Bert (name)

Bertis ahypocoristicform of a number of variousGermanic male given names,such asRobert,Albert,Elbert,Herbert,Hilbert,Hubert,Gilbert,Wilbert,Filbert,Fulbert,Norbert,Osbert,Roberto,Roberta,Bertram,Berthold,Bertrand,Umberto,Humbert,Humberto,Alberto,Alberta,Albertine,Albertina,Cuthbert,Delbert,Dagobert,Rimbert,Egbert,Siegbert,Gualbert,Gerbert,Lambert,Engelbert,Bertie,andColbert.

There is a large number of Germanic names ending in-bert,second in number only to those ending in-wolf(-olf,-ulf). Most of these names are early medieval and only a comparatively small fraction remains in modern use.

The element-berhthas the meaning of "bright",Old Englishbeorht/berht,Old High Germanberaht/bereht,ultimately from aCommon Germanic*berhtaz,from aPIEroot *bhereg-"white, bright". The female hypocoristic of names containing the same element isBerta.

Modern Englishbrightitself has the same etymology, but it has sufferedmetathesisat an early date, already in the Old English period, attested as early as AD 700 in theLindisfarne Gospels.The unmetathesized form disappears after AD 1000 andMiddle Englishfrom about 1200 hasbrihtuniversally.

Names containingberht

There is no evidence of theberhtelement in Germanic personal names prior to the 6th century. It is mostly unknown in names ofGoths,Vandals,FrisiansorNorse,and only rarely occurs in names ofSaxons.By contrast, it is very common amongAnglo-Saxons,Lombards,FranksandBavarians.The popularity of the element in certain areas may be related to religion, similar to thewolfelement being due to the worship ofWodanaz,the names withberhtcan be considered theophoric, in connection with the goddessPerchta.The full form of Old High Germanberahtis reduced in two ways, by omission of either the second (berht, perht, pert) or the first vowel (braht, praht, brat, prat, brecht). Early attestations of such names includeEthberictus,Garberictus,andTransberictusmentioned inHontheim'sHistoria Trevirensiss. a. 699.Pardessus'Diplomatas. a. 745 hasBerdbertas a rare example of a reduplicated Germanic name. Förstemann counts 369 names with final-bert(a),of which 61 are feminine.

Given names that remain in modern use include:

1. names with-bertas final element
   • Albert/Æthelberht,Cuthbert,Dagobert,Elbert,Egbert,Engelbert,Filbert,Gerbert,Gilbert,Harbert,Herbert,Hubert,Humbert,Ingbert,Isambard (Isembert),Norbert,Robert,Tolbert,Wilbert
2. names withBert-as first element
   • Bertram,Berthold,Bertrand

Names abbreviated "Bert"

Further information:Berta (disambiguation)andBertha

The following names are commonly abbreviated as "Bert":

• Albert/Adalbert (Æthelbert)
• Berthold/Bertold
• Bertrand/Bertram
• Colbert
• Gilbert
• Heribert/Herbert
• Hubert
• Lambert
• Norbert
• Robert
• Cumbert

People called Bert

• Bert Abbey(1869–1962), American baseball player
• Bert Acosta(1895–1954), American aviator
• Bert Adams(1891–1940), American baseball player
• Bert Adams (politician)(1916–2003), American politician
• Bert Addinall(1921–2005), English professional footballer
• Bert Anciaux(born 1959), Belgian politician and founder and former member of Spirit (later known as the Social Liberal Party, or SLP)
• Bert Assirati(1908–1990), English professional wrestler
• Bert Auburn,American football player
• Bert Bell(1895–1959), National Football League commissioner
• Bert Berns(1929–1967), American songwriter and record producer in the 1960s
• Bert Blyleven(Aalbert) (born 1951), Dutch-born American baseball player
• Bert Bos(Gijsbert) (born 1963), Dutch computer scientist working for W3C
• Bert Brown,(1938–2018), Canadian politician
• Bert Convy(Bernard) (1933–1991), American singer, actor and game show host
• Bert Cunningham(1865–1952), American baseball player
• Bert I. Gordon(1922–2023), American film director and screenwriter
• Bert Haanstra(Albert) (1916–1997), Dutch film director
• Bert Hargrave(Herbert) (1917–1996), Canadian politician
• Bert Kaempfert(Bertolt) (1923–1980), German orchestra leader
• Bert Koenders(Albert) (born 1958), Dutch politician
• Bert Kreischer,(born 1972), American comedian
• Bert Laeyendecker(1930–2020), Dutch sociologist
• Bert Lahr(1895–1967), American actor and comedian
• Bert McCracken(Robert) (born 1982), American lead singer of alternative bandThe Used
• Bert van Marwijk(Lambertus) (born 1952), Dutch football player and coach
• Bert Newton(Albert) (1938–2021), Australian entertainer and media personality
• Bert Nievera(1936–2018), Filipino-American singer
• Bert Parks(1914–1992), American actor, singer, host of Miss America from 1955 to 1979
• Bert Peletier(1937–2023), Dutch mathematician
• Bert Peters (composer)(18??–19??), American composer
• Bert Peters(1908–1944), Australian rules footballer
• Bert Sakmann(Bertold) (born 1942), German cell biologist, winner of the 1991 Nobel Prize for Medicine
• Bert Schneider(1897–1986), Canadian Olympic champion welterweight boxer
• Bert Stenfeldt(born 1933), Swedish Air Force major general
• Bert Trautmann(Bernhard) (1923–2013), German football player
• Bert Vaux(born 1968), American linguist
• Bert Vogelstein(born 1949), American cancer researcher
• Bert Weckhuysen(born 1968), Belgian chemist
• Bert Wheeler(1895–1968), American comedian
• Bert Williams(1874–1922), Bahamian-born American entertainer
• Bert Williams (footballer, born 1920),England football player
• Bert Wipiti(1922–1943), New Zealand fighter pilot

As a surname

• Joris Bert(born 1987), French baseball player
• Liliane Bert(1922–2015), French actress
• Mabel Bert(née Mabel Scott, 1862–1???), Australian-American actress
• Margaret Bert(1896–1971), British-American actress
• Paul Bert(1833–1886), French physiologist

Fictional characters

• Albert "Bert" Sanders, a character in the 1997 television movieOn the 2nd Day of Christmasplayed byMark Ruffalo
• Bert (Sesame Street),a Muppet character (ofBert and Ernie) on the children's television showSesame Street
• Bert Barry, a Co-writer and producer ofPretty Ladyon the Broadway musical play42nd Street
• Bert Ljung,a fictional character in theBert diaries
• Bert (Mary Poppins),aCockneychimney sweepin the book series and Disney filmMary Poppins.Played in the film byDick Van Dyke
• Bert Raccoon,a lead character in TV seriesThe Raccoons

See also

• Bart (disambiguation)
• Bert (disambiguation)
• Berth (disambiguation)
• Birt (disambiguation)
• Burt (disambiguation)