Nina

Nina is a gift of many traditions: a Spanish and Italian diminutive of names ending in -nina, a Russian short form of Antonina, a Quechua word meaning fire, and a Babylonian goddess of waters. Few names manage such international agreement on a single luminous sound. Nina Simone gave it a smoky American gravitas; ballerinas and novelists have worn it with equal ease. Two clear syllables, symmetrical and a little hypnotic. In the United States the name has slowly climbed into the low 300s. Short, elegant, and quietly musical, Nina is a name that travels well in any language.