Bertha is a female
Germanic name, from Old High German berhta meaning "bright one". It was usually a short form of
Anglo Saxon names Beorhtgifu meaning "bright gift" or Beorhtwynn meaning "bright joy".
Bertha appears as a
Frankish 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 including the "bright" element.
This is notably the case with the mother of
Charlemagne,
Bertrada (properly berht-rada "bright counsel") called "Bertha Broadfoot." Carolingian uses of the name Bertha, as in the case of
Bertha, daughter of Charlemagne and
Bertha, 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.
This page or section lists people that share the same
given name. If an
internal link led you here, you may wish to change that link to point directly to the intended article.
Bertha is a female
Germanic name, from Old High German berhta meaning "bright one". It was usually a short form of
Anglo Saxon names Beorhtgifu meaning "bright gift" or Beorhtwynn meaning "bright joy".
Bertha appears as a
Frankish 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 including the "bright" element.
This is notably the case with the mother of
Charlemagne,
Bertrada (properly berht-rada "bright counsel") called "Bertha Broadfoot." Carolingian uses of the name Bertha, as in the case of
Bertha, daughter of Charlemagne and
Bertha, 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.
This page or section lists people that share the same
given name. If an
internal link led you here, you may wish to change that link to point directly to the intended article.