The name Minnie for a female

Is this a pet variant of a normal name? What else could they have been
known as?

mlou1173...

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Charani...

It could be a pet name or a name in its own right. I have a Minnie
who was named as that. It wasn't a diminutive or pet name.

Eve McLaughlin...

It came into use as a pet name (earliest in Scotland, then generally)
for Mary, Margery, Margaret, anything beginning with M, frequently as a
baby attempt at any name of the Emily, Amy, Aelia, Emma complex, for
the rare Wilhelmina, or, like 'Dolly' or 'Sissy', just as a name for a
little girl, regardless of her registered forename. It was a Scots pet
name for adult females, from husband to wife, too. 'Ma Minnie' (c.f.
'Ma Jo' (for sweetheart)
Once it was heard around, some mothers adopted it as a proper name and
many children were registered that way from the late C19. The later the
birth date of the child, the more likely it is to be 'standalone'.

Phil C....

I know a Miriam who's called Minnie by some of her family.

S Viemeister...

And I knew a Williamina who was called Minnie.

Phil C....

And the actress Minnie Driver's name is Amelia.

Brian Skinner...

As was my wife's granny, Amelia Mary Louisa. Her Aunt Minnie, however,
was Minnie Helen on her birth certificate.

Steve Hayes...

It could be, but it could also be a name in its own right, like Fanny, Betsy
and a few others.

Jenny M Benson...

According to a Baby Names book I have which dates back to the early
1930s, it is a Teutonic name meaning "Remembrance" but the book says it
was (at that time) commonly used as a diminutive of Mary.

Liz...

This depends to some extent on when the person was born. In the
nineteenth century or earlier the 'real' name for which Minnie was the
pet form is most likely to be Mary.

If you are looking for a baptism of someone later known as Minnie then
Mary is the name to stsrt looking for, as it is the commonest.

Later, particularly in early 20th century, it may be a standalone name
or attached to one of the other names suggested here .... but there were
always more Marys than Wilhelminas or Minervas ....

Lesley Robertson...

I was at school with someone who'd been named Minnie, her father always

GrannieAnnie...

What about:

Araminta
Mina
Minette
Jasmine
Yasmin
Dominique

The most popular on web-search though is Mary and Minerva.

claimed that she was named for Minnie Bannister....

Sarns...

A very small staircase??? LOL

Lesley Robertson...

The "love interest" (relationship never specified) of Henry Crun.

roy...

There is a scene in "The Last Tram From Clapham" [Goon Show,
November 1954], in which Henry Crun is the driver and Minnie
Bannister is the conductress of a Number 33 tram that has been stuck
down in the Kingsway Subway in central London for two years, with
Eccles the only passenger. The crew refuse to move it until
supervisor Ned Seagoon agrees to award them a "last tram" ceremony.
On hearing that this has been agreed, Henry tells Minnie to bring the
beds down from the top deck.

Minnie: "I can't, I've just got in one of them, Henry."
Henry: "Well, stay in now that you're there and just bring my bed
down "
Minnie: "Which one is yours, Henry?"
Henry: "The one I'm not in, Min."
Minnie: "But you're not in either of them, Henry!"

This would seem to indicate that whilst Henry Crun and Minnie
Bannister may have been romantically involved, they slept in separate
beds. As I sit here answering the above post, I have the recording on
the computer's CD player for confirmation.

Lesley Robertson...

I've got that one....
There's another one, whose title escapes me, that involved Neddie trying to
get into a locked building, and Min trying to get Henry out of bed to
answer....
More innocent time probably never enquired!
Lesley Robertson

Oh dear - how sad am I getting? But then there never were anything
like the Goons, before or since!

Roy Stockdill

"There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about,
and that is not being talked about."

Oscar Wilde

Leskey Robertson

Lesley Robertson

Liz (Greenwich UK)

Clare L...

I have a Minnie in my line and she is Minnie on her birth certificate.

Sarns...

Minnie can also be for Margaret.....

Don Aitken...

The wife of the 7th Earl of Shaftesbury was always known as Minnie.
She was born in 1810, and her Christian name was Emily.

GrannieAnnie...

I just searched the web for and found another discussion. They say it's a nickname for
Mary.

Don Aitken...

I think the only reasonable conclusion from the examples people have
found is that it is a free-standing nickname, which can be applied
regardless of the original name.

Richard Corbett...

My gran was Jane - but known to all as Minnie. She was the eldest child

Richard Corbett

Gilly...

How about Minerva?

Brenda Orsler...

One of my Grandmothrs' sister was named Winifred and known as Minnie as
opposed to Winnie.
Brenda