Thoughts on Bertha

[Godwits]

nickname Bertie, Thea, Bess?

And yes, you are tying yourself in knots with totally unrelated nicknames that then have nicknames, and no one will use them. If you want her to be known by a certain name, just call her that, not something totally unrelated! What's the obsession with Bertha when you want her to be known as anything but?

@Godwits

I love some older names like Beryl and even Ethel or Enid have grown on me since i named my teenagers

You like Ethel and Beryl but think Bertha is awful? How does that work?

Honestly just trying to explain this to you.

Beryl is a prettier sound. And similar in sound to a lot of pretty names such as Belle, Meryl, Daryl. Also, fewer bad associations.

Enid sounds short and strong, like Edith or Lois. An Enid sounds like she's a modern punk in a kilt. Bertha still has a dinner lady ring to it.

Not sure WHY. But it does.

My point is, i'm open to liking an ''unusable'' name if it's a nice sound but, are there any similar sounding names to Bertha, to ''pave its way''.

i can't think of any really popular girls' names with that ugh sound in the middle.

I'm racking my brains.

Don't apologise HoldingtheDoor I love it and think it would look amazing embroidered on a sampler. But I'd put "I like Bertha (Anny) with a fox" etc because I do like Bertha.

Stop trying to make Bertha happen OP!

Please noooooook

@Godwits

What about Bertha on bc but nn Bethany which can be shortened to Beth or Anny?

What am I missing? You put one name on the birth certificate but call the child a totally different but actual other name and then shorten that to two possible further actual names

You can not be serious

If PP is right and this isn't even your child, you can stop worrying about it, it won't be your choice anyway.

I like Bethany.

Perhaps what you like abut Bertha is now there is nothing comparable. There are no names with that urrr sound in the middle that are popular right now. So as a name it is swimming up stream and perhaps it's that that you like?

I think this is just a wind up

If you like it use it. The fact that you are looking for nicknames for it seems like at some level you are aware she is likely to get teased at some point if she’s known by just Bertha?

Im ok with a lot of old lady names but Bertha is grim. Your DD won’t thank you for it and however much people will say they like it once she arrives, they will be saying it to be kind. It’s a clumsy, lumbering, ugly sounding name to me (and most other pp‘s too) . If it’s a beloved family members name and you just have to use it then make it her middle name.

@Shadedog

What about Bertha on bc but nn Bethany which can be shortened to Beth or Anny?

What about Bethany on the bc which can be shortened to Beth or Anny?

If you aren’t even going to call her Bertha then wtf is the point of naming her Bertha? “Yes, it’s Bertha but everyone calls me Anny, no, not Annie, it’s Anny, with a y, no, A…N…N…Y. Anny, you see? No, not like the orphan, with a y, it’s short for Bethany - Beth-Anny. No, my names not Bethany, it’s Bertha, but I get called Anny, as it’s short for Bethany. No, I don’t know why either.”

Just call her Bertha. At least it’s honest.

I've just choked on my breakfast reading this! 😂 Think it's going to have me laughing all day. I love these MN names threads......

Is there an inheritance or something which stipulates you have to call your child Bertha? I wouldn’t even call my cat Bertha.

@Subbaxeo

Is there an inheritance or something which stipulates you have to call your child Bertha? I wouldn’t even call my cat Bertha.

My cat wouldn't stand for it either!

It'd have to be a sizeable inheritance.

I’m sorry but Bertha reminds me of a cow. A literal one as in ‘Bertha 23’.

Please don’t use this name, even if you like it, your DC needs to use it all their life.

@Godwits

Don't apologise HoldingtheDoor I love it and think it would look amazing embroidered on a sampler. But I'd put "I like Bertha (Anny) with a fox" etc because I do like Bertha.

This thread is hilarious. Between the cat not standing for it either and OP saying it would look good embroidered on a sampler I am CHUCKLING AWAY HERE.

It makes a change from ''imagine yourself calling out the names in Tesco. Or can you put Judge before the name.

Alberta or Roberta are both strong, classic names, as others have said, and can easily be shortened to Berta.

If you like 'B' names, what about Berit (a Swedish short form of Birgitta) or Birgit or even just simple Bridget.

Big Bertha was a World War I gun - at the time, one of the biggest pieces of artillery every made (over 40 tonnes). German soldiers gave it the nickname, after the wife of the director of the company (Krupp) that made it.

😂 I've just choked on my breakfast reading this! Think it's going to have me laughing all day. I love these MN names threads......

Me too!

See i think Ada is awful and harsh sounding but it's becoming very popular round here. Edith is awful too but no one castigated Cate Blanchett for naming her baby that. And what about Nicole Kidman calling her poor girl Sunday? Especially when the dad is called Keith.

Thea - isn't this short for Theodora?
Bess - isn't this short for Elizabeth?

Theodora and Elizabeth are both nice names if you want those nicknames.

Also Bertha is short for big Bertha, sorry.

@SpiceWeaselBAM

The world is not ready.

😂 I’m sorry…. But this ^^

Perhaps we need a law which states,
First child will be called First Child (Surname)
Second child, Second Child (Surname)
etc.
Or the Latin equivalent Primus, Secundas, etc.
When each child reaches adulthood they can then decide on their own first name, that why they are inflicting the name only on themselves.

I agree with you about Ada, Edith and Sunday but Bertha beats them all by a country mile for awfulness.

Are you trying to get someone else to inflict that name on their kid? Don’t. Give it a wide berth. The convoluted nicknames you’ve made up are mortifying.

I like Ethel and Maud and even Mavis (my dear aunt). But Beryl and Bertha? Nope. Please don't.

What about Theodora if you like Thea?

And to the poster who suggested Crap nn Cara, Crapola is so much prettier .

Oh and there's no chance she'll be big Bertha because our family are slim (third generation vegans) and athletic of build. Athletic like long distance runners who do Pilates.