# Bertha

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For other uses, see [Bertha (disambiguation)](/source/Bertha_(disambiguation)).

Bertha Gender Female Origin Meaning "Bright one"

**Bertha** is a female [Germanic name](/source/Germanic_name), from Old High German *berhta* meaning "bright one". It was usually a short form of [Anglo Saxon](/source/Anglo-Saxons) names *Beorhtgifu* meaning "bright gift" or *Beorhtwynn* meaning "bright joy".

The name occurs as a [theonym](/source/Theonym), surviving as [Berchta](/source/Perchta), a figure in [Alpine folklore](/source/Alpine_folklore) connected to the [Wild Hunt](/source/Wild_Hunt), probably an epithet of **[Frijjō](/source/Frijj%C5%8D)* in origin.

*Bertha* appears as a [Frankish](/source/Frankish_language) given name from as early as the 6th century. The monothematic *Bertha* as a given name may, however, not originate with the theonym but rather as a short form of [dithematic given names](/source/Dithematic_given_name) including the "bright" element. This is notably the case with the mother of [Charlemagne](/source/Charlemagne), [Bertrada](/source/Bertrada_of_Laon) (properly *berht-rada* "bright counsel") called "Bertha Broadfoot". Carolingian uses of the name *Bertha*, as in the case of [Bertha, daughter of Charlemagne](/source/Bertha%2C_daughter_of_Charlemagne) and [Bertha, daughter of Lothair II](/source/Bertha%2C_daughter_of_Lothair_II), are in this tradition.

In modern times, the name is associated with an unusually large example of a class of objects. Many large machines are nicknamed Bertha for the World War I howitzer known as [Big Bertha](/source/Big_Bertha_(howitzer)).

## People

- Saint [Bertha of Kent](/source/Bertha_of_Kent) (539 – c. 612), Queen of Kent

- Saint [Bertha of Val d'Or](/source/Bertha_of_Val_d'Or) (d. c. 690), abbess

- Saint [Bertha of Artois](/source/Bertha_of_Artois) (mid-7th century – 4 July 725), abbess, daughter of Count Rigobert and Ursana

- [Bertrada of Laon](/source/Bertrada_of_Laon) (also called Bertha with the big feet) (720–783), Frankish queen

- Saint [Bertha of Bingen](/source/Bertha_of_Bingen) (fl. c. 757), mother of Saint Rupert of Bingen

- [Bertha, daughter of Charlemagne](/source/Bertha%2C_daughter_of_Charlemagne) (c. 780 – after 11 March 824)

- [Bertha, daughter of Lothair II](/source/Bertha%2C_daughter_of_Lothair_II) (863–925)

- [Bertha-Eudokia of Provence](/source/Bertha-Eudokia_of_Provence) (died 949), Byzantine empress

- Blessed [Bertha de Bardi](/source/Bertha_de_Bardi), Florence; (died 24 March 1163)

- [Bertha, Duchess of Brittany](/source/Bertha%2C_Duchess_of_Brittany) (c. 1114 – 1156)

- [Bertha, Duchess of Lorraine](/source/Bertha%2C_Duchess_of_Lorraine) (b.c. 1123/30 – d. 1194/5)

- [Bertha of Aragon](/source/Bertha_of_Aragon) (c. 1075 – bef. 1111), Queen consort of Aragon and Navarre

- [Bertha of Burgundy](/source/Bertha_of_Burgundy) (952, 964 or 967 – 1010, 16 January 1016, or 1035), queen of France

- [Bertha of Hereford](/source/Bertha_of_Hereford) (born c. 1130), heiress

- [Bertha of Holland](/source/Bertha_of_Holland) (c. 1055 – 1093), queen of France

- [Bertha of Milan](/source/Bertha_of_Milan) (c. 997-c. 1040), countess margravine of Turin

- [Bertha of Putelendorf](/source/Bertha_of_Putelendorf) (died 1190), Saxon noble

- [Bertha of Rheinfelden](/source/Bertha_of_Rheinfelden) (born c. 1065; d. after 1128), countess of [Kellmünz](/source/Kellm%C3%BCnz)

