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At a Glance: Name: Min – Meaning: meaning depends on the Chinese character used; commonly 敏 'quick-witted, clever' or 旻 'autumn sky', among others – Origin: Korean/Chinese (Sino-Korean, hanja-dependent) – Gender: used for both boys and girls – Pronunciation: MIN
Min is a Sino-Korean name, and its meaning depends on which Chinese character it's written with — it's often 敏, meaning 'quick-witted, clever,' or 旻, meaning 'autumn sky,' among other options. You may see Min explained as meaning 'bright and virtuous,' but that's just one simplified gloss; since the name can be written with several different characters (like 敏 'clever/quick-witted,' 旻 'autumn sky,' or 民 'people'), there's no single fixed meaning behind it. If you're drawn to Min, it's worth thinking about which character feels right to you.
Meaning & Origin of Min
Meaning: Meaning depends on the Chinese character used; commonly 敏 'quick-witted, clever' or 旻 'autumn sky', among others.
Origin: Korean/Chinese (Sino-Korean, hanja-dependent).
A common claim: Min means 'bright and virtuous' Actually: As with many Sino-Korean names, 'Min' can be written with several different characters (e.g. 敏 'clever/quick-witted', 旻 'autumn sky', 民 'people'), so there's no single fixed meaning — 'bright and virtuous' is just one popular simplified gloss.
Source: Wiktionary.
How to Pronounce Min
Phonetic: MIN IPA: /mɪn/
Popularity of Min
Min reached its highest point in SSA records in 1982, ranking #2786 with 17 babies given the name that year. By 2023, it had fallen to #16810 with just 5 babies, within data spanning 1953 to 2023.
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration birth-name data, 1953–2023.
Make Min Name Art
Free printable nursery art for Min, pre-loaded below — pick a layout, palette, and font, then download a print-ready PNG.
Names With a Similar Story
Derived from shared style, era, and origin data (or, for names we have no style data for, a similar Social Security popularity trajectory) — not a hand-picked list.
FAQ
What does the name Min mean?
Meaning depends on the Chinese character used; commonly 敏 ‘quick-witted, clever’ or 旻 ‘autumn sky’, among others. (Source: Wiktionary, https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Min)
How do you pronounce Min?
Min is pronounced MIN (IPA: /mɪn/).
Is Min a popular name right now?
Min peaked at #2786 in 1982 and is ranked #16810 as of 2023. (U.S. Social Security Administration data, 1953–2023.)
📊 How popular is Min? See the full popularity history, trend data, and ranking since 1880 with our free Baby Name Popularity Checker.
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