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I read here that Minna is german (protector)
I always wondered if itwas native american--as in Minnehaha--(Laughing Water).
It would make sense for haha to mean laughing, right? so maybe minne is water??? hmmmm...:)
I always wondered if itwas native american--as in Minnehaha--(Laughing Water).
It would make sense for haha to mean laughing, right? so maybe minne is water??? hmmmm...:)
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"Minne" is the Dakota ("Sioux") language word for "water", though it may be more correct to spell it as mni.
The "haha" in Minnehaha does NOT mean "laughing", however, but just "waterfall". "Laughing water" is a so-called "folk etymology". It might "make sense" to an English speaker that "haha" would mean "laughing", but that's not what it means in Dakota. :)
http://www.bartleby.com/61/90/M0319000.html
And of course none of this means that the word "Minne" or "Mni" was ever used as a name in the Dakota culture.
The "haha" in Minnehaha does NOT mean "laughing", however, but just "waterfall". "Laughing water" is a so-called "folk etymology". It might "make sense" to an English speaker that "haha" would mean "laughing", but that's not what it means in Dakota. :)
http://www.bartleby.com/61/90/M0319000.html
And of course none of this means that the word "Minne" or "Mni" was ever used as a name in the Dakota culture.
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