minnie

A diminutive of the female names Wilhelmina, Minerva, Mary, Mina, Mamie and Hermione. Popular as a formal female given name in the 19th century.

When they are used to express the affectionate regard of near friends and relatives they also may be pretty and appropriate, but they look very silly in a formal signature, and surely do not befit the dignity of womanhood. We had, for instance, among these 800 names scores of Minnies, Mamies, and only here and there a Mary, a much more euphonious as well as a dignified name.

A surname.

Minneapolis.

Alternative letter-case form of minnie (“minenwerfer trench mortar”).

Alternative spelling of minnow.

In quiet, sheltered places, where the water is clear but does not run too swiftly, the ‘minnie,’ as the stickleback is locally called, makes its nest by the bank. […] On these fibres the ova are deposited, and they are then either purposely partly covered with sand by the minnie, or else the particles that are brought down by the current gather over the bundle of fibres and conceal it, excepting one small spot.

Mother, mummy.