Berge

This is an ancient heraldic surname whose origins trace back to the Province of Gaul in the 6th Century and earlier. It is topographical for one who lived on a steep bank, and is also found recorded as "Delbergue, Bergeau" and "Bergeon". However, despite its apparently humble origins, this is a name ennobled both in France, Germany and the Netherlands, being recorded as Berge de Berge from Juliers, in France; the Counts Von Berge of Germany; and Van den Berge of Brabant in the Netherlands, and at least twelve Coats of Arms being granted to nameholders. There is no connection with the English surname "Burge", which is a corrupt form of the Olde English pre 7th Century "brycg", meaning "bridge". Name recordings include Vom Berg, who married Barbara Hacker at Landau in Pfalz Stadt, on February 19th 1598; Isaac Von Dem Berg, a witness at Krefeld, Rheinland, on December 1st 1737; and Adoloph Edouard Berg, recorded in the German Military lists at Brandenburg, on December 29th 1849. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Lambert 1, Count of Berg, which was dated 1128, marriage to Mathilde, Countess of Ahre (Germany), during the reign of Lothar 11, of the Holy Roman (German) Empire, 1125 - 1137. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.