Head to head · Girls' names
Halle vs Mina
#595 vs #595 in 2025
Halle and Mina share the same spot on the 2025 charts (#595). The records cannot split them; sound and story will.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
The tape is even: Halle and Mina each lead 2 measures of 6.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Halle —, Mina #217 — Mina higher
- 1890s: Halle —, Mina #278 — Mina higher
- 1900s: Halle —, Mina #391 — Mina higher
- 1910s: Halle —, Mina #501 — Mina higher
- 1920s: Halle —, Mina #653 — Mina higher
- 1930s: Halle —, Mina #734 — Mina higher
- 1940s: Halle #5243, Mina #966 — Mina higher
- 1950s: Halle #5058, Mina #1328 — Mina higher
- 1960s: Halle #4808, Mina #1582 — Mina higher
- 1970s: Halle #4432, Mina #2042 — Mina higher
- 1980s: Halle #4160, Mina #1818 — Mina higher
- 1990s: Halle #1454, Mina #1449 — Mina higher
- 2000s: Halle #440, Mina #972 — Halle higher
- 2010s: Halle #783, Mina #756 — Mina higher
- 2020s: Halle #692, Mina #609 — Mina higher
Mina stood higher in 14 of 15 decades; Mina has held the lead since the 2010s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Halle | Mina |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | — | #217 |
| 1890s | — | #278 |
| 1900s | — | #391 |
| 1910s | — | #501 |
| 1920s | — | #653 |
| 1930s | — | #734 |
| 1940s | #5243 | #966 |
| 1950s | #5058 | #1328 |
| 1960s | #4808 | #1582 |
| 1970s | #4432 | #2042 |
| 1980s | #4160 | #1818 |
| 1990s | #1454 | #1449 |
| 2000s | #440 | #972 |
| 2010s | #783 | #756 |
| 2020s | #692 | #609 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Halle
Not established
Three serious readings sit behind the same spelling. As a shortening of Hallie, it descends from Harriet — the English form of Henriette, from a Germanic name meaning roughly "home ruler." As a Norwegian and Icelandic name (borne by men), Halle goes back to Old Norse hallr, "stone, boulder." And Halle is a German city whose name is linked to its ancient salt works. Which road an individual Halle came down usually depends on the family.
Heimirich → Henri → Harriet → Hallie → Halle
How it traveled
The English-language Halle is most often a trimmed Hallie, the nineteenth-century pet form of Harriet that stood on its own in American records long before the shorter spelling did. Separately, Halle has been a men's name in Norway for centuries, from the Old Norse element meaning stone, and Halle is a real German city, old enough that its salt trade named it.
Mina
Depends on the road: Persian 'enamel, azure glass'; as a European short form, it carries the meaning of the longer name behind it
Mina is not one name with a disputed meaning so much as several names that met at one spelling. In German, Dutch and Scandinavian use it is a clipped form of Wilhelmina (from Germanic elements for 'will' and 'helmet, protection') or of Hermina. In Persian, mina is a word for blue enamel or glasswork, and also names a flower. In Japanese it is written with various character combinations, each giving its own sense — commonly 'beautiful' plus another element. In the Balkans it also serves as a short form of Milena, and in Arabic-speaking families as one of Amina.
Willahelm → Wilhelmina → Mina
How it traveled
The European Mina is a worn-down Wilhelmina, a name that spread through German and Dutch households and traveled with them; the full form was heavy and the short form did all the daily work. Bram Stoker gave the pairing to English readers in Dracula, where Wilhelmina Murray goes by Mina throughout.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Halle
HAL-ee
Rhymes with "alley," the way Halle Berry says it. Two other pronunciations circulate: HAH-lee, and the German city's HAH-luh. Expect to correct people occasionally, and expect the correction to stick after one telling.
- Hallie — The longer sister spelling, used as an affectionate form and also standing alone as a given name.
- Hal — Informal and unisex; independently a short form of Henry and Harold, so it carries its own long history.
- Hals — Playground and teammate shortening, informal only.
- H — Initial-only nickname among friends and siblings; not used in writing.
Mina
MEE-nuh
MEE-nuh is the usual reading in English, Persian, Japanese and Korean use. Older German and Dutch families may say MIN-uh, closer to Minna, and a few English speakers guess MY-nuh on first sight. One correction usually settles it.
- Minnie — The long-established English pet form of Mina and Wilhelmina; also used as a given name in its own right.
- Min — Informal, family-level shortening; rarely written down.
- Mimi — Affectionate form, more common in French- and Italian-speaking use, and a standalone name too.
- Minka — Diminutive found in Dutch and Slavic use, and independently a given name.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Halle if you want…
- a name on the way upup 267 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesHalle is 1 syllable to Mina's 2
- a newer arrivalHalle entered the US charts in 1948
Choose Mina if you want…
- a name holding steadyMina is holding its place on the charts
- a name with more sound in itMina runs 2 syllables, Halle 1
- a long American recordMina was already in use when US records began in 1880
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Halle
Strengths
- Short, two syllables, no silent letters — spellable by a child on the first day of kindergarten.
- Comes with ready-made short forms: Hal, and the longer Hallie if a fuller version is ever wanted.
- A widely known bearer means most Americans have heard the name said aloud and will not stumble over it.
To consider
- The Hallie/Hailey/Haley cluster is crowded, and Halle will be misspelled into one of them often enough that spelling it out becomes routine.
- Pronunciation is not fully settled: some readers will try HAH-lee or the German HAH-luh before they hear it from you.
- One famous bearer dominates the association for most American adults. That may fade with the next generation, but for now the name arrives with her attached.
Mina
Strengths
- Four letters, two syllables, and phonetic on the page — most people spell it right the first time after hearing it once.
- Works unchanged in German, Dutch, Persian, Japanese, Korean and Serbian, which is rare for a name this short.
- Stands on its own as a full given name, but also sits ready as the short form of Wilhelmina or Amina if you want a longer name on the certificate.
To consider
- It lives among close neighbors: Mia, Nina, Tina and Mila are all in heavy use, and Mina will occasionally be heard or written as one of them. Repeating it is usually enough.
- Because the same spelling arrives from Persian, East Asian and Germanic roots, people may assume a background your family does not have — sometimes an interesting conversation, sometimes a tiring one.
- MEE-nuh and MIN-uh both have real claim to the spelling, so expect to state your preference now and then.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Halle and Mina in full.
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Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
- One-syllable names: said in a single beat
- East and Southeast Asian names in American use
- Valentine names with love in them
- all guides
Where Halle and Mina each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Halle or Mina — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Halle or Mina?
- They tie in 2025: Halle ranked #595 with 491 babies; Mina ranked #595 with 491 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Halle or Mina?
- Halle. Over the last five years Halle moved up 267 places; Mina moved up 66 places.
- Which is the older name, Halle or Mina?
- Halle entered the US charts in 1948; Mina was already in use when US records began in 1880. On the American record, Mina is the older name.
- How many people are named Halle and Mina?
- About 16,500 people named Halle are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 13,000 people named Mina are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Halles or Minas in the classroom?
- Halle will almost certainly be the only one in school. Mina will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
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