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Hertha
How to Pronounce Hertha
Pronounced HER-thuh /ˈhɜr.θə/High
Meaning: Hertha derives from Hertha, a name given in later scholarship to the ancient Germanic earth goddess the Roman writer Tacitus called Nerthus. The name is tied to the idea of 'earth' or 'earth mother.' It circulated as a German and Scandinavian girls' name inherited into early American records.Medium
Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data
U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.
SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.
History & Origin
Hertha comes from the name later scholars gave the ancient Germanic earth goddess that Tacitus recorded as Nerthus, understood as an 'earth mother' figure. Revived as a personal name in the German- and Scandinavian-speaking world, Hertha reached American records through immigrant families around the turn of the twentieth century. Its meaning is bound up with the earth.
In the United States the name crested around 1916 and stayed a modest, heritage-rooted choice, borne by roughly fifteen hundred girls before fading by the mid-1960s. A Hertha named at the peak would be past a hundred today. It has not revived and reads as an old-world German name of the immigrant generations.
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Frequently Asked
What does the name Hertha mean?
Hertha comes from the ancient Germanic earth goddess Nerthus, read as Hertha, and is associated with 'earth.'
How do you pronounce Hertha?
It's said HER-thuh /ˈhɜr.θə/ — two syllables, stress on the first.
Is Hertha a boy or girl name?
Hertha is used as a girl's name.
How popular is Hertha?
Hertha is an uncommon Germanic heritage name that crested in the nineteen-teens and has been rare since.