Bertha

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 Kent Saint Bertha of Val d'Or (d. c. 690), abbess Saint Bertha of Artois (mid 7th century - July 4, 725), abbess, daughter of Count Rigobert and Ursana Bertrada of Laon (also called Bertha with the big feet) (720-783), Frankish queen Saint Bertha of Bingen (fl. c. 840?), mother of Saint Rupert of Bingen Bertha, 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 France Bertha of Hereford (born c. 1130), heiress Bertha of Holland (c. 1055–1093), queen of France Bertha of Putelendorf (died 1190), Saxon noble Bertha of Savoy (1051-1087) Bertha of Sulzbach (1110-1159), Byzantine empress Bertha of Swabia (c. 907-966), queen of Burgundy Bertha of Val d'Or (died c. 690), a Christian saint Bertha Benz (1849-1944), wife of inventor Karl Benz Bertha Southey Brammall (1878-1957), Australian writer Bertha Brainard (1890-1946), pioneering television executive Bertha Coombs (born 1961), reporter Bertha Díaz (born 1936), Cuban track and field athlete Bertha "Chippie" Hill (1905–1950), American blues and vaudeville singer and dancer Bertha von Hillern (born 1857), American athlete and painter Bertha Kalich (1874-1939), Jewish actress Bertha Krupp (1886-1957), sole proprietor of the Krupp industrial empire from 1902 to 1943 Bertha Knight Landes (1868-1943), first female mayor of a major American city (Seattle, Washington) Bertha Lewis (1887–1931), English opera singer and actress Bertha Mahony (1882–1969), publisher of children's literature Bertha Palmer (1849–1918), American businesswoman, socialite, and philanthropist Bertha Pappenheim (1859-1936), Austrian-Jewish feminist and social pioneer Bertha Lee Pate (died 1975), American blues vocalist Bertha Ronge (1818-1863), Anglo-German kindergarten activist Bertha Runkle (1879-1958), American novelist and playwright Bertha Sánchez (born 1978), Colombian long-distance runner Bertha von Suttner (1843-1914), Austrian novelist and pacifist Bertha Tammelin, Swedish musician, composer and singer Bertha Teague (1906-1991), Hall of Fame basketball coach Bertha Townsend (1869-1909), American tennis player Bertha Valerius (1824-1895), Swedish photographer Bertha Wilson (1923-2007), first female Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada Bertha Zück (1797-1868), German-Swedish royal treasurer

Other uses

• Bertha (disambiguation)
• Big Bertha (disambiguation)