Head to head · Girls' names
Marina vs Mina
#601 vs #595 in 2025 · both holding its place on the charts
Mina is a whisker ahead (#595 vs #601 in 2025) and both are holding its place on the charts. The records will not split these two — sound, story and your own last name 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
On the charts, Mina leads 4 measures of 6; Marina leads 2.
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: Marina #1136, Mina #217 — Mina higher
- 1890s: Marina #1286, Mina #278 — Mina higher
- 1900s: Marina #1518, Mina #391 — Mina higher
- 1910s: Marina #1281, Mina #501 — Mina higher
- 1920s: Marina #982, Mina #653 — Mina higher
- 1930s: Marina #958, Mina #734 — Mina higher
- 1940s: Marina #806, Mina #966 — Marina higher
- 1950s: Marina #687, Mina #1328 — Marina higher
- 1960s: Marina #546, Mina #1582 — Marina higher
- 1970s: Marina #592, Mina #2042 — Marina higher
- 1980s: Marina #502, Mina #1818 — Marina higher
- 1990s: Marina #286, Mina #1449 — Marina higher
- 2000s: Marina #425, Mina #972 — Marina higher
- 2010s: Marina #657, Mina #756 — Marina higher
- 2020s: Marina #646, Mina #609 — Mina higher
Marina stood higher in 8 of 15 decades; Mina took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Marina | Mina |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #1136 | #217 |
| 1890s | #1286 | #278 |
| 1900s | #1518 | #391 |
| 1910s | #1281 | #501 |
| 1920s | #982 | #653 |
| 1930s | #958 | #734 |
| 1940s | #806 | #966 |
| 1950s | #687 | #1328 |
| 1960s | #546 | #1582 |
| 1970s | #592 | #2042 |
| 1980s | #502 | #1818 |
| 1990s | #286 | #1449 |
| 2000s | #425 | #972 |
| 2010s | #657 | #756 |
| 2020s | #646 | #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
Marina
Of the sea
From Latin marinus, the adjective formed from mare, "sea" — Marina is its feminine form.
mare (Latin, "sea") → marinus → Marinus → Marina
How it traveled
The name begins as ordinary Latin: marinus, "belonging to the sea," which became the masculine name Marinus and the feminine Marina. Early Christian veneration carried it out of Latin and into Greek and then Slavic use, and it settled deeply into the Orthodox world, where it has been in continuous use for centuries.
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
Marina
muh-REE-nuh
Stress falls on the middle syllable. Spanish, Italian and Russian speakers say it with fuller vowels — mah-REE-nah — which is the same name, not a correction.
- Rina — The most common English short form; also used on its own as a given name.
- Mari — Informal, and independently a given name in Spanish, Italian and Japanese contexts.
- Marinka — A Slavic diminutive, affectionate and family-level rather than formal.
- Marisha — Russian diminutive (Мариша), used within families and among friends.
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 Marina if you want…
- a name on the way upup 103 places on the charts in five years
- a name with more sound in itMarina runs 3 syllables, Mina 2
- a newer arrivalMarina entered the US charts in 1886
Choose Mina if you want…
- a name holding steadyMina is holding its place on the charts
- a name with fewer syllablesMina is 2 syllables to Marina's 3
- 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
Marina
Strengths
- One spelling works in English, Spanish, Italian, Greek and Russian, with no adaptation needed at a border or on a form.
- Reads correctly at first sight for most English speakers, because the word marina is already familiar.
- Long-established short forms — Rina, Mari, Marinka — rather than nicknames someone has to invent.
To consider
- It is also the English word for a boat harbor, so the association is instant and generally pleasant — but the name will occasionally be read as a place before a person.
- Expect a lifetime of small mix-ups with Maria, Mariana and Marine, all of which sound close and none of which are the same name.
- In bilingual families the vowels shift — muh-REE-nuh at school, mah-REE-nah at home. Both are correct, and children who grow up with two versions tend to manage them easily.
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 Marina and Mina in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Marina and Mina?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
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More than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
- Names ranked #601–1000: known, but barely shared
- Summer names full of light
- Shakespeare names still stealing scenes
- Water names that flow
- all guides
Where Marina and Mina each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Marina or Mina — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Marina or Mina?
- Mina, in 2025: Mina ranked #595 with 491 babies; Marina ranked #601 with 488 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Marina or Mina?
- Marina. Over the last five years Marina moved up 103 places; Mina moved up 66 places.
- Which is the older name, Marina or Mina?
- Marina entered the US charts in 1886; 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 Marina and Mina?
- About 36,500 people named Marina 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 Marinas or Minas in the classroom?
- Marina 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
Keep playing
Sixty more head-to-heads are dealt in the arena every day — or line up Marina, Mina and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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