The name has several origins, meanings and derivatives depending on where in the world you find the bearer of the name. In the Western world, it is a female name, a contracted form of Wilhelmina and Hermina. It was always common in Germanic and Scandinavian countries, but was first introduced into the English-speaking world through Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897).
It is also an Indian name, derived from the Sanskrit word for fish मीना , it is sometimes transliterated as Meena. In Hinduism, it is the name of the daughter of the Goddess Usha and the God Kubera.
It is also a common Persian female name, being derived from the Farsi word for “blue glass; enamel; lapis lazuli.” It also coincides with the name of a valley near Mecca, and is therefore found as feminine given name in the Arabic-speaking world. In Arabic it means “port; harbor.”
Among Coptic Christians, it is a very popular male name. It is borne by a renowned early Christian Egyptian martyr and saint, known in the Western world as St. Menas. Mīna مينا is its original Coptic version and according to legend, the saint’s mother heard a voice saying “amen” while praying for a pregnancy.
Currently, Mina is 41st most popular female name in Norway (2010), the 314th most popular in France (2009) and the 961st most popular in the United States (2010).
The designated name-days are: November 24 (Poland) and December 23 (Lithuania/Poland).
Other forms its masculine Egyptian counterpart include:
Menna (Catalan)
Ménas (French)
Menas (Greek)
Mena (Italian: RARE)
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I like Mina. It’s very sweet, but I think I would prefer to use it as a nn, perhaps for Minerva.
I never thought of using Mina as a nn for Minerva but it makes perfect sense.