Minna

Spellings & scripts●

Locally spelled Mina in IN India, US United States, FR France and 18 more, מינה in IL Israel, RO Romania, LB Lebanon, 민아 in KR South Korea and Мина in RU Russia.

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 12 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Minna is also recorded as 9 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• English given name40K records spelled Minna16 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Denmark, Finland, Germany

  Languages: English, Danish, German

  Also written Min-Na, Mïnnä, Kontagora

• Spanish given name7.0K records spelled Minna11 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Finland, France, United States, Brazil

  Languages: Spanish, French, Portuguese

  Also written Min-Na, Mînnã, Mïññä, Kontagora, Mīññã

• Chinese given name3.1K records spelled Minna2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Finland, United States, China, Taiwan

  Also written Min-Na

• a separate given name2.7K records spelled Minna3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in India, United States, Finland, China

  Also written Min-Na, Min̲n̲ā

• Indonesian given name881 records spelled Minna4 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Finland, Indonesia, India, United States

  Languages: Indonesian, Malay

  Also written Kontagora

• Korean given name464 records spelled Minna4 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in South Korea, United States, Hong Kong, Canada

  Also written 민나, Min-Na

• Swahili given name463 records spelled Minna2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Finland, United States, Nigeria, Sweden

  Also written Kontagora

• Czech given name417 records spelled Minna4 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Finland, Czechia, Sweden

  Languages: Czech, Slovak

  Also written Mįnną, Minnã

• Italian given name413 records spelled Minna3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Finland, Italy, United Kingdom

  Also written Kontagora, Miñna

41 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Minna is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In German, from German Minne 'love, affection' or a female name

  as a name·Deutsche Namenkunde: Unsere Familiennamen nach ihrer Entstehung und Bedeutung

• In French, Diminutive of Wilhelmina or Maria; origin uncertain

  as a name·Le grand guide des prénoms (Enfant - Education)

• In Swedish, Minna är ursprungligen en smekform till → Vilhelmina. Namnet har varit mycket populärt de senaste årtiondena men är nu på nedgång. I den finlandssvenska almanackan 26 maj.

  as a name·Förnamn i Sverige. Kortfattat namnlexikon

• Gruma (West Africa): 'mother'

  as a name·African Names

• In French, Diminutif de Wilhelmina, forme germanique de Guillemette; origine germanique.

  as a name·Le grand guide des prénoms (Enfant - Education)

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 142 years between 1880–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Minna Herzliebb. 1789DEGerman female publisher (1789-1865)
• Minna Planerb. 1809DEGerman actress and the first wife of composer Richard Wagner (1809–1866)
• Minna Kautskyb. 1837ATstage actor and writer (1837-1912)
• Minna Canthb. 1844FIFinnish writer, editor
• Minna Spechtb. 1879DEGerman educator and founding member of the Internationaler Sozialistischer Kampfbund (1879–1961)
• Minna Gombellb. 1892USAmerican actress (1892–1973)
• Minna Ledermanb. 1896USAmerican journalist (1896–1995)
• Minna Lachsb. 1907ATAustrian author (1907-1993)
• Claire Wikholmb. 1944SEnot in their usual nameSwedish actress
• Katariina Sourib. 1968FInot in their usual nameFinnish playmate and writer

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 487 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Minna?

We estimate roughly 74 thousand people bear Minna (counting its spellings and scripts) across 9 countries in our records.

In which country does Minna have the most bearers?

Minna is most frequently recorded in India, where it is most often spelled mina.

Where is Minna most common?

Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Minna is densest in Finland — about 1 in 190 people — even though India holds more of our records for it.

How common is Minna compared with other names?

In India, Minna is the 49th most common given name of 4,777,337 given names recorded there.

Is Minna a male or female name?

Minna is a female name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Minna mean?

Recorded meaning: German: short form of Wilhelmina, 'warrior, guardian'