Bertha
Below 5 births
2025 SSA
About Bertha
Ever since Allied soldiers in World War I dubbed the enormous German cannon "Big Bertha", this name hasn't worked for a sweet little baby girl. But this was not always so. Hard as it might be to imagine now, Bertha was a Top 100 name until the 1930s, and in the 1880s was the seventh most popular name in the land--the equal of Joseph.
Bertha, aka Berchta, was a Teurtonic goddess borrowed from Norse mythology, regarded in her earliest incarnations as a beautiful and benevolent spirit. Bertha is an ancient Germanic name attached to the 6th century Saint Bertha of Kent, who was instrumental in the spread of Christianity, and it was the name of both the mother and daughter of Charlemagne.
In literature, Bertha Mason is the first wife of Rochester in Jane Eyre, and a character in Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth. The French version Berthe is represented by the French Impressionist painter Berthe Morisot and the neglected daughter in Madame Bovary. All in all, though, modern parents might do better to consider the Polish version, Berta.
Bertha is also given to boys.
Pronounced BER-thuh.
As of October 2026, Bertha ranked #6827 in US births in 1986 SSA, peaked at #492 in 1900.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank · boys | Births · boys | US rank · girls | Births · girls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | — | 0 | #4,280 | 34 |
| 2015 | — | 0 | #4,610 | 30 |
| 2016 | — | 0 | #4,096 | 36 |
| 2017 | — | 0 | #4,825 | 28 |
| 2018 | — | 0 | #4,791 | 28 |
| 2019 | — | 0 | #4,556 | 30 |
| 2020 | — | 0 | #4,660 | 28 |
| 2021 | — | 0 | — | 0 |
| 2022 | — | 0 | #4,216 | 34 |
| 2023 | — | 0 | #4,765 | 28 |
| 2024 | — | 0 | #4,775 | 28 |
| 2025 | — | 0 | #4,569 | 30 |
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Bertha.
Bertha on lists
Famous Berthas
- Saint Bertha of Val d'OrGirl
abbess of Avenay
- Saint Bertha of KentGirl
Anglo,Saxon queen
- Bertha Felicitas Sophie Freifrau von SuttnerGirl
Austrian novelist; first woman Nobel Peace Prize winner
- Bertha of SavoyGirl
Holy Roman Empress; wife of Henry IV
- Bertha of HollandGirl
Queen consort of Philip I of the Franks
- Bertha of SulzbachGirl
Empress consort of Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Comnenus
- Bertha of SwabiaGirl
Queen consort of Rudolph II of Burgundy
- Bertha Wrenham WilsonGirl
first woman Puisne Justice of the Canadian Supreme Court
- Bertha BenzGirl
wife of German automaker Karl Benz; first person to drive a car long distance
- Bertha Krupp von Bohlen und AlbachGirl
German businesswoman
- Bertha Southey BrammallGirl
Australian novelist
- Bertha BrainardGirl
American TV executive
- Bertha "Chippie" HillGirl
American blues singer
- Bertha Kalich (born Beylke Kalakh)Girl
Ukrainian,American Yiddish actress
- Bertha Knight LandesGirl
first woman mayor of a major U.S. city (Seattle)
- Bertha Amy LewisGirl
English operatic contralto
- Bertha MahonyGirl
American founder of The Horn Book review
- Bertha Matilde Honoré PalmerGirl
American businesswoman and socialite
- Bertha Pappenheim aka Anna O.Girl
Austrian feminist and Freud patient
- Bertha Lee PateGirl
American blues singer
- Bertha RunkleGirl
American novelist
- Bertha Louise Townsend ToulminGirl
American tennis player
Bertha in pop culture
- Bertha Antoinetta MasonGirl
Edward Rochester's wife in "Jane Eyre"
- Bertha DorsetGirl
character in Edith Wharton's "The House of Mirth"
- Bertha JorkinsGirl
character in the Harry Potter series
- BerthaGirl
character in Fred: The Movie
- Mal BerthaGirl
main character in the Disney TV movie "Descendants"
- Bertha WeedonGirl
character in Jenny Nimmo's "The Children of the Red King" series
- Bertha ShirleyGirl
mother of Anne in “Anne of Green Gables” by L. M. Montgomery
- BerthaGirl
obese woman in the Garfield comic strip who dated Jon Arbuckle before losing 200 pounds