girl's name
Nina
NEE-na
- Origin Disputed
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 4
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 198,567
the United States
#324
2025 births
Nina is a girl's name with several unrelated origins. It is a Russian pet form of names ending in -nina, a Spanish word meaning "little girl," and a Babylonian goddess's name — and all three are genuine.
- Nina is a name of Disputed origin.
- Peaked in 1980, when 1,896 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 3,505 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Nina over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 2,098 |
| 1890s | 3,386 |
| 1900s | 3,743 |
| 1910s | 8,697 |
| 1920s | 11,351 |
| 1930s | 9,702 |
| 1940s | 9,520 |
| 1950s | 12,813 |
| 1960s | 10,924 |
| 1970s | 7,286 |
| 1980s | 13,713 |
| 1990s | 11,567 |
| 2000s | 12,884 |
| 2010s | 10,554 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 5,800 |
What Nina means
Nina has no single meaning. Spanish gives little girl, from niña; the Russian is a diminutive with no meaning of its own; and the Mesopotamian Nina was a name of the goddess Ishtar.
Where Nina comes from
Several sources converge. In Russian, Nina is a pet form of Antonina and similar names, and Saint Nino brought Christianity to Georgia in the fourth century. In Spanish, niña simply means little girl. In Mesopotamian religion, Nina was a name of Ishtar and the city Nineveh may derive from it. Quechua adds nina, meaning fire, which is genuine but rarely the intended source. Nina Simone, born Eunice Waymon in 1933, took the name from a boyfriend's nickname for her — niña.
Nina in use
Our data shows Nina stable, peaking in 1980, at 157 in England and Wales. It first appears in our records in 1880 and has never dropped out. Its steadiness across a century and a half is unusual — most names on this site show a clear peak, and Nina simply does not.
How popular is Nina?
In 2025, Nina was given to 946 babies in the United States, ranking #324 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Nina is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
How Nina is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Nïna | Nïna is a rare spelling of Nina, written with a diaeresis and recorded about 5 times, mostly in France. | 5 |
Names that peaked alongside Nina
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Nina also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Nina over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Nina
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Nina in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Nina
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Nina — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Nina
What does the name Nina mean?
It depends on the tradition: "little girl" in Spanish, a diminutive in Russian, and a name of the goddess Ishtar in Mesopotamian religion.
Is Nina Russian or Spanish?
Both, independently. Several unconnected traditions produced the same spelling.
How did Nina Simone get her name?
She was born Eunice Waymon and took Nina from a boyfriend's nickname for her — the Spanish niña.
How popular is the name Nina?
In 2025, Nina was given to 946 babies in the United States, ranking #324 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Is Nina a girl's or a boy's name?
Nina is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Nina?
Nina has 2 syllables.
When was Nina most popular?
Nina peaked in 1980, when 1,896 babies were given the name. Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Nina?
Nina is usually shortened to Nini.
Is Nina a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Nina currently ranks #35 in the United States. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.