Minna
A feminine name of German origin meaning "protector" or "defender".
Name Census estimates that about 1,370 living Americans carry the first name Minna. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Minna today is around 32 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Minna births was 1916 (54 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Minna. 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
1.4K
~ 1 in 250,186 Americans
Peak year
1916
54 babies that year
Average age
32
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,834
Tracked since 1880
Popularity
Minna: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Minna from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 411 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1910s peak, Minna remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Minna 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 Minna during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Minnas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. New York, California, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Minna, while Virginia, Massachusetts, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 74 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Minna
The name Minna has its origins in the Germanic language family. It is a feminine diminutive form of the name Wilhelmina, which itself is derived from the Germanic elements "wil" meaning "will" or "desire" and "helm" meaning "helmet" or "protection." The name Minna first appeared in the Middle Ages, around the 12th or 13th century, and was initially popular in areas of modern-day Germany and the Netherlands.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Minna can be found in the 13th-century German epic poem "Der Nibelungenlied," where it is mentioned as the name of a minor character. In the 16th century, the Protestant reformer Martin Luther referenced the name Minna in his writings, suggesting its usage among German-speaking populations at that time.
In the 19th century, the name gained increased popularity, particularly in Germany and Scandinavia. One notable figure from this period was Minna Planer (1809-1866), a German actress and opera singer who performed at theaters in Berlin and Vienna. Another prominent individual was Minna Canth (1844-1897), a Finnish writer and social activist who championed women's rights and is considered one of the pioneers of Finnish literature.
Moving into the 20th century, Minna Gombell (1892-1973) was an American stage and film actress who appeared in numerous Broadway productions and Hollywood movies during the silent film era and early talkies. In the field of science, Minna Lederman (1915-2009) was a notable American physicist who contributed to the development of radar technology during World War II.
Another historical figure bearing the name Minna was Minna Sundberg (1938-2022), a Swedish journalist and author who gained recognition for her works on feminism, gender equality, and social issues. Her writings played a significant role in shaping public discourse on these topics in Sweden and beyond.
While the name Minna has its roots in the Germanic language family, it has been adopted and used across various cultures and regions throughout history. Its diminutive form and association with the concepts of "will" and "protection" have likely contributed to its enduring appeal over the centuries.
People
Minna + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Minna 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
Minna: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Minna?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,370 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Minna 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 250,186 US residents.
Is Minna a common name?
We classify Minna as "Rare". It ranks above 91.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,122 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Minna most popular?
The single biggest year for Minna was 1916, when 54 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Minna is about 32 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Minna a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Minna 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.