The name was originally applied to the village of Bergen, settled in 1660, which is not the area known as Jersey City Heights. Some earlier writers believed the name was derived from the City of Bergen, Norway. Others said it was named after the small town of Bergen in Northern Holland. Since Colonial New Jersey’s Bergen was a Dutch town founded and governed by a Dutch colony, the name was most likely derived from a town in Holland or a geographical description in the Dutch Language.
The name “Bergen”, originally derived from the word for “hill” in Norway, Belgium and the Netherlands, was applied to towns located in the hills. New Jersey’s Bergen, was originally a settlement on a hill. Therefore, the currently accepted theory is, that the geographical location of the original town is the most likely reason it was called Bergen The name “Bergen” was applied to the County, which was established in 1683.
Disclaimer: this information is taken directly to the pamphlet from the Bergen County Division of Cultural and Historic Affairs. It tells the story of the county we live in here in New Jersey
Visiting a Museum: The Unique, Unusual, Obscure and Historical 
Welcome to the County of Bergen and her rich history.
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