“Ich bin ein Berliner!” (“I am a Berliner!”) said John F. Kennedy during his visit to Berlin in 1963. As it turns out, he’s not the only American that can make this claim.
According to the German-American Heritage Museum, German speakers began arriving in North America in the 1600’s. Today, around 15% of Americans have German ancestry, according to the Census Bureau. That’s roughly 45 million people! Their ancestors made it to every corner of the continent, bringing with them their hopes, dreams, food, culture, language, and yes, names!
Though French and Spanish names are more common, several cities and towns in America have German names. From Anaheim, California to New Braunfels, Texas and Schaumburg, Illinois, German immigrants were eager to stamp their new home with a bit of German pizazz.
However, not all founders were so creative (see: Germantown, Tennessee). Maybe that’s why there are so many Berlins in the USA! Type “Berlin” into Google Maps, and you might find Berlin, Georgia before Berlin, Germany. In fact, there are approximately 26 Berlins spread across the 50 states! Here’s a map with all of them we could find.
There are concentrations of Berlins in the Northeast and Midwest, and a few scattered to the South, like Berlin, Texas, and the West, like Berlin, Nevada. It must be because of the large number of German immigrants that went those directions over hundreds of years.
It’s important to note that some of these lovely Berlins are unincorporated or extinct towns. Berlin, Nevada is actually a ghost town! But several Berlins are thriving! For example, Berlin, Connecticut has 20,000 people. Not bad!
Do you live in one of these Berlins? Ever visited? If you do, tweet us @GermanyinUSA! We can’t wait to see what you find!
By William Fox, German Embassy
