What is the etymology of Berlin, Germany?

Folk-etymology derives it from German Bär "bear," but it is likely from a Slavic source (compare Old Polabian berl-, birl- "swamp"), from PIE *ber- "marshy place," in reference to the old city's location on low, marshy ground along the River Spree. read more

Etymology. Berlin lies in northeastern Germany, east of the River (Saxon or Thuringian) Saale, that once constituted, together with the River Elbe (from their confluence onwards), the eastern border of the Frankish Realm. read more

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. read more