Kerttu

Medieval vernacular form of the Swedish and German Gertrud. Cognate to English Gertrude and Estonian Kertu.

• IPA^(key): /ˈkertːu/, [ˈk̟e̞rt̪ːu]
• Rhymes: -ertːu
• Syllabification^(key): Kert‧tu

Kerttu

1. a female given name
   • 1922, Anni Swan, Pikkupappilassa, WSOY, published 1966, page 142:

     Lotti tenäsi koreita nimiä vastaan, ne olivat niin vaikeat lausua. Ja hänen paperinukkensa eivät olleet mitään ruhtinattaria tai sotapäälliköitä, ne olivat hänen omia pikkulapsiaan ja niillä piti olla pikkulasten nimet. Maija ja Kerttu ja Lassi ja Lilli.

     Lotti argued against overly flowery names, since they were so hard to pronounce. Her paper dolls were no princesses or warlords; they were her own children and they needed children's names. Maija and Kerttu and Lassi and Lilli.

2. Gretel, the girl in the fairy tale Hansel and Gretel.

• Kerttu is the 93^rd most common female given name in Finland, belonging to 8,484 female individuals (and as a middle name to 3,538 more), according to February 2023 data from the Digital and Population Data Services Agency of Finland.

• kertut, terkut