Submitted Surname Revision History

Minium is the name of a red pigment made from lead oxide as well as the name of the mineral itself, coming from Latin. It was named so because the mines it came from were close to the River Minius in Iberia. (Modern names are Minho in Portuguese and Miño in Spanish.) It may have originated as an occupational name for someone who made the pigment or a habitational name for someone who lives near the river itself.