Minna

Meaning of Minna

Minna, a female given name of Germanic origin, initially emerged as a diminutive of Wilhelmina—itself derived from the Old Germanic elements wil “will, desire” and helm “helmet, protection”—and subsequently acquired autonomy within Finnish onomastic tradition, where it is phonemically realized as /ˈminːɑ/, while in German contexts it is articulated as /ˈmɪna/. Historically and literarily, Minna has been borne by figures such as Lessing’s eponymous heroine in the 18th-century drama Minna von Barnhelm, an association that underscores its connotations of steadfastness and genteel authority. In the contemporary United States, Social Security Administration data show that Minna has consistently appeared in the annual top one thousand for female births since at least 2005, with rank positions oscillating within the 900–940 interval—an empirical indication of its modest yet enduring presence in Anglo-American naming practice.