Minta
Feminine
Minta is the end of Araminta, a name invented for a Restoration comedy in 1693 — which makes it a clipping of a coinage, two removes from any language at all.
How old is the name Minta?
Minta was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Minta alive today was born around 1923, making them about 102 years old. About 400 people named Minta are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Minta most popular?
Minta peaked in 1880, reaching #317 nationally. See the whole 1880 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Araminta to Minta
The story of Minta
Congreve's Araminta reached the stage in 1693 and the name passed into English use, elegant and slightly theatrical. Speech clipped it to Minta and Minty. American families registered Minta outright through the nineteenth century — Harriet Tubman was born Araminta — and it peaked around 1885 before disappearing almost entirely.
Meaningnot established
Not established
Through Araminta, which William Congreve appears to have invented for The Old Bachelor. The coinage may blend Arabella and Aminta, the latter from Tasso's pastoral play. No underlying word is recovered. The English herb mint is unrelated and only a coincidence of sound.
How the name formed
- Araminta
- Minta
Related forms: Araminta · Minty · Aminta
Pronouncing Minta
MIN-tuh
Two syllables, stress on the first. Araminta has four with the stress on the third.
Nicknames for Minta
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most girls named
- 192128 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #317reached in 1880
- Change vs 1988
- −12.5%7 in 1993, from 8
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Minta in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Araminta in English — related form
- Minty in English — related form
- Aminta in Italian — related form
Mintas among us
people named Minta are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Minta sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Its origin is unusually well documented — a specific play and year.
- Araminta is available as a full formal version with real style.
- Two crisp syllables that are almost never encountered elsewhere.
- There is no inherited meaning; it is a literary coinage.
- The herb association is inescapable and is not the source.
- It is strongly period-coded to the nineteenth century.
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Minta
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Mintas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 400 people named Minta are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Minta in 2025?
- Minta is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Minta with classmates?
- Minta will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More M names
The most-given names starting with M, all years combined.
Mary#125 · Margaret#112 · Michelle#465 · Melissa#419 · Maria#87 · Martha#712 · Marie#617 · Mildred#1962
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Minta? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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