Minette
A diminutive of the French name Minnie, derived from the name Minerva.
Name Census estimates that about 399 living Americans carry the first name Minette. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Minette today is around 55 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Minette births was 1968 (20 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Minette. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
399
~ 1 in 859,033 Americans
Peak year
1968
20 babies that year
Average age
55
years old
2020 SSA rank
#16,736
Tracked since 1893
Popularity
Minette: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Minette from the 1890s through to the 2020s, spanning 14 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 130 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Minette by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Minette during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Minettes live
Origin
Meaning and history of Minette
The given name Minette has its origins in the French language, deriving from the word "minette," which means "little pussycat" or "little kitten." This name emerged in France during the Middle Ages, around the 12th to 15th centuries.
Minette was likely a diminutive form of the French name Minerve, which itself was derived from the Roman goddess Minerva, the goddess of wisdom, war, art, and craft. The name Minerve was quite popular in medieval France, and the diminutive Minette became a common pet form, often used as a term of endearment for young girls.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Minette can be found in the medieval French literary work "Roman de la Rose," written in the 13th century by Guillaume de Lorris and Jean de Meun. In this allegorical poem, the character Minette is portrayed as a young and charming lady.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Minette. One of the most famous was Minette Stuart Wortley (1662-1718), an English aristocrat and writer who was known for her travel writings and her advocacy for the smallpox vaccination. Another notable Minette was Minette Walters (born 1949), a contemporary British writer known for her crime novels.
In the 19th century, Minette Ledru-Rollin (1804-1888) was a French feminist and activist who advocated for women's rights and education. Minette Gerome (1845-1898) was a French painter and sculptor who specialized in genre scenes and portraits.
More recently, Minette Batters (born 1956) is a British farmer and the current president of the National Farmers' Union in the United Kingdom, advocating for the interests of British farmers.
While the name Minette may have originated as a diminutive or pet name, it has developed into a standalone given name in its own right, carrying a sense of charm, grace, and endearment.
People
Minette + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Minette as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Minette: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Minette?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 399 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Minette going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 859,033 US residents.
Is Minette a common name?
We classify Minette as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 731 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Minette most popular?
The single biggest year for Minette was 1968, when 20 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Minette is about 55 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Minette a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Minette in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.