Given name & surname
Minette
“woman from the South”·“one who is greatly loved”·“determined protector”
Minette is a variant of Mina. Interpretations include “woman from the South” and “one who is greatly loved”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts. Minette is a variant of Minetta. In French use, Minetta carries the interpretation “determined protector.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Minette is a variant of Mina. Interpretations include “woman from the South” and “one who is greatly loved”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts. Minette is a variant of Minetta. In French use, Minetta carries the interpretation “determined protector.”
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1893. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Minette through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 732
- 0 boys · 732 girls
- Most popular year
- 1968
- 20 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −100%
- Cooling
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for girls is 5 in 2020. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for girls was 20 in 1968. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 731 as a first name in 2020; 359 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Minette’s family of names
Minette has a related form in Mina. Minette has a related form in Minetta.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 3
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 1
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Minette
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Minette, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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Josette
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>99% girls