was born and grew up, such as the German films ''Jack (2014 film), Jack'' ...
(born 1970), Austrian-Swiss director
*
Élie Berger (1850–1925), French archivist and palaeographer
*
Erika Berger
Erika Berger (August 13, 1939 – May 15, 2016) was a German television presenter and author.
Life
Berger worked as a television presenter on German television broadcaster RTL. As a writer she wrote several books on sexuality
Human s ...
(1939–2016), German television presenter and writer
*
Georgette Berger (1901–1986), Belgian wife of the painter René Magritte
*
Helmut Berger
Helmut Berger (; ''né'' Steinberger; 29 May 1944 – 18 May 2023) was an Austrian actor, known for his portrayal of narcissistic and sexually ambiguous characters. He was one of the stars of European cinema in the late 1960s and 1970s, and is r ...
(1944–2023), Austrian actor
*
Howard Berger
Howard Berger (born 20 December 1964) is a special make-up effects creator who is best known for his work on ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' films. He has over 200 films to his credit since 1977.
Berger is the co-founder of KNB EFX Group along w ...
, American make-up artist
*
John Berger
John Peter Berger ( ; 5 November 1926 – 2 January 2017) was an English art critic, novelist, painter and poet. His novel '' G.'' won the 1972 Booker Prize, and his essay on art criticism '' Ways of Seeing'', written as an accompaniment to t ...
(1926–2017), British art critic, novelist, painter, and author
*
Jonah Berger, American writer and professor
*
Karen Berger
Karen Berger (; born February 26, 1958) is an American comic book editor. She is best known for her role in helping create DC Comics' Vertigo imprint in 1993 and serving as the line's Executive Editor until 2013. She currently oversees Berger ...
(born 1958), American comic book editor
*
Katya Berger
Katya Bebb Cobham (Berger) (born 13 December 1966) sometimes credited as Katia Berger or Katja Berger, is a film actress.
Biography
Katya Berger was born on 13 December 1966 in London, England. She is the daughter of Hugh Russell Bebb and Cr ...
(born 1966) (sometimes credited as Katia Berger or Katja Berger), British actress
*
Marco Berger (born 1977), Argentine film director and screenwriter
*
Maurice Berger
Maurice Berger (May 22, 1956 – March 22, 2020) was an American cultural historian, curator, and art critic, who served as a Research Professor and Chief Curator at the Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture, University of Maryland, Baltimo ...
(1956–2020) American cultural historian, curator, and critic
*
Nicole Berger
Nicole Berger (born Nicole Gouspeyre,''Le Vrai Nom des stars'' de Michel Bracquart - M.A. Editions - 1989 12 June 1934 – 13 April 1967) was a French actress.
Biography
Berger was born Nicole Gouspeyre on 12 June 1934 in Paris. She had a brief ...
(born Nicole Gouspeyre, 1934–1967), French actress
*
Nicole Berger (American actress) (born 2003), American actress, model, and pianist
*
Oscar Berger (cartoonist)
Oscar Berger (May 12, 1901 – May 15, 1997) was a well-known caricaturist and cartoonist. His work appeared in numerous newspapers and magazines, and he authored and illustrated seven books. Some of the notable people who have sat for him to be ...
(1901–1997), Slovak cartoonist
*
Pablo Berger
Pablo Berger Uranga (born 1963) is a Spanish film director and screenwriter. He is known for directing and writing the silent drama film '' Blancanieves'' (2012), the black comedy films '' Torremolinos 73'' (2003) and ''Abracadabra'' (2017), a ...
(born 1963), Spanish film director
*
Petra Berger (born Petra Pierrette Burger, 1965), Dutch singer, composer, photographer, and actress
*
Robert Berger (producer) (born 1934), American film producer
*
Senta Berger
Senta Verhoeven (née Berger; ''Austrian German:'' , ; born 13 May 1941) is an Austrian-German actress. She received many award nominations for her acting in theatre, film, and television; her awards include three Bambi (prize), Bambi Awards, t ...
(born 1941), Austrian actress
*
Thomas Berger (novelist)
Thomas Louis Berger (July 20, 1924 – July 13, 2014) was an American novelist. Probably best known for his picaresque novel '' Little Big Man'' and the subsequent film by Arthur Penn, Berger explored and manipulated many genres of fiction thro ...
(1924–2014), American novelist
*
Wiesław Adam Berger
Wiesław Adam Berger (6 June 1926 – 15 January 1998) was a Polish Czech writer. He was connected with the Trans-Olza region of Cieszyn Silesia.
Biography
Berger was born on 6 June 1926 in Ostrava. He lived from 1927 to 1940 (and also several ...
(1926–1998), Polish writer
*
William Berger (actor)
William Berger, also known as Bill Berger and Wilhelm Berger, born Wilhelm Thomas Berger (June 20, 1928 – October 2, 1993) was an American actor, mostly associated with Euro and spaghetti Westerns.
Biography Career
A former roommate of Keith R ...
(1928–1993), Austrian-American actor
*
Yves Berger (1931–2004), French writer and editor
Academics
*
Alwin Berger
Alwin Berger (28 August 1871 – 20 April 1931) was a German botanist best known for his contribution to the nomenclature of succulent plants, particularly agaves and cacti. Born in Germany he worked at the botanical gardens in Dresden and Fra ...
