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Its original name was Kutur-Ogly. The city name changed to Novo-Nogaisk in 1830 (New Nogaisk). The present name was given to the city in 1841 by special decree of Nicholas I and named after the nearby river Berda.

Between 1939 and 1958 the city was known as Osipenko, so named after Hero of the Soviet Union Polina Osipenko. This name has now been given to the nearby village Osypenko, where Polina Osipenko was born.

Berdyansk grew from a small settlement and a pier, built in 1673 by Zaporozhian and Azov Cossacks.

In the 19th century, the Russian Imperial government began to plan building a sea port in the Northern Azov region. In 1824, Count Mikhail Vorontsov, Governor General of the Caucasus Viceroyalty, sent an expedition to the Azov Sea. Its task was to find a place to build a new seaport to assist in the defence of Russia's southern borders. Initially, the place for a future port was implied in the village of Obetochnoe that belonged to Count Orlov-Denisov, near the town of Nogaysk founded in 1821.

In the autumn of 1824 Captain N. Kritsky, the expedition supervisor, reported on several prospective sites; the best being a place closed off from the sea by the Berdyansk Spit. In an official report to Vorontsov, Kritsky wrote: "the quality of Berdyansk Spit surpasses that of Obytichna Spit; you can build a landing stage and port on it unless you concede to Sevastopol...".

In 1820s, the place of the future Berdyansk was just a small settlement of fishers with a few huts. In 1825, merchant Nikolay Kobozev built a private wooden quay which was opened with a ceremony on July 1, 1830. Only by January 12, 1835, a state-owned quay had been built. In 1833, Nikolay Kobozev set up a wooden post to function as a navigation beacon; the modern stone lighthouse was built under the leadership of the Italian merchant Carlo Tomasini in 1838. It is a 23-metre (75 ft) octahedral whitestone tower with an orange stripe in the middle. The beacon fires protected sailing ships and was first seen in 1840. Almost half a century later, in 1883, the oil lamps were replaced by electric lights. The old beacon was refurbished and upgraded with newer equipment.

In 1836 the first foreign ship entered the port of Berdyansk.

In 1841 the settlement at the Berdyansk bay received the city status. Grigory Chernyaev (1787-1868) was appointed the city governor (gradonachalnik) and the head of the Berdyansk sea port. G. Chernyaev was an officer from landed gentry; he took part in the Battle of Borodino. After the defeat of Napoleon he was appointed a comendant of Valenciennes. Michael Vorontsov knew him from France, when the former was the commander of the Russian expedition forces.

The son of the Nogaysk merchant who owned fisheries at the Berdyansk bay, Nikolay Kobozev was elected the first mayor of the city in 1841. During his office, the small township had turned into a flourishing city with a large number of foreign companies' offices and active international trade. He had built the first stone houses in the town and the famous Winter Theater, destroyed during WWII.

1842 Berdyansk became the district center. On January 31, 1845, the first Berdyansk coat of arms was created. At the top, on a green field, is a silver Nogay's nomadic tent together with a black plow; this denotes the semi-nomadic life lived in the Nogays and farming work done by local residents. In the bottom part, on a blue field, sits a black anchor to symbolize the district's affinity with the sea. By this time the customs outpost was already opened. Some foreign marine grain purchasing representatives (negotiators) moved their offices to Berdyansk from Mariupol and Odessa.

Following the completion of the Crimea Bridge, and amidst hostile Ukrainian-Russian relations, Berdyansk sea port authority stated in November 2018 that year on year shipping had dropped 50%. This, they claim, was due to ships not getting permission from Russia to pass through the Kerch strait. Russia denied any disruption to Ukrainian shipping.

In the city of Berdyansk there are several art museums, Schmidt's Museum, Museum of World War II and Berdyansk History Museum.It is a host city to more than ten festivals a year. The list includes:

• the Azov Summer Ukrainian Journalism Festival
• the Brigantine Film Festival
• the Berdyansk Jazz Festival
• the Hilarious by the Dark Blue Sea Comedy Festival
• the Top-Top Children's Talent Festival
• the Starfall Children's Pop Music Festival
• Berdyansk Folk and Religious Music Festival
• the Heat of the Sun Festival
• the Azov Sails Televised Children's Talent Festival
• the Rock'n'roll Slavic Soul Festival,
• the Beer Festival

The status of the city has gradually changed from an Industrial centre to more of a tourist centre. Today Berdyansk is the main resort city on the Azov coast. Its population numbers about 130,000, and during the resort season this figure rises to about 600 thousand. The leisure facilities are highly developed and successfully compete with resorts on the Black Sea Coast and the Crimea. There are a large number of sanatoriums and resorts where it is possible to take medical and restorative courses for "health improvement".

On the Berdyansk spit there are about: 7 sanatoriums, 17 children's and sports establishments, 45 recreation centres and boarding houses that receive up to 15 thousand persons. There is also the biggest Aquapark in Europe, the Kyiv dolphinarium, a safari zoo, and a lot of pleasure and cultural establishments. Gradually Berdyansk is evolving into a modern European city. In 2001 it received first place in an All-Ukrainian competition for best city beautification.

In the pedestrian area of Azov Avenue, the Seaside square and Berdyansk quays it is possible to travel on trishaws, a small steam locomotive and on real horses. On all beaches there are entertainments such as: driving on rubber bananas and tablets, water bicycles and motorcycles, slides and trampolines, and sailing. There is also nightlife, with many bars and restaurants located directly on the sea coast.