origins-meaning and geographic
2 cousins from Berlin hitchhiking through America in the late 80's told me this name meant breaking skulls, but then got into a debate over whether it might mean breaking glass or crystal skulls.
My family left Strassburg or Kaiserslautern in the 1790's, so I'm curious where they actually lived, where they originally came from and what the meaning of our name is.
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Berst is a variant of Bertsch whose origin you'll find at http://www.ancestryfamilytree.com/facts/Bertsch-family-history.ashx. You may be able to find the genealogical information you're looking for at http://boards.ancestry.com/surnames.berst/mb.ashx.
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This map shows the name as best represented in the Rhineland near the border with France -
http://christoph.stoepel.net/geogen/en/MapGateway.aspx?name=Berst&target=DE&renderer=EN_US&mode=rel
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Long Time Away ...Hi Jim,I'm amazed to see you're still an avid contributor ...I didn't so much get bored with this site (I love it!), but more so got busy with life ...special needs kid. Anyway, hope all is well. I may be moving from Boston to Norway (wife's homeland) ...imagine that!! Hope to check in more frequently ...CheersSean
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Nice to hear from you, Sean. I often wonder where people get to. As you say, life.
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