Berthe as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Berthe

What is the meaning of the name Berthe ?

The baby name Berthe is a Female name , 2 syllables long and is pronounced French: /bɛʁt/ (behʁt); English: /ˈbɜːrθə/ (BUR-thuh) or /bɜːrθ/ (BERTH).

Berthe is in Origin.

Berthe is the French form of Bertha, from the Old High German element beraht/berht “bright, famous” (Proto-Germanic *berhtaz). In French it’s pronounced close to “behrt” with a mute final e. Cognates include English/German Bertha and pan-European Berta (Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Czech, Hungarian, Swedish). Related compounds sharing the -bert element - Albert, Robert, Herbert, Gilbert, and Alberta - carry the same “bright, illustrious” sense.

In use since the early Middle Ages, the name appears among Frankish and Anglo-Saxon royalty and saints: Queen Bertha of Kent aided Christianization of England, while Charlemagne’s mother, Bertrada of Laon, endures in French legend as “Berthe au Grand Pied.” The name flourished in France in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, later becoming rare. A distinguished modern bearer is Impressionist painter Berthe Morisot. Variant forms include Berte (Norwegian/Danish) and diminutive Bertie in English.