'birthplace' is an English compound formed from 'birth' + 'place'. 'birth' comes from Old English 'byrð' (also seen as 'ge-byrd'), meaning 'birth' or 'origin', and 'place' comes from Old English 'plæc', meaning 'position' or 'location'.

'birth' and 'place' existed separately in Old English; they were combined in Middle English as 'birth-place' (written with a hyphen or as two words) and eventually became the solid compound 'birthplace' in modern English.

Originally it referred specifically to the literal location where someone was born; over time it also developed a figurative sense meaning the origin or starting point of ideas, movements, or institutions.