Bertha

It is such a shame that people have to be so ageist and fatphobic about this name. Even if it was a name for old or fat women (it is not, people’s names don’t dictate what they look like, and just because a name isn’t popular anymore doesn’t mean there aren’t kids with that name now), what’s so wrong with that? Being old or fat doesn’t mean you aren’t intelligent, strong, beautiful, wise, fascinating, or anything else—you can say you dislike a name without judging massive swaths of people just for existing.

---

I don’t see anything wrong with this name, honestly. The idea that you shouldn’t use a name because it’s outdated, when a name is only outdated because people don’t use it sounds like a weird vicious cycle to me. It’s not my style of name and maybe it’s better left in the past, maybe it’ll result in too much bullying in our judgmental world, but I would love to meet a Bertha! I think people with new and old and different names makes the world a more interesting place :D

---

Bea, Beth, Bethy, Ber [bear], would be cute nicknames, I think :)

This name deserves a lot more credit than it gets. It is strong, classy and mature.

Just don't care for the harsh sound of the name na no nope.

I think that this name sounds very sweet and beautiful! I just love to say the name Bertha aloud.

I don't see why everybody hates Bertha! It used to be so popular, why as a society have we unanimously started hating it? Like a lot of names, it's harsh if you say it that way, but if you say it pleasantly with a smile on your face, it's really alright. There's nothing about Bertha that's SO terrible.

I'm sorry but this name is a joke now.

Grandma name.

The name Bertha was at its peak in the 1800s, and started a slow decline at the turn of the century. Bertha came a couple generations before today's grandmas, along with Emma, Lillian, Alice, Clara, and Grace. They were all considered grandma names a few decades ago; the only difference is that Bertha went out of fashion and people stopped using it completely, so it is considered outdated even after a hundred years, and so never made a comeback.
So basically, though it went out of style, like Barbara and Cheryl, Bertha was at it's peak before them, meaning most Grandma Berthas are dead, along with the Grandma Florences and Hazels, and a new generation of grandmas has replaced them.

My mom is named Bertha. She was born in the late 70s to Mennonite parents. Since the Mennonite/Amish communities obviously embrace all things traditional and old fashioned, a name like Bertha fits right in.

---

Although I’m biased, I genuinely don’t think it’s ugly, but I do genuinely think it’s outdated. However, just because you don’t like a name or think it ugly, or assume that the people who bear it are ugly, is absolutely ridiculous, ignorant and stupid, and what’s the point in ridiculing a name if nobody’s even using it anymore anyway?

---

A few good things I want to say in favor of Bertha.
1. It’s an anagram for breath (which I think is beautiful).
2. It is very strong.
3. Bertha is Anne’s mothers name in Anne of Green Gables, and Anne says how glad she is that her parents had such beautiful names (and if Anne Shirley/Lucy Maud Montgomery likes it, so do I).
4. People won’t forget the name Bertha, it really does stand out (not always in a positive way thought lol).

---

If I ever have a daughter I would love to honor my mother by either using her name as a middle name or using a name that is similar, like Betty, Betsy or Birdie (a vintage nickname for Bertha).

Terrible! Too outdated. Completely unsuitable for young children but is GREAT on rude old women.

Reallllly gets on my nerves, sorry any Berthas. I hear the usage “Big Bertha” too much. If you have this name and don’t like it too I have some nicknames for you:

---

Bethy, Beth.

Ugly and old lady name.

Not a fan! Sounds like an older moody woman.

"Call the hospital!" "Bertha is giving birth!"

Come on you guys what’s wrong with Bertha, it’s a nice name, it’s pretty, well not that pretty but like a little pretty, I like it better than Martha.

I don't really like the sound and spelling.

I absolutely abhor this name. It sounds ugly and trashy.

Sounds like a name a big woman would have.

Seems strong but a little too old lady like.

I don't mind it. People think it has an unfortunate pronunciation or something, but I think it's a tough, ballsy name. Bertha, kicking ass and taking names.

Actually a really strong name, fits for a strong woman. Maybe the sound is not the sweetest, but at least it has some strength. Good name.

Grandma Bertha.

