LONDON-L Archives

Archiver > LONDON > 2004-07 > 1089413826


From: "Ron Lankshear (Sydney Aust)" <>
Subject: Re: [Lon] Mina ... pronunciation
Date: Sat, 10 Jul 2004 08:57:10 +1000
References: <000101c465e1$56a4bba0$12934b40@maui.net>
In-Reply-To: <000101c465e1$56a4bba0$12934b40@maui.net>


I am afraid the excellent http://www.behindthename.com/
was not much help in pronouncing
MINA f
Usage: English, Italian
Short form of names ending in mina. This is the name of a character in
'Dracula' by Bram Stoker.

A couple of comments found using google

On first appearance, i thought "Minna", but on reflection, it seems more
likely that the correct pronunciation is "Meena"...or possibly even
"Mynah" (although im not so certain about this one...) Does anyone know?

It's like mynah bird. Apparently it's a corruption of the Irish name
Minogue.

Myself I would have said Meena - that is how I would say Wilhelmina etc

However Mina is also a town on the Muslim Haj path to Mecca so would an
Arabic speaker say it - but that is not origin of name

Ron Lankshear - Sydney Aust (born London - Shepherds Bush/Chiswick)
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~lankshear/
Try the genealogy links and suggestions

Barbara Wessinger wrote:
> Hello again,
> In my London ancestry and farther down the line there are women with the given name of "Mina".
> I have always assumed the pronunciation to be with a short " i " as in minnow or minute.
> Recently I spoke with someone who had an aunt Mina and she said the family always used the long " i "I
> as in "might" making it "Myna". I was shocked! That is the name of our bird "Mynah" :-)
> But I'm willing to be corrected and since the Minas in my family are long gone I cannot ask them.
> Any others out there with this name in your families? How do you say it?
> Barbara on Maui


This thread: