Wilhelmina (also: Wilhelmena, Wilhelmine, Wilhemina) is a feminine given name. It is the Dutch, German and Yiddish feminine form of Wilhelm (German), Willem (Dutch), or William (English). It is derived from the Germanic wil, meaning "will, desire" and helm, meaning "helmet, protection". Wilhelmina was ranked in the top 1000 most popular names for girls in the United States between 1900 and 1940, but is rarely used today. Nicknames for Wilhelmina include, but are not restricted to, Minna, Mina, Mineke, Minnie, Willie, Willy, Willa, and Billie.
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Notable people with this name
Wilhelmina Hay Abbott (1884–1957), Scottish suffragist and feminist
Wilhelmina van den Berg (born 1947), Dutch sprinter
Wilhelmina Bonde (1817–1899), Swedish countess and courtier
Wilhelmina von Bremen (1909–1976), German American gold medalist in the Olympics
Vilhelmina Bardauskienė (born 1958), Lithuanian long jumper
Wilhelmina “Minie” Brinkhoff (born 1952), Dutch retired cyclist
Wilhelmina Cooper (1939–1980), Dutch-American high fashion model and founder of Wilhelmina Models
Minna Craucher (born Maria Vilhelmiina Lindell; 1891–1932), Finnish socialite and spy
Wilhelmina Marguerita Crosson (1900–1991), American educator and school administrator
Wilhelmina Delco (née Fitzgerald; born 1929), American politician
Wilhelmina "Mijntje" Donners (born 1974), Dutch field hockey striker
Wilhelmine Kekelaokalaninui Widemann Dowsett (1861–1929), Native Hawaiian suffragist
Wilhelmina Drucker (1847–1925), Dutch politician and writer
Vilhelmina Gyldenstolpe (1779–1858), Swedish court official
Wilhelmina Harper (1884–1973), American children's librarian and children's author.
Wilhelmina Harris (1896–1991), American historian and writer
Wilhelmina Iwanowska (1905–1999), Polish astronomer
Wilhelmina Jallah, Liberian physician and politician
Wilhelmina Feemster Jashemski (1910–2007), American classical archaeologist
Wilhelmine Mimi Johnson (1890–1980), Norwegian geologist, physician
Wilhelmena Rhodes Kelly (1946–2019), African-American genealogist
Wilhelmina Koskull (1778–1852), Swedish courtier
Mary Wilhelmina Lancaster (1924–2019), American Catholic nun and foundress of the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles
Wilhelmine Lohmann (1872–?), German teacher, social worker, and temperance leader
Vilhelmína Lever (1802–1879), Icelandic shopkeeper and restaurateur
Wilhelmina Lust (born 1932), retired Dutch track-and-field athlete and Olympian
Nnaniki Wilhemina Tebogo Makwinja, Botswanan politician
Wilhelmina Reuben-Cooke (1946–2019), American attorney
Wilhelmina Rietveld (1949–1973), Dutch-Canadian model
Wilhelmina Rolark (1916–2006), American politician
Wilhelmina Seegmiller (1866–1913), Canadian-born American author, illustrator, and art teacher
Wilhelmina Skogh (1849–1926), hotel and restaurant owner from Sweden
Wilhelmina Tokcumboh "Mina" Smallman (born 1956), British retired Anglican priest and former school teacher
Willemina Hendrika "Ineke" Tigelaar (born 1945), Dutch former freestyle swimmer and Olympian
Wilhelmina “Willy” den Turk (1908–1937), Dutch swimmer
Wilhelmina “Minnie” Vautrin (1886–1941), American missionary, diarist, educator and college president
Wilhelmina “Mena” Webb (1915–2012), American writer and editor
Wilhelmina Wendt (1896–1988), Swedish silversmith
Wilhelmine Williams (1878–1944), American feminist, pacifist, professor, and Latin American historian
Wilhelmina “Mina” Wylie (1891–1984), Australian swimmer and Olympian
Artists, performers, and art patrons
Wilhelmina Alexander (1756–1843), Scottish muse