- [Bertha of Savoy](/source/Bertha_of_Savoy) (1051–1087), Queen of Germany

- [Bertha of Sulzbach](/source/Bertha_of_Sulzbach) (1110–1159), Byzantine empress

- [Bertha of Swabia](/source/Bertha_of_Swabia) (c. 907 – 966), queen of Burgundy

- [Bertha of Turin](/source/Bertha_of_Turin) (c.1020/4 – after 1064/5), member of the Arduinici dynasty

- [Bertha of Val d'Or](/source/Bertha_of_Val_d'Or) (died c. 690), a Christian saint

- [Bertha of Vohburg](/source/Bertha_of_Vohburg) (13th-century), Austrian noblewoman and ruling vassal

- [Bertha Allen](/source/Bertha_Allen) (1934–2010), [Vuntut Gwitchin](/source/Vuntut_Gwitchin_First_Nation) women's and aboriginal rights advocate

- [Bertha Bacon](/source/Bertha_Bacon) (1866–1922), British suffragette

- [Bertha Hirsch Baruch](/source/Bertha_Hirsch_Baruch), German-American writer, social worker, and suffragist

- [Bertha Becker](/source/Bertha_Becker) (1930–2013), Brazilian geographer, author and professor

- [Bertha Benz](/source/Bertha_Benz) (1849–1944), wife of automobile inventor Karl Benz and the first person in history to drive an automobile over long distance

- [Bertha Berry](/source/Bertha_Berry) (1876–1954), American nurse

- [Bertha Boronda](/source/Bertha_Boronda) (1877–1950), American criminal

- [Bertha Southey Brammall](/source/Bertha_Southey_Brammall) (1878–1957), Australian writer

- [Bertha Brainard](/source/Bertha_Brainard) (1890–1946), pioneering television executive

- [Bertha Brouwer](/source/Bertha_Brouwer) (1930–2006), Dutch sprinter

- [Bertha Calloway](/source/Bertha_Calloway) (1925–2017), American activist and historian

- [Bertha Felix Campigli](/source/Bertha_Felix_Campigli) (1882–1949), American/[Coast Miwok](/source/Coast_Miwok) photographer

- [Bertha Coolidge](/source/Bertha_Coolidge) (1880–1953), American painter

- [Bertha Coombs](/source/Bertha_Coombs) (born 1961), reporter

- [Bertha Crouch Chase](/source/Bertha_Crouch_Chase) (1874–1957), American athlete

- [Bertha Crowther](/source/Bertha_Crowther) (1921–2007), British athlete

- [Bertha Damon](/source/Bertha_Damon) (1881–1975), American humorist, author, lecturer, and editor

- [Bertha Díaz](/source/Bertha_D%C3%ADaz) (1936–2019), Cuban track and field athlete

- [Bertha Dorph](/source/Bertha_Dorph) (1875–1960), Danish painter

- [Bertha Edwards](/source/Bertha_Edwards) (1920–2009), American librarian

- [Bertha Bowness Fischer](/source/Bertha_Bowness_Fischer) (1875–1920), British political agent

- [Bertha Fowler](/source/Bertha_Fowler) (1866–1952), American educator, preacher, deaconess

- [Bertha Gardiner](/source/Bertha_Gardiner) (1845–1925), English historian

- [Bertha Gifford](/source/Bertha_Gifford) (1871–1951), American serial killer

- [Bertha Lund Glaeser](/source/Bertha_Lund_Glaeser) (1862–1939), American physician

- [Bertha Gxowa](/source/Bertha_Gxowa) (1934–2010), South African anti-apartheid activist, trade unionist, and women's rights activist

- [Bertha Harris](/source/Bertha_Harris) (1937–2005), American novelist and activist

- [Bertha George Harris](/source/Bertha_George_Harris) (1913–2014), American [Catawba](/source/Catawba_people) tribal elder and master potter

- [Bertha Hart](/source/Bertha_Hart), American mathematician

- [Bertha "Chippie" Hill](/source/Bertha_%22Chippie%22_Hill) (1905–1950), American blues and vaudeville singer and dancer

- [Bertha von Hillern](/source/Bertha_von_Hillern) (1853–1939), American athlete and painter

