Minerva
Minerva was given to 89 girls in 2025, #2,112 among girls’ names; 15,823 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 7,970 Americans named Minerva and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (50% of everyone recorded); the median is 56 years old and half are between 33 and 70.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Minerva by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Minerva mean?
Wiktionary, Spanish section
Minerva is “a female given name from Latin”
Learned borrowing from Latin Minerva.
/miˈneɾba/
Meaning: Wiktionary, Spanish section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Minerva?
#2,112 among girls’ names, 2025
Minerva rose from #3,242 in 2015 to #2,112 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 28.6 to 55.4 per million.
221 babies in 1955, the peak
Minerva peaked in 1955, when 221 girls were given it, #624 among girls’ names. The 89 births of 2025 are 40% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 89 | #2,112 | 0.06 |
| 2024 | 74 | #2,452 | 0.05 |
| 2023 | 93 | #2,086 | 0.06 |
| 2022 | 83 | #2,270 | 0.05 |
| 2021 | 84 | #2,226 | 0.05 |
| 2020 | 69 | #2,519 | 0.04 |
| 2019 | 84 | #2,214 | 0.05 |
| 2018 | 82 | #2,250 | 0.05 |
| 2017 | 68 | #2,591 | 0.04 |
| 2016 | 65 | #2,687 | 0.04 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 51 | #3,242 | 0.03 |
| 2014 | 47 | #3,401 | 0.03 |
| 2013 | 46 | #3,443 | 0.03 |
| 2012 | 39 | #3,968 | 0.02 |
| 2011 | 38 | #3,984 | 0.02 |
| 2010 | 37 | #4,085 | 0.02 |
| 2009 | 41 | #3,846 | 0.02 |
| 2008 | 48 | #3,458 | 0.03 |
| 2007 | 72 | #2,590 | 0.04 |
| 2006 | 65 | #2,749 | 0.03 |
| 2005 | 59 | #2,811 | 0.03 |
| 2004 | 58 | #2,794 | 0.03 |
| 2003 | 61 | #2,628 | 0.03 |
| 2002 | 55 | #2,763 | 0.03 |
| 2001 | 45 | #3,123 | 0.02 |
| 2000 | 51 | #2,843 | 0.03 |
| 1999 | 48 | #2,837 | 0.03 |
| 1998 | 52 | #2,636 | 0.03 |
| 1997 | 56 | #2,379 | 0.03 |
| 1996 | 58 | #2,298 | 0.03 |
| 1995 | 61 | #2,203 | 0.03 |
| 1994 | 72 | #1,960 | 0.04 |
| 1993 | 67 | #2,054 | 0.04 |
| 1992 | 84 | #1,753 | 0.05 |
| 1991 | 81 | #1,766 | 0.04 |
| 1990 | 90 | #1,649 | 0.05 |
| 1989 | 91 | #1,558 | 0.05 |
| 1988 | 70 | #1,796 | 0.04 |
| 1987 | 71 | #1,713 | 0.04 |
| 1986 | 84 | #1,491 | 0.05 |
| 1985 | 82 | #1,502 | 0.05 |
| 1984 | 64 | #1,719 | 0.04 |
| 1983 | 76 | #1,504 | 0.05 |
| 1982 | 90 | #1,370 | 0.05 |
| 1981 | 112 | #1,185 | 0.07 |
| 1980 | 97 | #1,314 | 0.06 |
| 1979 | 102 | #1,257 | 0.06 |
| 1978 | 74 | #1,520 | 0.05 |
| 1977 | 95 | #1,262 | 0.06 |
| 1976 | 125 | #1,006 | 0.09 |
| 1975 | 100 | #1,159 | 0.07 |
| 1974 | 91 | #1,214 | 0.06 |
| 1973 | 127 | #952 | 0.09 |
| 1972 | 109 | #1,062 | 0.07 |
| 1971 | 120 | #1,031 | 0.07 |
| 1970 | 127 | #987 | 0.07 |
| 1969 | 124 | #963 | 0.07 |
| 1968 | 116 | #962 | 0.07 |
| 1967 | 155 | #804 | 0.09 |
| 1966 | 128 | #888 | 0.08 |
| 1965 | 154 | #797 | 0.09 |
| 1964 | 148 | #857 | 0.08 |
| 1963 | 179 | #775 | 0.09 |
| 1962 | 158 | #839 | 0.08 |
| 1961 | 217 | #710 | 0.11 |
| 1960 | 206 | #712 | 0.10 |
| 1959 | 179 | #761 | 0.09 |
| 1958 | 206 | #688 | 0.10 |
| 1957 | 212 | #678 | 0.10 |
| 1956 | 193 | #689 | 0.10 |
| 1955 | 221 | #624 | 0.11 |
| 1954 | 185 | #690 | 0.10 |
| 1953 | 195 | #640 | 0.10 |
| 1952 | 171 | #684 | 0.09 |
| 1951 | 168 | #678 | 0.09 |
| 1950 | 144 | #715 | 0.08 |
| 1949 | 154 | #672 | 0.09 |
| 1948 | 147 | #684 | 0.09 |
| 1947 | 130 | #752 | 0.07 |
| 1946 | 143 | #669 | 0.09 |
| 1945 | 112 | #706 | 0.09 |
| 1944 | 155 | #591 | 0.12 |
| 1943 | 150 | #619 | 0.11 |
| 1942 | 123 | #677 | 0.09 |
| 1941 | 118 | #654 | 0.10 |
| 1940 | 105 | #678 | 0.09 |
| 1939 | 114 | #642 | 0.10 |
| 1938 | 121 | #620 | 0.11 |
| 1937 | 116 | #630 | 0.11 |
| 1936 | 104 | #651 | 0.10 |
| 1935 | 101 | #657 | 0.10 |
| 1934 | 126 | #577 | 0.12 |
| 1933 | 125 | #573 | 0.12 |
| 1932 | 146 | #539 | 0.14 |
| 1931 | 138 | #559 | 0.13 |
| 1930 | 157 | #543 | 0.14 |
| 1929 | 159 | #543 | 0.14 |
| 1928 | 153 | #571 | 0.13 |
| 1927 | 157 | #570 | 0.13 |
| 1926 | 143 | #596 | 0.12 |
| 1925 | 185 | #522 | 0.15 |
| 1924 | 183 | #534 | 0.15 |