I love Bertha! My daughter's 2nd middle name is Bertha after my sister whose 2nd middle name was Bertha. I always preferred the English pronunciation because it sounded so otherworldly! If you're gonna pronounce Bertha as Behr-ta then you should just spell it as Berta. Bertha reminds me of a blonde, slim girl with a bright smile. I recommend this name but since it only has a 36% rating I'd recommend you use it as a middle name. Overall I rate Bertha a 10/10!

I'm a Bertha. I am slim and beautiful and very proud of my name it makes me feel special and I love it.

I think Bertha is an underappreciated name. Sure, it might sound a little rough and old-fashioned, but the meaning of the name itself is nice. I also think the name ages well and the nickname Bertie would be quite sweet! There are names far worse than Bertha.

Here comes big Bertha, they call her big mama. Rumor has it everywhere she goes, a huge earthquake follows shortly after.

The German pronunciation is nice, but the English pronunciation is super ugly.

This name stinks.

Bertha isn't really a good name. At least it's not as bad as the name Time- like what the heck are these names!?! Bertha reminds me of the female version of Bob! Both horrible names and no one should name their child that!

I think Bertha's a pretty name. I don't see the negativity (surprisingly).

A name, any name is what the bearer makes it. Nothing more nothing less. Wear your name proudly, with distinction and grace. Cheers to all the Berthas out there!

I like it when it's pronounced BARE-ta, but BIRTH-a is not very pretty-sounding to me. Especially because it makes me think of "birthers" (racist people in the U.S. who claimed Barack Obama was not American). I am not sure where it got the connotation of being a fat woman's name, but I've heard that so many times. I don't think it says anything negative about a person who has the name Bertha (or any other name). People can have unattractive names and still be likeable. (Not to mention that there is nothing wrong with being fat.)

Bertha is one of the worst names I've ever heard of! It's incredibly ugly.

I think Bertha is a grand name. Not only beautiful, but grandiose, impressive and sophisticated. I love how it sounds in English, German, French and Spanish. It is an upper class name, difficult to be appreciated by the commoners. (i.e. Bertha is a distinguished name. But Jennifer, for example, is exactly the opposite, vulgar and threshed)

---

I have known three Berthas. Neither of them are fat and two of them are very pretty women. The meaning of the name is "intelligent" which adds to the beauty of the name.

I don't hate the sound but it's too old fashioned and I can't imagine the teasing.

My name is Berta and I pronounce it Behr-ta. I never knew that Germans pronounced it that way, and a like the way it sounds. I was named after my grandmother and I never thought of it as an ugly name until I was growing up and I would hear people pronounce it as Ber-tha or Berda. I started feeling bad about that name and feeling bad about myself because of it. I am not overweight and it's sad the way a name can really affect someone's perception of that person. For the people who do not like that name that is ok. It is not the most beautiful name but I would like people to not judge someone based on a name. You can have the most beautiful name in the world but if you are ugly on the inside then it doesn't really make up for it. So a name is just a name and that's what i'll keep telling myself. My name does not define me. What I do and how I treat people defines me.

Bertha is my name and I personally think it's a great name... I am pretty sure that the people who are saying it's a bad name they are are not Berthas. Besides, for your own information I am not fat and I am Bertha and I am practically in love with and very proud of my name.

I think Bertha is a charming and classy name with plenty of wonderful vintage flair. :)

I tried to like this name, I really did, but I just don't think the English pronunciation of the name sounds attractive what so ever. Whenever I hear this name I picture a VERY overweight woman barreling down the street, or someone yelling "I HAVE GIVEN BIRTH!". My mum and I much prefer the Deutsch pronunciation of the name, but only because that is how my nanny pronounces her name.
The name has a wonderful meaning, but I would NEVER name my child this, maybe for a middle name, but never a first name.

This name is exponentially more attractive in any other European language where it's pronounced "BEHR-ta". It's a shame it sounds so off-setting and harsh in English, because this name has such a strong meaning/background.

I can never hear this name without imagining the word 'Big' before it. I attribute this to Mario Bros.
Big Bertha. Not a fan.

