Bertha is a female Germanic name, from Old High German berhta meaning "bright one".
The name occurs as a theonym, surviving as Berchta, a figure in Alpine folklore connected to the Wild Hunt, probably an epithet of *Frijjō in origin.
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 machines that are abnormally large, and many large machines are nicknamed Bertha. This is largely because of the World-War I howitzer known as Big Bertha.
Women named Bertha include:
Saint Bertha of Kent (539-c. 612), Queen of KentSaint Bertha of Val d'Or (d. c. 690), abbessSaint Bertha of Artois (mid 7th century - July 4, 725), abbess, daughter of Count Rigobert and UrsanaBertrada of Laon (also called Bertha with the big feet) (720-783), Frankish queenSaint Bertha of Bingen (fl. c. 840?), mother of Saint Rupert of BingenBertha, daughter of Lothair II (died 925)Blessed Bertha de Bardi, Florence; (d. March 24, 1163)Bertha, Duchess of Brittany (c. 1114-1156)Bertha of Burgundy (952, 964 or 967 – 1010, 16 January 1016, or 1035), queen of FranceBertha of Hereford (born c. 1130), heiressBertha of Holland (c. 1055–1093), queen of FranceBertha of Putelendorf (died 1190), Saxon nobleBertha of Savoy (1051-1087)Bertha of Sulzbach (1110-1159), Byzantine empressBertha of Swabia (c. 907-966), queen of BurgundyBertha of Val d'Or (died c. 690), a Christian saintBertha Benz (1849-1944), wife of inventor Karl BenzBertha Southey Brammall (1878-1957), Australian writerBertha Brainard (1890-1946), pioneering television executiveBertha Coombs (born 1961), reporterBertha Díaz (born 1936), Cuban track and field athleteBertha "Chippie" Hill (1905–1950), American blues and vaudeville singer and dancerBertha von Hillern (born 1857), American athlete and painterBertha Kalich (1874-1939), Jewish actressBertha Krupp (1886-1957), sole proprietor of the Krupp industrial empire from 1902 to 1943Bertha Knight Landes (1868-1943), first female mayor of a major American city (Seattle, Washington)Bertha Lewis (1887–1931), English opera singer and actressBertha Mahony (1882–1969), publisher of children's literatureBertha Palmer (1849–1918), American businesswoman, socialite, and philanthropistBertha Pappenheim (1859-1936), Austrian-Jewish feminist and social pioneerBertha Lee Pate (died 1975), American blues vocalistBertha Ronge (1818-1863), Anglo-German kindergarten activistBertha Runkle (1879-1958), American novelist and playwrightBertha Sánchez (born 1978), Colombian long-distance runnerBertha von Suttner (1843-1914), Austrian novelist and pacifistBertha Tammelin, Swedish musician, composer and singerBertha Teague (1906-1991), Hall of Fame basketball coachBertha Townsend (1869-1909), American tennis playerBertha Valerius (1824-1895), Swedish photographerBertha Wilson (1923-2007), first female Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of CanadaBertha Zück (1797-1868), German-Swedish royal treasurer