Hi! I know a girl with the name Minette, but couldn’t find it on your site and thought it was really pretty. Could it be added? I know it is of French origin, but don’t know much beyond that.

Thanks,
Madeline

Hi Madeline,

The root “Min” comes from the name Minnie, which is a diminutive form of the name Mary. “Ette” is a French tag that was originally used for nicknames.  So yes, the origin is French, and the meaning is the same as Mary: “Bitter” or “Of the Sea.”  Thank you for this new name! We will add Minette to our names database.

Sincerely,

Jennifer

 

Headshot of Jennifer Moss

Jennifer Moss (she/her) is the founder of BabyNames.com, author of The Baby Names Workbook, and Producer of The Baby Names Podcast. Jennifer is widely regarded as the leading expert on popular baby name trends and the naming process, serving as the authoritative source on the subject for national and international media.

Jennifer entered the tech arena in the 80s as a software developer and database architect, and became a pioneer in the Internet industry. In addition to operating BabyNames.com, Jennifer owns a web development agency in central California.