Bertha

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).

No matter how many different ways you can think of on how to say this name, it will always sound like a fat lady with bad gas.

Not too bad, but Bertha sounds like the name of a grumpy old lady.

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.)

When I see comments saying how Bertha is a bad name, I immediately think of Anne of Green Gables when Anne is telling Marilla what a beautiful name Bertha (her biological mother) is, and how she's thankful that her mother wasn't named something ugly. It's funny how names can be cool one day and awful the next. I honestly don't see what's so bad about Bertha. I even think it's a little pretty.

Big Bertha, a large fat woman who is about to die of obesity. She is the biggest woman ever.

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.