Originally a short form of Germanic names beginning with the element beraht meaning "bright, famous". It was borne by the mother of Charlemagne in the 8th century, and it was popularized in England by the Normans. It died out as an English name after the Middle Ages, but was revived in the 19th century. The name also appears in southern Germanic legends (often spelled Perchta or Berchta) belonging to a goddess of animals and weaving.

• Ernst Förstemann, Altdeutsches namenbuch (1900), page 281
  

Animal Crossing characters, Anne of Green Gables characters, Charles Dickens characters, currently out of the US top 1000, D H Lawrence characters, fame, fictional characters, goddesses, Harry Potter characters, history, intelligence, legend, light, literature, mothers, Pokemon characters, saints, short forms, storms, top 10 in the US