(1871–1931), German botanist
*
André Berger (born 1942), Belgian climatologist
*
Beverly Berger, American physicist
*
Hans Berger
Hans Berger (21 May 1873 – 1 June 1941) was a German psychiatrist. He is best known as the inventor of electroencephalography (EEG) in 1924, which is a method used for recording the electrical activity of the brain, commonly described in terms ...
(1873–1941), German neuroscientist
*
Harriet Berger (died 2012), American political scientist
*
James Berger (statistician) (born 1950), American statistician
*
Jeffrey W. Berger (1963–2001), American physician and engineer
*
Jerry Berger (1933–2021), American journalist
*
Johann Gottfried von Berger (1659–1736), German physician
*
Josef Berger (scientist) (born 1949), Czech biomedical engineer and haematologist
*
Lee R. Berger (born 1965), American-born South African explorer and paleoanthropologist
*
Leszek Berger (1925–2012), Polish herpetologist and malacologist
*
Marcel Berger
Marcel Berger (14 April 1927 – 15 October 2016) was a French mathematician, doyen of French differential geometry, and a former director of the Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques (IHÉS), France.
Biography
After studying from 1948 to 19 ...
(1927–2016), French mathematician
*
Peter B. Berger (born 1956), American cardiologist
*
Peter L. Berger
Peter Ludwig Berger (17 March 1929 – 27 June 2017) was an Austrian-born American sociologist and Protestant theologian. Berger became known for his work in the sociology of knowledge, the sociology of religion, study of modernization, and contr ...
(1929–2017), Austrian-born American sociologist and theologian
*
Richard Berger (1894–1984), Swiss professor of design, decoration, and art history
*
Robert Berger (mathematician)
Robert Berger (born 1938) is an applied mathematician, known for discovering the first aperiodic tiling using a set of 20,426 distinct tile shapes.
Contributions to tiling theory
The unexpected existence of aperiodic tilings, although not Berger ...
(born 1938), American mathematician
*
Wolfgang H. Berger (1937–2017), German-American oceanographer
Other professions
*
Carolyn Berger, American judge
*
Daniel Berger (engraver) (1744–1825), German engraver
*
David Berger (theologian) (born 1968), German theologian
*
Gaston Berger (1896–1960), French futurist, industrialist, philosopher and state manager
*
Georges Berger (1918–1967), Belgian racing driver
*
Gottlob Berger
Gottlob Christian Berger (16 July 1896 – 5 January 1975) was a German senior Nazi official who held the rank of '' SS-Obergruppenführer und General der Waffen-SS'' (lieutenant general) and was the chief of the SS Main Office responsibl ...
(1896–1975), German ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) general
*
Irene Berger (born 1954), American judge
*
Josef Berger (speechwriter) (1903–1981), American journalist, accused of being a Soviet spy
*
Patricia Wilson Berger (1926–2011), American librarian
*
Roland Berger
Roland Berger (born 22 November 1937) is a German entrepreneur, consultant and philanthropist.
Life
Roland Berger was born in Berlin in 1937 as Robert Altmann; his family name changed later, after his father, Georg L. Berger, married his moth ...
(born 1937), German entrepreneur and philanthropist
*
Roza Berger (1889–1945), 1945 Kraków pogrom victim
*
Theo Berger (1941–2003), German criminal
Fictional
*
Erika Berger
Erika Berger (August 13, 1939 – May 15, 2016) was a German television presenter and author.
Life
Berger worked as a television presenter on German television broadcaster RTL. As a writer she wrote several books on sexuality
Human s ...
from the
Millennium trilogy by
Stieg Larsson
Karl Stig-Erland "Stieg" Larsson (, ; 15 August 1954 – 9 November 2004) was a Swedish writer, journalist, and far-left activist. He is best known for writing the ''Millennium'' trilogy of crime novels, which were published posthumously, sta ...
See also
*
Birger
Birger is a Scandinavian name from Old Norse, ''bjarga'', meaning "to help, to save, to protect". It is widely used in Norway as Birger but also as Børge. The Swedish variant of ''Birger'' would soon evolve into ''Börje'', however, the prior for ...
*
Bürger
Bürger or Buerger is a surname. Notable people with the name include:
* Gottfried August Bürger, German poet
* Heinrich Bürger, German physicist and biologist
* Heinrich Otto Wilhelm Bürger, German zoologist
* Karl-Heinz Bürger, German S ...
*
Burger (disambiguation)
Burger or Burgers may refer to:
Food and drink Foods
* Hamburger, a food consisting of one or more cooked beef patties, placed inside a sliced bread roll or bun roll.
** Cheeseburger, a hamburger with added cheese(s)
* Ground beef, minced be ...
*
Burger (surname) Burger is a West Germanic surname. It is the Dutch and Afrikaans word for 'freeman' or 'citizen' (German ''Bürger'', Low German ''Börger'') and the surname is equivalent to the English surname Burgess. In Dutch and German speaking countries it m ...
*
Burgers (surname) Burgers is a Dutch surname. It means "citizen's", but the name is also (or even primarily) of patronymic origin, with the Germanic given name ''Burger'' related to Burchard.
*
Burgher (disambiguation)
Burgher may refer to:
* Burgher (social class), a medieval, early modern European title of a citizen of a town, and a social class from which city officials could be drawn
** Burgess (title), a resident of a burgh in northern Britain
** Grand Bur ...
{{Authority control
German-language surnames
French-language surnames
Germanic-language surnames
Surnames of Jewish origin
Occupational surnames
German toponymic surnames