Minerva

Minerva is the name of the Roman goddess associated with wisdom, the arts, and warfare. Together with Jupiter and Juno, she formed the Capitoline triad at the heart of Roman public religion. The name may be connected with a Latin word for the mind, though an Etruscan background is also proposed, making its earliest meaning less certain than its mythological identity.

Literature has continued that intellectual association, notably through Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter stories. Minnie provides a familiar short form that sounds quite different from the full classical name. Minerva therefore offers both an ancient religious and cultural history and a recognizable modern fictional reference, with the goddess supplying its most substantial story.