Given name & surname · also Germanic
Bertha
“one who is famously bright and beautiful”
Bertha is used as a given name and a surname. One German interpretation is “one who is famously bright and beautiful.”
Original GermanBerta
Meaning & origin
What it means
One German interpretation is “one who is famously bright and beautiful.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Germanic.
How it developed
In English usage, Bertha developed from Berhte. In English usage, Bertha developed from Berþa.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Bertha through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 208,807
- 937 boys · 207,870 girls
- Most popular year
- 1918
- 5,065 babies
- 2025
- 30
- #4,569 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −1%
- Steady
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 30 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 4,569 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 1.3% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 5,051 in 1918. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 64,455 as a first name in 2020; 499 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Bertha’s family of names
In English usage, Bertha has a diminutive in Birdie. Bertha shares a linguistic root with Berta. Bertha has a related form in Bertina.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Bertha has relatives in 15 languages. Lines run from its Proto-Germanic roots to each of them.
8 related names in 15 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 12
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Bertavariant · German, Icelandic
- Birdiediminutive · English
- Berdiediminutive · English
- Birthavariant
- Bertinevariant
- Bertinavariant
- Berthvariant
- Berthevariant · French, nrf
Show 4 moreShow fewer
Across languages 6
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Bertha
- Bertha von SuttnerAustrian novelist, radical (organizational) pacifist, editor1843–1914
- Bertha BenzGerman automobile pioneer, with husband Karl Benz (1849–1944)
- Bertha CáceresHonduran environmental activist1971–2016
- Bertha of HollandFrench Queen1055–1094
- Bertha LutzBrazilian scientist (1894-1976)
- Bertha of SavoyHoly Roman Empress from 1084 to 10871051–1088
- Bertha of Kent6th century queen consort of Kent565–612
- Bertha of BurgundyQueen of the Franks from 996 to 1001964–1010
- Bertha PappenheimAustrian feminist (1859–1936)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
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