Originally from Antwerp, a branch of the family relocated to Basel in 1620. ^{[ 4 ]} While their origin in Antwerp is certain, proposed earlier connections with the Dutch family of Italian ancestry called Bornouilla (Bernoullie), or with the Castilian family de Bernuy (Bernoille, Bernouille), are uncertain. ^{[ 4 ]}

The first known member of the family was Leon Bernoulli (d. 1561), a doctor in Antwerp, at that time part of the Spanish Netherlands. His son, Jacob, emigrated to Frankfurt am Main in 1570 to escape from the Spanish persecution of the Protestants. Jacob’s grandson, a spice trader, also named Jacob, moved to Basel, Switzerland in 1620, and was granted citizenship in 1622. ^{[ 4 ]} His son, Niklaus Bernoulli [de] (Nicolaus, 1623–1708), Leon’s great-great-grandson, married Margarethe Schönauer.

[ edit ].