Nina

What Nina means

Means “a hidden message revealed in the completed grid of a…

(crosswording) Alternative letter-case form of nina (“a hidden message revealed in the completed grid of a crossword”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Nina” (revision 93847883), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Nina?

US: Steady: #299 in 2015, #324 now. England & Wales: Rising: up from #203 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 1887, when 266 girls got the name (#114 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 1,699 baby girls in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 796 baby girls in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 289 baby girls in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in DC (4.46 per 1,000 girls), CT (2.0 per 1,000 girls), MA (1.33 per 1,000 girls) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed girls born in each state.

US vs UK

Nina is #324 in the US and #157 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (girls). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.9+% of US babies named Nina were girls.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Nana16 US · 44 E&W
• Naina34 US · 22 E&W
• Nani25 US
• Nona12 US
• Neena11 US
• Naana0 US · 5 E&W

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

If you like Nina

Girls

• Julia#131Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 2001, with 8,838 babies; 2,172 in 2025
• Madeline#81Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #81 vs #304 in 2025
• Madison#40Editor’s note First shows up in US records in 1970, with 5 babies
• Hannah#56“grace, gracious, graced with child”^*
• Mackenzie#228“son, descendant + of Coinneach”^*
• Bailey#208“outer castle wall”^*

For a brother

• Cameron#76“crooked, bent + nose”^*
• Nicolas#177Variant of Nicholas, meaning “victory + people”^*
• Samuel#18“God has set or God has placed”^*
• Cole#182“coal, coal-black”^*
• Nathaniel#140“God has given”^*
• Alejandro#195“defender of man”^*

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under where there are enough, topped up with common names whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Nina’s. Place names are only included if they are in the top 300. Rank is US 2025.