This is a metronymic "the son of Min" - a pet form of the Anglo-Saxon personal name Minna, meaning "love". In the late Middle Ages Min(n) was used as a short form of Willemina (a feminine version of William). The name is first recorded as Minna in the Assize Court Rolls of Bedfordshire (1202). The surname is recorded as Mynne (1327), Myn (1541), Mins (1748) and Minson (1793). In the modern idiom, the name has three spelling variations:- Minn, Minnis, and Mynn. The form Minnis is chiefly found in Norfolk. Minnett and Minnitt are the diminutive forme of the name. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Gostelynus Mynne. which was dated 1327 - The Pipe Rolls of Suffolk. during the reign of King Edward III, The Father of the Navy, 1327 - 1377. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.