View Message

I like Martha but not Bertha. I think it sounds harsher and really frumpy because of the "ber" sound - the same reason I don't like Bernadette or Bernice.
Also my first thought was "Big Bertha" but I'm not sure why - I think it is a type of ammunition or something?

I do not like Bertha, at all... I had an aunt Bertha, who died about 6 years before I was born. She went by "Bert". She was probably a nice, wonderful lady but, not a good name

Love Martha don't like Bertha(not a fan on how it sounds)

Sorry, but no. Both Berta and Bertha are ugly, imo. Although I like the Swedish Märta (sounds something like "matter" said with a Brittish accent) because I had a great-grandmother with that name.

I had an aunt (my stepmom's sister-in-law) named Bertha. She's since passed away, but she had always gone by Bert; and for the longest time I honestly thought her name was Roberta. But no, she (almost begrudgingly) told me it was Bertha. She always hated her name (I think she actually enjoyed letting people believe it was Roberta).

---

Her sister (I think younger?) is Magdalena. I remember my stepmom once remarking to me in private, "Bertha and Magdalena... what mother does that to her daughters?"

---

Personally, I think both Bertha and Martha sound terrible, though I do see Martha catching on among the "hipster generation" (joining Hazel and Esther). Not a chance for Bertha, though. It brings to mind "Big Bertha" from WWI.

---

That said, I find Berta (BEHR-tah) and Marta much more pleasant than their Anglophone counterparts.

---

Soundwise I prefer Berta to Bertha. I would never use it in real life but I don't hate it. I think Bertha has become a name you are supposed to dislike and people rarely take the time to consider that maybe it's not that bad after all.
Bert (prn. beh-rt) is a family name that means a lot to me because the person with this name meant a lot to me. I fully understand that I will never get any positive feedback on Bert but if I ever get a son I will surely use it as a middle name.

It's not as awful as some people make it to be, but still kind of dowdy and dated.

Martha is totally fine. It's been growing on me lately and I actually kind of like it (although it's NMSAA), I think it would be really cute on a little girl and could definitely make a comeback.

---

Bertha, however, I don't think I'll ever be able to like. It reminds me a lot of the word "birth," which is fine and everything, but I wouldn't want the word in my name. I also think of the phrase of giving something a "wide berth," meaning stay away from it. Not the best association for a person.

---

Also, the sound of it is just ugly. That dull "burr" sound combined with the earthy "th" just doesn't work for me.

---

Berta is almost worse, I think because I can't stand the name Bert. It reminds me of "burp."

I'm not a big fan of the name Bertha, and I'm currently in a theater production of Jane Eyre so I'm very much associating the name with Bertha Mason right now.

---

Berta is better than Bertha, but still not my favorite... I like Marta a lot more than Martha. I do think Martha could make a comeback, though! :)

I know two Berthas. One in her 50s and one who is 5. It grew on me, too.

---

That being said, I couldn't use it realistically because of the nickname Big Bertha.

Unfortunately, Bertha is one of those names you don't want to see on a human being. I did meet a girl named Bertha back in high school; she was a special needs student and had a twin named Jermika (?) who was pretty mean to me for no apparent reason.

To me this is the ugliest name in existence, closely followed by Brenda. Berta is somehow a bit better, but not much. I don't know what it is that makes them so ugly to my ears but I would genuinely feel sorry for someone with those names

Bertha is just about the definition of dated. It will never come back in style. It died because it deserved to die.