Nina

Today's name: Nina (female)
Alternate spellings: Neena, Neenah, Nena, Nyna
International spellings: Finnish: Niina, Eastern European & Hungarian: Ninacska, French: Ninon, Spanish: Nenah, Neenah, Ninah

Potential nicknames: Nana, Ni, Nine, Nin, Ni-Ni, Ina, Ninoshka

Pronunciation: NEE-nah (and occassionally NYNE-ah)

Origin: (1) Spanish, meaning "little girl." (2) Hebrew, meaning "great grand-daughter." (3) A Russian and Polish nickname for Anne and Antonia, or names ending in -nina. (4) Swahili, meaning "mother." (5) Hindi use suggests the meaning "beautiful eyes." (6) A Babylonian goddess of the seas. (7) An Incan goddess of fire.

Fun Fact: (1) The Nina was one of Christopher Columbus's three ships. (2) Nina is very multi-ethnic - you will find that many countries use this name equally.

Popularity: There were 994 baby girls named Nina in 2010 in the U.S., ranking at #318, moving up to #304 in 2011.

Male version: Nino, meaning "God is gracious," which can be a pet form of John and names ending in -nino, typically used in Italian and Spanish.


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