Wilhelmina Alexander (1871–1961), Canadian oil painter and philanthropist
Augusta Wilhelmena Fredericka Appel (1905–1973), American silent and early sound film actress
Wilhelmina Barns-Graham (1912–2004), British abstract artist
Wilhelmina Dranga Campbell (1871–1911), American art educator and magazine editor
Wilhelmine Clauss-Szarvady (1832–1907), Bohemian-born French pianist
Wilhelmina Drupsteen (1880–1966), Dutch illustrator
Wilhelmina Enbom (1804–1880), Swedish operatic soprano
Wilhelmina Gravallius (1809–1884), Swedish writer
Joyce Penelope Wilhelmina Frankenberg (born 1951), British-American actress
Wilhelmina Frankfurt, American ballerina
Wilhelmina Fundin (1819–1911), Swedish operatic soprano
Wilhelmina Geddes (1887–1955), Irish stained glass artist
Wilhelmina Gelhaar (1837–1923), Swedish operatic soprano
Wilhelmina McAlpin Godfrey (1914–1994), American painter, printmaker and textile artist, art educator and community activist
Royalty and nobility
Wilhelmina of the Netherlands (1880–1962), Queen of the Netherlands from 1890 until her abdication in 1948
Princess Wilhelmine of Denmark (disambiguation), several Danish princesses
Wilhelmina Amalia of Brunswick (1673–1742), empress consort of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, Queen of the Germans
Wilhelmine of Bayreuth (1709–1758), German princess (the older sister of Frederick the Great) and composer
Wilhelmine of Prussia, Margravine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth (1709–1758), German princess
Wilhelmina of Prussia (1750–1820), German princess
Princess Wilhelmina of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, (1751–1780), Princess of Nassau-Saarbrücken
Princess Caroline Wilhelmina Sophia of Hesse-Kassel (1732–1759), German princess
Wilhelmina Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt (1755–1776), German princess and first wife of Paul I of Russia
Wilhelmine of Prussia (1774–1837), German princess and later queen of the Netherlands
Wilhelmine of Baden (1788–1836), German Grand Duchess of Hess and the Rhine
Mary Adelaide Wilhelmina Elizabeth of Cambridge (1833–1897), Member of the British royal family
Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard (born 1938), Queen of the Netherlands from 1980 until her abdication in 2013
Fictional characters
Wilhelmina Carmel from the Shakugan no Shana light novels
Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank from the Harry Potter book series
Wilhelmina "Willie Jack" Jacqueline from the Reservation Dogs series
Mina Harker (born Wilhelmina Murray) from Dracula
Wilhelmina Robinson, a character in Enid Blyton's Malory Towers
Wilhelmina "Willie" Scott from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Wilhelmina Slater from Ugly Betty
Wilhelmine, an evil witch and major antagonist in The Mighty Hercules animated series from the 1960s
Princess Wilhelmina or "Willie" from Bruce Coville's The Dragonslayers
Wilhelmina "Will" Vandom of the Italian comic/cartoon series W.I.T.C.H.
Wilhelmina "Billie" Logan, the daughter of Ted Logan, from Bill and Ted Face the Music
Variants
Billie (English)
Elma (Dutch, German)
Guilla (Spanish)
Guillaumette (French)
Guillaumine (French)
Guillerma (Spanish)
Guillermina (Spanish)
Guilhermina (Portuguese)
Guglielma (Italian)
Guglielmina (Italian)
Guilette (French)
Helma (German)
Helmi (Finnish, Swedish)
Helmine (German)
Ilma (Spanish)
Jeltje (Dutch, Frisian)
Jeltsje (Dutch, Frisian)
Mien (Dutch)
Mientje (Dutch)
Miina (Finnish)
Mimi (French)
Mimmi (Finnish)
Mina (English, German, Polish)
Mine (German)
Minchen (German)
Minette (French)
Mini (Finnish, Spanish)


