Berkelium wani sinadari ne mai alamar Bk da lambar atomic lamba 97. Karfe ne na rediyoaktif, mai launin azurfa-fari wanda ke cikin jerin abubuwan actinide. Sunan Berkelium ne bayan birnin Berkeley, California, inda Glenn T. Seaborg, Stanley G. Thompson, da Albert Ghiorso suka fara haɗa shi a cikin 1949 a Jami'ar California, Berkeley. Berkelium ba shi da sanannen rawar nazarin halittu kuma ana amfani da shi da farko don dalilai na bincike na kimiyya, musamman a cikin nazarin halayen nukiliya da abubuwan transuranic.