Bertina
A feminine diminutive form of the German name Bertha, meaning "bright".
Name Census estimates that about 687 living Americans carry the first name Bertina. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Bertina today is around 58 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Bertina births was 1971 (31 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Bertina. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
687
~ 1 in 498,915 Americans
Peak year
1971
31 babies that year
Average age
58
years old
2005 SSA rank
#16,872
Tracked since 1882
Popularity
Bertina: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Bertina from the 1880s through to the 2000s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 244 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Bertina by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Bertina during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Bertinas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Bertina
The name Bertina is derived from the Germanic root "Bert", which means "bright" or "shining". This root can be traced back to the Old High German "beraht" and the Proto-Germanic "berhto". The name is believed to have originated in the 8th or 9th century among the Frankish and Teutonic tribes of central Europe.
Bertina was a popular name during the Middle Ages, particularly in regions now known as Germany, France, and the Low Countries. It was often a variation of the more common masculine name Bertram or Bertrand. The earliest recorded example of the name Bertina dates back to the 11th century, when it appeared in a medieval German chronicle.
In the 12th century, a noblewoman named Bertina of Andlau (c. 1100-1160) was abbess of the influential Andlau Abbey in Alsace, France. She was known for her piety and leadership during a period of monastic reform.
Another notable figure was Bertina of Merania (c. 1200-1241), a German countess and the wife of Duke Otto VII of Merania. She was involved in the political affairs of her time and played a role in the administration of her husband's lands.
During the Renaissance, a Italian scholar and poet named Bertina Lami (1508-1568) gained recognition for her contributions to the literary circle of the Medici family in Florence. Her works include poetry and translations of classical texts.
In the 17th century, Bertina Henrietta of Anhalt (1609-1666) was a German princess and abbess of the Herford Abbey in Westphalia. She was known for her involvement in the religious and cultural life of her region.
Another noteworthy individual was Bertina Maria Gozzadina (1632-1703), an Italian nun and mystic from Bologna. She was known for her spiritual writings and visions, which were recorded and studied by her contemporaries.
People
Bertina + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Bertina as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with B
Other first names starting with B with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Bertina: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Bertina?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 687 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Bertina going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 498,915 US residents.
Is Bertina a common name?
We classify Bertina as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,234 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Bertina most popular?
The single biggest year for Bertina was 1971, when 31 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Bertina is about 58 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Bertina a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Bertina in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.