# Bertha (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/bertha/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | girls |
| Origin | German |
| Meaning | “bright one” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈbɝθə/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | Berdie |
| Variant spellings | Berta |
| US babies named this | 208,807 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 937 / 207,870 (100% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 9, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Definitely from Old English Berþa as a result of metathesis of h, from earlier Old English Berhte (“bright one”), influence of Latin Bercta. Alternatively, from Old High German berhta (“bright one”), which was an epithet of the goddess Frigg.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 47 | 3,416 |
| 2012 | 28 | 4,987 |
| 2013 | 28 | 4,921 |
| 2014 | 34 | 4,280 |
| 2015 | 30 | 4,610 |
| 2016 | 36 | 4,099 |
| 2017 | 28 | 4,825 |
| 2018 | 28 | 4,792 |
| 2019 | 30 | 4,557 |
| 2020 | 28 | 4,661 |
| 2021 | 25 | 5,112 |
| 2022 | 34 | 4,220 |
| 2023 | 30 | 4,581 |
| 2024 | 29 | 4,684 |
| 2025 | 30 | 4,569 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1944 | 8 | 2,653 |
| 1945 | 5 | 3,376 |
| 1946 | 6 | 3,207 |
| 1947 | 6 | 3,400 |
| 1949 | 9 | 2,627 |
| 1950 | 6 | 3,356 |
| 1952 | 5 | 3,791 |
| 1953 | 9 | 2,726 |
| 1955 | 10 | 2,584 |
| 1956 | 6 | 3,569 |
| 1958 | 6 | 3,580 |
| 1961 | 10 | 2,728 |
| 1965 | 6 | 3,573 |
| 1966 | 5 | 3,999 |
| 1986 | 5 | 6,825 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 3 | 5,556 |
| 2015 | 3 | 5,730 |
| 2017 | 3 | 5,765 |

## In other languages

- Czech: Berta
- Danish: Bertha
- Finnish: Bertta
- French: Berthe
- German: Bertha
- Hungarian: Berta
- Latvian: Berta
- Slovak: Berta
- Slovene: Berta
- Spanish: Berta
- Swedish: Berta

## People named Bertha

- Bertha von Suttner, Austrian novelist, radical (organizational) pacifist, editor
- Bertha Benz, German automobile pioneer, with husband Karl Benz (1849–1944)
- Bertha Lutz, Brazilian scientist (1894-1976)
- Bertha of Kent, 6th century queen consort of Kent
- Bertha Pappenheim, Austrian feminist (1859–1936)
- Bertha Wegmann, Danish painter (1847-1926)
- Bertha Krupp, German business woman (1886–1957)
- Bertha Brouwer, Dutch sprinter (1930–2006)
- Bertha Swirles, British mathematician & academic (1903-1999)
- Bertha Lamme, American engineer
- Bertha Eckstein-Diener, Austrian writer and historian (1874–1948)
- Bertha M. Stoneman, American born South African botanist (1866-1943)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.