Contribute your knowledge to the name Minka

Comments and insights on the name Minka

Personal experiences with the name Minka

My husband's last nme is Wozniak so when we were looking for a name for our daughter we needed something that could hold it's own against a very strong Polish last name.

Nicknames for Minka

Meanings and history of the name Minka

We read that it was a traditional Polish nickname for Wilhelmina, but I haven't been able to verify that anywhere else.

The wikipedia entry for Wilhelmina lists Minka as a Czech, Slovakian, and Polish variant of the name. Wikipedia isn't always necessarily right, but combined with a handful of online anecdotes I've seen from people knowing old Polish ladies with the name, this origin is at least believable.

I've found it cited a few times as a Yiddish name (1. online commenter whose Jewish grandmother was named Minka 2. List of names included in a book of Jewish Personal Names), but neither gave a meaning or derivation.

Famous real-life people named Minka

Minka Kelly - American actress
Minka Pradelski - German sociologist and documentarian. Penned the novel "Here Comes Mrs. Kugelman"
Minka Kuustonen - Finnish actress

Minka in song, story & screen

Minka Kropotkin - grandmother of Tommy Pickles in the 90s cartoon "Rugrats"