Minerva

Latin

"of the mind, intellect"

Minerva Origin and Meaning

The name Minerva is a girl's name of Latin origin meaning "of the mind, intellect".

Minerva is the long-neglected name of the Roman goddess of wisdom and invention, the arts and martial strength, one of the mythology names for girls that might appeal to adventurous feminist parents. With Juno and Jupiter, she made the Capitoline triad, whose worship was at the very center of Roman religion.

Minerva Pott is a character in Dickens's novel Pickwick Papers. In Harry Potter, Minerva McGonagall is a Witch and Deputy Headmistress of Hogswarts, and in the Artemis Fowl books, Minerva Paradizo is equally intellectual. There's also a series of kids' mystery books centering around a Minerva Clark.

Minerva was a Top 500 name through the early 1920s, last appearing on the list in 1973. It's well liked on Nameberry though—currently at Number 417. Nickname Minnie fits right in with the other currently stylish vintage nickname names. Curiously, though, actress Minnie Driver was not born Minerva, but Amelia.

Minerva Rank in US Top 1000

# 947 in the US

Minerva Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 392 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Minerva

• 392 Nameberry 2025

20 Names Similar to Minerva

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Minerva.

• Cressida
• Guinevere
• Delphine
• Octavia
• Olympia
• Cosima
• Isadora
• Lavinia
• Hermione
• Rowena
• Persephone
• Ariadne
• Cassiopeia
• Calliope
• Cordelia
• Rosalind
• Zelda
• Viola
• Theodosia
• Andromeda

Famous People Named Minerva

• Minerva Urecal American actress
• Minerva Teichert American painter
• Minerva Josephine Chapman American painter
• Minerva Cuevas Mexican conceptual artist
• Minerva Parker Nichols American architect
• Minerva Pious American actress
• Minerva Mendez American actress
• Minerva Vazquez American reality TV contestant on "The Next Great Baker"
• Ida Minerva Tarbell American muckraking journalist
• Minerva Mirabal Dominican activist

The name Minerva in Pop Culture

• Minerva "Minnie" Swidt character in "Christmas After All"
• Minerva Roman goddess of wisdom
• Minerva McGonagall character in the Harry Potter series
• Owl of Minerva symbol used by the Illuminati
• Minerva "Min" Green in "Why We Broke Up" by Daniel Handler
• Minerva Clark protagonist in the series by Karen Karbo
• Minerva Louise in a children's book series by Janet Stoeke
• Minerva ugly stepsister in Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Cinderella"
• Minerva Mink character in animated series "Animaniacs"
• Minerva "Mini" McGuinness character on TV's "Skins"
• Minerva Orland character in the anime/manga "Fairy Tail"
• Minerva Edith 'Minnie' Donovan character in television soap opera 'Prisoner Cell Block H'
• James Ratri aka William Minerva character in the manga/anime series "The Promised Neverland"

International Variations of the name Minerva

• Minerve French
• Minette French
• Minetta Spanish