This is one of my all-time favorite girl names, and I was fully 18 before I realized that the general perception of it is very negative. My own perception of it was shaped by two sources: L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables series, and Barbara Willard's Son of Charlemagne.
-In Anne of Green Gables it is the name of Anne Shirley's mother and she refers to it as a lovely name.
-In Anne of the Island, Bertha Shirley is described as having speaking eyes and writing letters that embodied her charming personality.
-In Rilla of Ingleside, Anne's youngest, Bertha Marilla considers her first name to be beautiful and dignified.
-In the children's book Son of Charlemagne, Bertha is the name of one of Charlemagne's daughters. She is the lovely, sweet, vivacious and adorable one who risks angering her father to marry the man she loves.
Growing up with these positive images of the name, I developed a mental picture of a tall, reed-slim, elegant girl with big, luminous eyes and a Mona Lisa smile.
Even the sound of it is beautiful I think, in either pronunciation, gentle, without any sharp edges. The English pronunciation is like a soft, low sigh, and the German one is just so musical!
I would use this as a middle name for my daughter, so that she doesn't have to suffer from the generally negative view of this name.

Prettiest name ever.

Bertha has a great meaning but that's about it really. The pronunciation is really dreadful.

I have actually begun to like this since my first comment, but only with the German pronunciation. In English, it still sounds old ladyish and ugly.

I'm not a huge fan of this name, but I don't hate it either. How about the pronunciation "Bare-tha?"

Am I the only one that doesn't think this name is that bad, but just really old-fashioned? I mean, sure you'd definitely have to be on something to think that "oh this child looks like a Bertha" but honestly, it's just a name, and a really old-fashioned one at that!

I love the German pronunciation of this name, but in America it just sounds awful! It's so sad that the English language butchers the name Bertha like it does. But in Germany, es ist toll. ;)

My late mother, who would be in her 90's, was named Bertha, as were at least 4 of her friends, and to a woman, they loathed it. But names have fashions, and though "Bertha" sounds fat, old, butch and nasty to our ears, in France Berthe.

There is nothing anyone could possible say to make this name sound attractive.

What is it that makes people think of fat women when they hear this name because I completely agree. Just hideous!

I find this name to be a very ugly name, sorry! I think of fat women as a lot of people say.

I do not like this name at all, neither pronunciation - German or English - sounds pretty to me. My mother always said this was a name for a cow. I think it conjures up an image of an old, overweight woman with curled hair who devotes her life to baking. Not the best image.

It looks very beautiful, the German pronunciation is beautiful as well, but the English pronunciation is awful. If I were to use this, which I might, I'd definitely use the German pronunciation.

I can't picture this name on a little girl, but I have nothing against this name, anyway. I like the sound of it. =)

Hehe, I'm sorry to those who are named Bertha, but I seriously dislike this name. This gives me a mental image of an overweight woman who smokes and gives you a toothy grin. But hey, if I had a choice between Bertha and Placenta, which one do you think I'd choose? Both equally bad, but my gosh the latter is just awful and yes there is a girl named that!

It's ugly, old-fashioned, and sounds like "birth a".

I'm sorry but this has to be one of the ugliest names I have ever heard.

No matter how you pronounce it, this name is ugly, old-fashioned, and has connotations to fat women.

Am I the only one who actually likes this name? I think it's rather cute.

I honestly have never realy liked the name Bertha. This is as there once was a game you could play at the seaside called Big Bertha. While fun, this ruined the name for me.

This was my great-grandmother's middle name. I'm glad they decided not to make it my middle name (I'm named for her). The German pronunciation is pretty though and since that is the language her family spoke at home when she was growing up I guess it wouldn't have been so bad.

Why does Bertha sound so awful? Because we aren't pronouncing it correctly, that's why! "BER-ta" sounds much better than "BUR-tha", doesn't it? Why do English speakers slur their vowels?

I agree, when I hear the name Bertha, an overweight old red-ringleted woman comes into my mind, it probably didn't help that this is what Bertha looks like in Gosford Park.

Bertha is a hideous old lady's name, and you'd have to be smoking weed to give it to your child.

When I hear the name Bertha, an overweight, unattractive woman immediately comes to mind.