The university was started because the many migrants who went to California in the gold rush decided they wanted a school to educate their children. It was named in memory of the Irish philosopher and educator George Berkeley.
當初前來舊金山淘金的居民，覺得應設立一所大學教育他們的子弟，就在金山灣對岸的松杉林中，覓得一塊土地成立學校，校名則是為了紀念英國哲學家柏克萊。