Minor
A unisex name of Latin origin signifying "younger" or "smaller".
Name Census estimates that about 521 living Americans carry the first name Minor. It is a predominantly male name (99.3% of registrations). The average person named Minor today is around 62 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Minor births was 1923 (45 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Minor. 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
521
~ 1 in 657,878 Americans
Peak year
1923
45 babies that year
Average age
62
years old
2015 SSA rank
#4,864
Tracked since 1880
Gender
Gender distribution for Minor
Out of the 1,740 babies given the name Minor since 1880, 99.3% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Minor as a male name
- Ranked #13,398 in 2015
- 5 male births in 2015
- Peak: 1920 (42 births)
Minor as a female name
- Ranked #4,864 in 1924
- 6 female births in 1924
- Peak: 1923 (6 births)
Popularity
Minor: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Minor from the 1880s through to the 2010s, spanning 14 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 345 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Minor 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 Minor during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Minors live
The SSA's state-level files cover 9 states and territories. Virginia, Kentucky, Texas recorded the most babies named Minor, while Tennessee, Ohio, Louisiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 8 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Minor
The name Minor is derived from the Latin word "minor," which means "smaller" or "lesser." Its origin can be traced back to ancient Rome, where it was used as a term to describe someone or something that was smaller in size, importance, or rank.
Minor was initially used as a descriptor or an adjective, but over time, it evolved into a given name, particularly in English-speaking countries. The earliest recorded uses of Minor as a first name date back to the 17th century, although it was relatively uncommon during that period.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name Minor was Minor Meriwether (1638-1705), an English colonist and landowner who settled in Virginia. Another early example is Minor Winslow (1693-1755), a member of the influential Winslow family in colonial Massachusetts.
In the 19th century, Minor became more widely adopted as a given name, particularly in the United States. Some notable individuals with this first name include:
1. Minor Meriwether Lewis (1774-1809), an American explorer best known for leading the Lewis and Clark Expedition to explore the newly acquired western territories of the United States.
2. Minor Cooper Keith (1848-1929), an American lawyer and politician who served as the 27th Governor of Pennsylvania from 1903 to 1907.
3. Minor Candler White (1857-1938), an American businessman and co-founder of the White Provision Company, which later became a part of Armour and Company.
4. Minor Cooper Keith (1884-1963), an American businessman and philanthropist who served as the president of the Southern Railway Company from 1920 to 1951.
5. Minor Wisdom (1904-1965), an American jazz pianist and composer who was active in the Chicago jazz scene during the 1920s and 1930s.
While Minor was never an extremely popular name, it has maintained a consistent presence throughout history, particularly in the United States. Its unique sound and intriguing Latin origins have likely contributed to its enduring appeal as a given name.
People
Minor + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Minor 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
Minor: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Minor?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 521 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Minor 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 657,878 US residents.
Is Minor a common name?
We classify Minor as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,740 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Minor most popular?
The single biggest year for Minor was 1923, when 45 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Minor is about 62 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Minor a male name?
Yes, 99.3% of people registered as Minor in the SSA data are male. 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.