| 1923 | 155 | #579 | 0.13 |
| 1922 | 197 | #496 | 0.16 |
| 1921 | 202 | #486 | 0.16 |
| 1920 | 204 | #479 | 0.17 |
| 1919 | 185 | #493 | 0.16 |
| 1918 | 200 | #478 | 0.17 |
| 1917 | 211 | #442 | 0.20 |
| 1916 | 181 | #473 | 0.17 |
| 1915 | 205 | #424 | 0.21 |
| 1914 | 139 | #463 | 0.18 |
| 1913 | 145 | #409 | 0.23 |
| 1912 | 111 | #451 | 0.20 |
| 1911 | 114 | #381 | 0.27 |
| 1910 | 100 | #396 | 0.25 |
| 1909 | 95 | #382 | 0.27 |
| 1908 | 85 | #395 | 0.25 |
| 1907 | 63 | #451 | 0.20 |
| 1906 | 84 | #373 | 0.28 |
| 1905 | 88 | #360 | 0.30 |
| 1904 | 64 | #404 | 0.23 |
| 1903 | 76 | #368 | 0.29 |
| 1902 | 88 | #336 | 0.33 |
| 1901 | 84 | #332 | 0.35 |
| 1900 | 101 | #336 | 0.34 |
| 1899 | 82 | #332 | 0.35 |
| 1898 | 79 | #348 | 0.31 |
| 1897 | 74 | #341 | 0.32 |
| 1896 | 98 | #296 | 0.41 |
| 1895 | 75 | #333 | 0.32 |
| 1894 | 82 | #306 | 0.37 |
| 1893 | 61 | #347 | 0.29 |
| 1892 | 82 | #302 | 0.39 |
| 1891 | 59 | #328 | 0.32 |
| 1890 | 89 | #267 | 0.47 |
| 1889 | 79 | #267 | 0.44 |
| 1888 | 79 | #260 | 0.44 |
| 1887 | 64 | #264 | 0.44 |
| 1886 | 65 | #259 | 0.45 |
| 1885 | 77 | #225 | 0.58 |
| 1884 | 73 | #226 | 0.57 |
| 1883 | 52 | #251 | 0.46 |
| 1882 | 56 | #231 | 0.52 |
| 1881 | 53 | #206 | 0.58 |
| 1880 | 63 | #194 | 0.69 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Minerva a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Minerva has been recorded only for girls: SSA lists no boys with the name in 146 years of records (it lists a name only in years with 5 or more babies of a sex).
Girls and boys named Minerva: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Minerva, and how old are they?
7,970 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 50% of the 15,823 Americans ever recorded as Minerva. The median Minerva alive today is 56 years old; half are between 33 and 70.
The 2020 Census counted 18,562 people named Minerva (18,546 women and girls, 16 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 8,292 born in the U.S. The Census count is 2.2 times that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 666 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 2,620 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 1,710 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 1,220 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 816 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 929 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Minerva born?
The states with the most babies named Minerva are Texas, California and New York, with 74% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 3,849 | #1,596 | 4.3× |
| California | 1,543 | #1,462 | 1.5× |
| New York | 1,499 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| Pennsylvania | 773 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| Illinois | 383 | not ranked | 0.5× |
| New Jersey | 235 | not ranked | 0.6× |
| Kentucky | 162 | not ranked | 0.6× |
| Ohio | 118 | not ranked | 0.2× |
| Louisiana | 87 | not ranked | 0.3× |
| Michigan | 67 | not ranked | 0.1× |
Where Minerva is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Minerva is most over-represented in Texas: since 1910 it was given 4.3 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Minerva with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 2 names spelled alike, given to 15,918 babies since 1880, Minerva is the most given (99% of them). In 2025 it was given to 89 of their 89 babies (100%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Minerva
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Minerva and names like it
- Compare Minerva and MinerviaBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1950sMinerva peaked in 1955.
- Texas’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Minerva since 1910.
- Latin namesWiktionary’s origin for Minerva: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1955The year the most babies were named Minerva.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Minerva alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with MMost given first.