- [Bertha Heyman](/source/Bertha_Heyman) (born c. 1851), American criminal

- [Bertha Hope](/source/Bertha_Hope) (born 1936), American pianist and educator

- [Bertha Hosang Mah](/source/Bertha_Hosang_Mah) (1896–1959), Canadian student

- [Bertha Idaho](/source/Bertha_Idaho) (born c. 1895), American blues singer

- [Bertha Jaques](/source/Bertha_Jaques) (1863–1941), American etcher and photographer

- [Bertha Kalich](/source/Bertha_Kalich) (1874–1939), Jewish actress

- [Bertha Kawakami](/source/Bertha_Kawakami) (1931–2017), American politician and educator

- [Bertha Koessler-Ilg](/source/Bertha_Koessler-Ilg) (1881–1965), German-Argentine nurse and folklorist

- [Bertha Kreidmann](/source/Bertha_Kreidmann) (died May 16, 1871), Hebrew poet and letter writer

- [Bertha Krupp](/source/Bertha_Krupp) (1886–1957), sole proprietor of the Krupp industrial empire from 1902 to 1943

- [Bertha Knight Landes](/source/Bertha_Knight_Landes) (1868–1943), first female mayor of a major American city (Seattle, Washington)

- [Bertha Lewis](/source/Bertha_Lewis) (1887–1931), English opera singer and actress

- [Bertha Lutz](/source/Bertha_Lutz) (1894–1976), Brazilian zoologist, politician, and diplomat

- [Bertha Mahony](/source/Bertha_Mahony) (1882–1969), publisher of children's literature

- [Bertha Mann](/source/Bertha_Mann) (1893–1967), American actress

- [Bertha Mason](/source/Bertha_Mason_(suffragist)) (1855–1939), English suffragist and temperance campaigner

- [Bertha Müller](/source/Bertha_M%C3%BCller) (1848–1937), Austrian painter

- [Bertha Moraes Nérici](/source/Bertha_Moraes_N%C3%A9rici) (1921–2005), Brazilian World War II [nurse](/source/Nursing)

- [Bertha Nghifikwa](/source/Bertha_Nghifikwa) (born 1987), Namibian politician

- [Bertha Nordenson](/source/Bertha_Nordenson) (1857–1928), Swedish activist and suffragist

- [Bertha Oliva](/source/Bertha_Oliva) (born c. 1956), Honduran human rights campaigner

- [Bertha Parker Pallan](/source/Bertha_Parker_Pallan) (1907–1978), American archaeologist

- [Bertha Palmer](/source/Bertha_Palmer) (1849–1918), American businesswoman, socialite, and philanthropist

- [Bertha Pappenheim](/source/Bertha_Pappenheim) (1859–1936), Austrian-Jewish feminist and social pioneer

- [Bertha Lee Pate](/source/Bertha_Lee_Pate) (1903–1975), American blues vocalist

- [Bertha Quinn](/source/Bertha_Quinn) (1873–1951), British suffragette and socialist, recipient of Papal Medal

- [Bertha Rawlinson](/source/Bertha_Rawlinson) (1910–1994), New Zealand singer, actress, producer, composer and teacher

- [Bertha Reynolds](/source/Bertha_Reynolds) (1885–1978), American social worker

- [Bertha E. Reynolds](/source/Bertha_E._Reynolds) (1868–1961), American physician

- [Bertha Ronge](/source/Bertha_Ronge) (1818–1863), Anglo-German kindergarten activist

- [Bertha Runkle](/source/Bertha_Runkle) (1879–1958), American novelist and playwright

- [Bertha Ryland](/source/Bertha_Ryland) (1882–1977), English militant suffragette

- [Bertha Sánchez](/source/Bertha_S%C3%A1nchez) (born 1978), Colombian long-distance runner

- [Bertha Schaefer](/source/Bertha_Schaefer) (1895–1971), American designer and gallery director

- [Bertha Schrader](/source/Bertha_Schrader) (1845–1920), German painter, lithographer, and woodblock print-maker

- [Bertha von Suttner](/source/Bertha_von_Suttner) (1843–1914), Austrian novelist and pacifist

