Names That Mean Birches

Berkeley, with an extra E, is the more familiar variation of this name, associated with the California school. But it's the streamlined Berkley that has proven itself to be more popular as a baby name, at least in the US.

Americans may not realize Barclay is the phonetic spelling of the British Berkeley -- though both sound like old-fashioned butler names.

Despite the strong association with the University of California, Berkeley, the more common version of this name omits the second E, Berkley.

The Brits say BARK-lee, but we pronounce it the same as the name of the California college: either way it's quite pretentious and of another era.