Last updated: March 2026

Character Name

Berthold

Meaning — A Germanic masculine name composed of "beraht" meaning "bright" or "famous" and "wald" meaning "rule" or "power" — thus "famous ruler" or "brilliantly powerful". The name was common in the medieval German-speaking world and was borne by several ecclesiastical and noble figures. It is closely related to Bertram and Bertrand.·Germanic origin·Male·BEHR-tolt

Berthold Berthold carries a medieval German scholastic and clerical quality — it is a name found in monastery scriptoria and university faculties as well as in the halls of the Holy Roman Empire. Characters named Berthold tend to be learned, deliberate, and intellectually principled, suited to historical fiction set in medieval Germany or Austria, or to fantasy worlds modelled on that tradition.

Best genres for Berthold

Historical FictionFantasyLiterary FictionPeriod Drama

Famous characters named Berthold

No verified literary characters with this exact given name were found yet. We are continuously expanding this section.


Variations & nicknames

BertholdBertoldBertramBerto

Pairs well with

Berthold von RegensburgBerthold SchwarzerBerthold RothBerthold EngelBerthold SteinBerthold Frank

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Related names


More Germanic names

Wilfried

A Germanic masculine name composed of "wil" meaning "will" or "desire" and "frid" meaning "peace" — thus "desiring peace" or "peaceful will". The name is closely related to Wilfrid/Wilfred and was common in the medieval German-speaking world. The most famous bearer is Saint Wilfrid of York (634–709/710), the Anglo-Saxon bishop whose career bridged the Germanic and Roman ecclesiastical traditions.

Conrad

An anglicised form of the Germanic name Konrad, composed of "kuoni" meaning "bold" or "brave" and "rad" meaning "counsel" — thus "bold counsel" or "brave advisor". The name was borne by multiple Holy Roman Emperors and is deeply embedded in the medieval German aristocratic and ecclesiastical tradition. The Anglophone form Conrad spread through Normandy into England after the Conquest.

Werner

A Germanic masculine name derived from the Proto-Germanic elements "warin" (a tribal name, possibly meaning "guard" or "to protect") and "heri" meaning "army" or "warrior". The name was widespread in the medieval German-speaking world and was borne by saints, bishops, and Holy Roman imperial figures. It remained one of the most common German masculine names through the 20th century.

Erna

A Germanic and Scandinavian feminine name, a short form of names beginning with the Old High German element "arn" meaning "eagle" — such as Ernesta or Ernaline — or alternatively a feminine form of Ernst (from "earnest, serious"). The name was especially common in Germany and Scandinavia in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Helmut

A Germanic masculine name composed of "helm" meaning "helmet" (protection, defence) and "mut" meaning "spirit", "courage", or "mind" — thus "courageous in battle" or "protected spirit". The name was common in German-speaking lands from the medieval period and became one of the defining masculine names of 20th-century Germany.

Gerhard

A Germanic masculine name composed of "ger" meaning "spear" and "hard" meaning "strong", "brave", or "hardy" — thus "strong with the spear" or "brave spearman". The name was widespread throughout the medieval German-speaking world and was borne by saints, bishops, and Holy Roman nobles. It is the German form of Gerard and Gerald.


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