- [Bertha Swirles](/source/Bertha_Swirles) (1903–1999), English physicist and applied mathematician

- [Bertha Tammelin](/source/Bertha_Tammelin), (1836–1915), Swedish musician, composer and singer

- [Bertha Teague](/source/Bertha_Teague) (1906–1991), Hall of Fame basketball coach

- [Bertha Thalheimer](/source/Bertha_Thalheimer) (1883–1959), German activist and politician

- [Bertha Thomas](/source/Bertha_Thomas) (1845–1918), English author

- [Bertha Townsend](/source/Bertha_Townsend) (1869–1909), American tennis player

- [Bertha L. Turner](/source/Bertha_L._Turner) (1867–1938), American caterer, cookbook author, and community leader

- [Bertha Valerius](/source/Bertha_Valerius) (1824–1895), Swedish photographer

- [Bertha Valkenburg](/source/Bertha_Valkenburg) (1862–1929), Dutch artist

- [Bertha Vyver](/source/Bertha_Vyver) (1854–1941), caretaker for Scottish poet [Charles Mackay](/source/Charles_Mackay_(author)) and the companion of [Marie Corelli](/source/Marie_Corelli)

- [Bertha Wegmann](/source/Bertha_Wegmann) (1847–1926), Danish painter

- [Bertha Wehnert-Beckmann](/source/Bertha_Wehnert-Beckmann) (1815–1901), German photographer

- [Bertha Wellin](/source/Bertha_Wellin) (1870–1951), Swedish politician and nurse

- [Bertha Whedbee](/source/Bertha_Whedbee) (1876–1960), American activist, suffragist, and police officer

- [Bertha Yerex Whitman](/source/Bertha_Yerex_Whitman) (1892–1984), American architect

- [Bertha Wiernik](/source/Bertha_Wiernik) (1884–1951), Jewish American writer

- [Bertha Willmott](/source/Bertha_Willmott) (1894–1973), British actress, comedienne, singer and performer

- [Bertha Wilson](/source/Bertha_Wilson) (1923–2007), first female Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada

- [Bertha M. Wilson](/source/Bertha_M._Wilson) (1874–1936), American dramatist, critic, actress

- [Bertha Wright](/source/Bertha_Wright) (1876–1971), American nurse

- [Bertha Zillessen](/source/Bertha_Zillessen) (1872–1936), German painter and photographer

- [Bertha Zück](/source/Bertha_Z%C3%BCck) (1797–1868), German-Swedish royal treasurer

- [Bertha Züricher](/source/Bertha_Z%C3%BCricher) (1869–1949), Swiss author, painter and engraver

## Fictional characters

- [Bertha Cool](/source/Bertha_Cool), main character in the fictional of a series of novels titled *Cool and Lam*

- [Bertha Marilla](/source/Bertha_Marilla), main character of the eighth book in the *[Anne of Green Gables](/source/Anne_of_Green_Gables)* series, *[Rilla of Ingleside](/source/Rilla_of_Ingleside)*

- [Bertha Mason](/source/Bertha_Mason), character in [Charlotte Brontë](/source/Charlotte_Bront%C3%AB)'s 1847 novel *[Jane Eyre](/source/Jane_Eyre)*

- Bertha Russell, main character in the American television series, *[The Gilded Age](/source/The_Gilded_Age_(TV_series))*

- [Big Bertha](/source/Big_Bertha_(character)), superhero appearing in comic books published by [Marvel Comics](/source/Marvel_Comics)

## See also

- [Bertha (disambiguation)](/source/Bertha_(disambiguation))

- [Big Bertha (disambiguation)](/source/Big_Bertha_(disambiguation))

- [Bertrade (disambiguation)](/source/Bertrade_(disambiguation))

## External links

- [http://www.behindthename.com/name/bertha](http://www.behindthename.com/name/bertha)

Name list
This page or section lists people that share the same [given name](/source/Given_name).
If an [internal link](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:WhatLinksHere/Bertha&namespace=0) led you here, you may wish to change that link to point directly to the intended article.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Bertha](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bertha) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bertha?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.