Head to head · Girls' names
Mina vs Mylah
#595 vs #604 in 2025
Mina is a whisker ahead (#595 vs #604 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Mina is holding its place on the charts, Mylah is climbing the charts fast. On momentum, Mylah has the edge.
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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 5 measures of 6; Mylah leads 1.
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: Mina #217, Mylah — — Mina higher
- 1890s: Mina #278, Mylah — — Mina higher
- 1900s: Mina #391, Mylah — — Mina higher
- 1910s: Mina #501, Mylah — — Mina higher
- 1920s: Mina #653, Mylah — — Mina higher
- 1930s: Mina #734, Mylah — — Mina higher
- 1940s: Mina #966, Mylah — — Mina higher
- 1950s: Mina #1328, Mylah — — Mina higher
- 1960s: Mina #1582, Mylah — — Mina higher
- 1970s: Mina #2042, Mylah — — Mina higher
- 1980s: Mina #1818, Mylah — — Mina higher
- 1990s: Mina #1449, Mylah #10730 — Mina higher
- 2000s: Mina #972, Mylah #4472 — Mina higher
- 2010s: Mina #756, Mylah #1079 — Mina higher
- 2020s: Mina #609, Mylah #540 — Mylah higher
Mina stood higher in 14 of 15 decades; Mylah took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Mina | Mylah |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #217 | — |
| 1890s | #278 | — |
| 1900s | #391 | — |
| 1910s | #501 | — |
| 1920s | #653 | — |
| 1930s | #734 | — |
| 1940s | #966 | — |
| 1950s | #1328 | — |
| 1960s | #1582 | — |
| 1970s | #2042 | — |
| 1980s | #1818 | — |
| 1990s | #1449 | #10730 |
| 2000s | #972 | #4472 |
| 2010s | #756 | #1079 |
| 2020s | #609 | #540 |
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
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.
Mylah
Most likely 'dear, gracious' — though the spelling has two possible parents
Two roads meet at this sound. One runs through the Slavic Mila, from the root mil- meaning 'dear, gracious', long established across Russian, Czech, Croatian and Polish names like Milena and Ludmila. The other treats Myla as a feminine of Myles/Miles, a Germanic name reshaped in medieval Latin, whose own meaning has never been settled. The -ah spelling itself is a recent American addition and carries no separate meaning of its own.
Mila → Myla → Mylah
How it traveled
The sound behind Mylah is well documented: mil-, a Slavic element meaning 'dear' or 'gracious', which produced Mila, Milena and Ludmila and has been in continuous use across Central and Eastern Europe for centuries. The spelling Mylah, however, belongs to American English and to a habit that shows up again and again in the record — a familiar name reopened with a y and closed with an h, the way Sofia became Sophiah and Mia became Miah.
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
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.
Mylah
MY-lah
Stress on the first syllable, which rhymes with 'my'. The main snag is Mila, which is usually said MEE-lah — people who know that name often reach for the same vowel here, so expect to correct it early and often.
- Mimi — Informal, family-level; also used on its own for Miriam, Michelle and Amelia.
- My — Informal clipping of the first syllable; also a standalone given name in Sweden, pronounced differently there.
- Mylie — Informal diminutive, used mostly by adults to small children.
- Lah — Informal, sibling-style shortening from the second syllable.
One short form, two names
- Mina and Mylah both shorten to Mimi.
Short forms as recorded on each name’s own page. This is here so it is a decision rather than a discovery.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Mina if you want…
- a name holding steadyMina is holding its place on the charts
- a long American recordMina was already in use when US records began in 1880
Choose Mylah if you want…
- a name on the way upup 144 places on the charts in five years
- a newer arrivalMylah entered the US charts in 1993
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
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.
Mylah
Strengths
- Two syllables, five letters, no silent consonants — easy for a young child to say and to write.
- The -ah ending is already familiar in English from Hannah, Norah and Sarah, so the shape looks ordinary even when the name is new.
- Rare enough that a Mylah is unlikely to share her name with a classmate.
To consider
- The spelling will be a lifelong small chore. Mila, Myla and Milah all exist, and the default guess after hearing the name aloud is rarely the one you chose.
- Pronunciation is genuinely split by association: people who know Mila (MEE-lah) will often apply that vowel to Mylah too.
- This is a name on the way up, concentrated among very young children. It is quiet now but may feel considerably more common by the time she is in high school.
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 Mina and Mylah in full.
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Decide together
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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
- East and Southeast Asian names in American use
- Valentine names with love in them
- Names ranked #601–1000: known, but barely shared
- Names far more common than their rank admits
- all guides
Where Mina and Mylah each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Mina or Mylah — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Mina or Mylah?
- Mina, in 2025: Mina ranked #595 with 491 babies; Mylah ranked #604 with 486 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Mina or Mylah?
- Mylah. Over the last five years Mina moved up 66 places; Mylah moved up 144 places.
- Which is the older name, Mina or Mylah?
- Mina was already in use when US records began in 1880; Mylah entered the US charts in 1993. On the American record, Mina is the older name.
- How many people are named Mina and Mylah?
- About 13,000 people named Mina are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 6,500 people named Mylah are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Do Mina and Mylah share a nickname?
- Yes — both shorten to Mimi, so in a house with both names the short form would not say which child is meant.
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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