Minnie
Minnie was the 3060th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 54 babies. Its best year was 1880, when it ranked 5th; the most babies were born in 1916 (3,274). Over the last ten years it has moved down 422 places. More babies were named Minnie in the 1910s than in any other decade.
Meaning pet form of Wilhelmina, Mary and others · English, Germanic
Say it MIN-ee /ˈmɪni/
- Rank in 2025
- #3,060 girls, down 597 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 54girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 19163,274 babies
- Total since 1880
- 160,067babies recorded
What does the name Minnie mean?
Minnie is a pet form of several names, as Wiktionary notes: Wilhelmina (feminine of Wilhelm, William), Minerva, Mary, Mina, Mamie and Hermione. In Scotland it was a familiar form of Mary. Minnie was very common in the US in the 1880s and 1890s, and was given its lasting image by Minnie Mouse (1928).
Wilhelmina (German, “feminine of William”)
How sure is this? Well established. The full name behind a given Minnie varies.
Related names: Wilhelmina, Mina, Mary, Minerva.
See also: English names.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Minnie', Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- US Social Security Administration, national baby-name data 1880-2025 (our computation), SSA (public domain)
Minnie popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 787 since 1880.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #3,060 | 54 |
| 2020 | #2,463 | 71 |
| 2010 | #4,009 | 38 |
| 2000 | #4,046 | 31 |
| 1990 | #3,002 | 38 |
| 1980 | #1,632 | 71 |
| 1970 | #993 | 126 |
| 1960 | #515 | 350 |
| 1950 | #258 | 877 |
| 1940 | #168 | 1,229 |
| 1930 | #122 | 2,008 |
| 1920 | #87 | 3,244 |
| 1910 | #50 | 1,983 |
| 1900 | #22 | 2,673 |
| 1890 | #8 | 2,650 |
| 1880 | #5 | 1,746 |
How popular is Minnie, counting every spelling?
Minnie has no other common spelling that sounds the same.
How many kids will share the name Minnie?
54 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Minnie (0.02 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Minnie born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 155 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Minnie.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Minnie?
About 19,600 people born in the US named Minnie are alive today, with a median age of 77; half are between 66 and 84. That makes Minnie a name most people associate with older generations.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Minnie by state
How common Minnie was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. In 47 states fewer than five girls a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Minnie: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Minnie, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Minnie · Sibling names for Minnie
Minnie is also a nickname for Mary.
Questions about the name Minnie
What does Minnie mean?
Minnie means “pet form of Wilhelmina, Mary and others” (English, Germanic origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Minnie?
Minnie was the 3060th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 54 babies. Its best year was 1880, when it ranked 5th; the most babies were born in 1916 (3,274). Over the last ten years it has moved down 422 places. More babies were named Minnie in the 1910s than in any other decade.
Is Minnie a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Minnie in the US.
Where is Minnie most popular?
In 2021–2025, Minnie was most common in Oklahoma (0.10 per 1,000 girls), followed by Utah and Texas.