Comments (Meaning / History Only)
This name has nothing to do with the Spanish word for girl. The name is pronounced NEE-na and spelled Nina whereas the Spanish word is niña which is pronounced NEEN-ya. They don't look nor do they sound the same.
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In defense of 'Nina' and 'niña' NOT being the same word, 'Nina' ('NEE-nah' as I pronounce it) is very uncommon as an official name in Spanish-speaking countries. If someone is called 'Nina' it's more common for it to be a nickname for that person, and a short version of something else. From personal experience, when introducing myself in Spanish-speaking countries I am frequently asked "What is that short for?"
The word 'niña' does mean 'girl' in Spanish (not even 'little' girl, just 'girl'), however in the Spanish language the 'Ñ' is considered a separate letter than an 'N' because of the ~ tilde (also known as the squiggle). That ~ squiggle indicates that the letter is pronounced differently and sounds like 'NYA' which would make 'niña' be phonetically spelled 'NEE-nya' in English.
A side note on pronunciation, Texas is the only place I ever heard anybody pronounce 'Nina' as 'nEYE-nah' and that drives me crazy because it's wrong to pronounce 'Tina' as 'tEYE-NAH' or 'Gina' as 'jEYE-NAH.' Every other name ending in 'ina' uses the 'EE' sound instead of the 'EYE' sound, so I don't see why 'Nina' is the exception.
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The word 'niña' does mean 'girl' in Spanish (not even 'little' girl, just 'girl'), however in the Spanish language the 'Ñ' is considered a separate letter than an 'N' because of the ~ tilde (also known as the squiggle). That ~ squiggle indicates that the letter is pronounced differently and sounds like 'NYA' which would make 'niña' be phonetically spelled 'NEE-nya' in English.
A side note on pronunciation, Texas is the only place I ever heard anybody pronounce 'Nina' as 'nEYE-nah' and that drives me crazy because it's wrong to pronounce 'Tina' as 'tEYE-NAH' or 'Gina' as 'jEYE-NAH.' Every other name ending in 'ina' uses the 'EE' sound instead of the 'EYE' sound, so I don't see why 'Nina' is the exception.
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The mentioned Spanish word also means "child".
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Nina is the name of a saint from the 3rd century. She converted parts of southern Greece to Christianity. In Bulgaria Nina has a nameday on 14th January. In Bulgaria Nina is also considered to be an abbreviation of Nikolina whose nameday is on 6th December, in honour of St. Nicolas, that is why the second nameday of Nina is on 6th December.
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Comments are left by users of this website. They are not checked for accuracy.
Nina (Nineveh; Biblical): Personable
Nina (Anna; Hebrew): Delicate
Nina (Hindi): Beautiful
Nina (Native American): Powerful Warrioress
Nina (Persian): Nice
Nina (Antonina; Roman): Admirable.