Science > Linguistics
What's Your Name's Meaning??? Etymology and history of Names
D:
--- Quote from: spyraal on January 12, 2011, 10:04:50 AM ---
Interesting thread! ;) It is also funny that very few of us -if any- really choose the names we are given ourselves if you think of it...
--- End quote ---
Interesting thread indeed!
Funny that you mention this, but... I'm a person who sort of picked my own name when I was a baby.
My mom named me a Farsi word which translates to "Memory". I think she did it because she wanted to honor the memory of my brother who died 2 years before I was born. So that his "memory" will live on through me.
But I did not take to that name, and would not respond to it at all! So my family started calling me nini, which in Farsi means "baby". And from that similar sounding words came out while playing with me, until one day I chose to respond to Nina. And since my mom loved Russian names, she went with it...
I looked up the meaning of Nina online and got
Nina in Spanish = girl
Nina in Native American = Mighty
Nina in Russian = The founder of the ancient Assyrian state
Ljubica, I'd be very interested to know what your take on the name Nina is. :P
Ljubica:
--- Quote from: Deedlet on July 02, 2011, 12:16:08 PM ---
--- Quote from: spyraal on January 12, 2011, 10:04:50 AM ---
Interesting thread! ;) It is also funny that very few of us -if any- really choose the names we are given ourselves if you think of it...
--- End quote ---
Interesting thread indeed!
Funny that you mention this, but... I'm a person who sort of picked my own name when I was a baby.
My mom named me a Farsi word which translates to "Memory". I think she did it because she wanted to honor the memory of my brother who died 2 years before I was born. So that his "memory" will live on through me.
But I did not take to that name, and would not respond to it at all! So my family started calling me nini, which in Farsi means "baby". And from that similar sounding words came out while playing with me, until one day I chose to respond to Nina. And since my mom loved Russian names, she went with it...
I looked up the meaning of Nina online and got
Nina in Spanish = girl
Nina in Native American = Mighty
Nina in Russian = The founder of the ancient Assyrian state
Ljubica, I'd be very interested to know what your take on the name Nina is. :P
--- End quote ---
I'm not expert in these things but it so lovely to play with words, here are couple of info regarding your name from various sources:
NINA
Etymology
Meaning of the name Nina
[ 2 syll. ni-na, nin-a ] The girl name Nina is pronounced as NAYNah or NIYNah †. † English pronunciation for Nina: N as in "knee (N.IY)" ; AY as in "hide (HH.AY.D)" ; N as in "knee (N.IY)" ; AH as in "hut (HH.AH.T)" ; N as in "knee (N.IY)" ; IY as in "eat (IY.T)" ; N as in "knee (N.IY)" ; AH as in "hut (HH.AH.T)"
Nina \n(i)-na\ as a girl's name is pronounced NEE-nah, NYNE-ah. It is of Spanish and Hebrew origin, and the meaning of Nina is "little girl; great-granddaughter". Also diminutive of Ann (Hebrew) "grace". In Slavic, a short form of names ending with -nina, such as Antonina. Neena is also a Hindi name meaning "pretty eyes". Nina was the name of one of Christopher Columbus's three ships. Ballerina Dame Ninette de Valois.
Nina variant forms: Neena, Neenah, Nena, Neneh, Neina, Nenna, Ninacska, Nineta, Ninete, Ninetta, Ninette, Ninnette, Ninon, Ninochka, Ninoska, Ninotchka and Nyna.
Nina has 17 variants that are used in both English and other languages. Variants used in English include Neena, Neenah, Nena (used in German as well), Nenah, Neneh, Ninetta (used in Italian as well), Ninja, Ninna, Ninnetta, Ninnette, Ninosca, and Nyna. The pet form Ninette (used in French as well), and the variant spelling Niina are other English forms. A variant of Nina in other languages is Ninotchka (Russian). Specific foreign variants include the pet forms Ninon (French) and Ninoshka (Russian).
Baby names that sound like Nina are Nona and Nana.
Nina is a very popular first name for women (#268 out of 4276) and a slightly less popular surname or last name for all people (#55212 out of 88799). (1990 U.S. Census)
The name Nina is present in several languages, including Afrikaans, Hindi, Italian, Persian, Romanian, Russian, Spanish and some Native American languages. It is often used as a nickname for names ending in -ina or -nina.
1: Nina is used predominantly in the English, French, German, Italian, and Russian languages, and its origin is Italian. The name developed as a short form of names ending in '-nina'. Another possible origin is from the Spanish 'nina' meaning 'little girl'. The name was first taken up by English speakers in the 19th century.
2: Nina's origin is Native American. Here, it means mighty.
Nina is a pet form of the name Ann (English and Greek).
NIINA: Short form of Finnish Anniina, meaning "favor; grace
Nina is also a variant (English and Hungarian) of the name Anna (Czech, English, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Russian, Scandinavian, Slavic, Spanish, Breton, Catalan, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, and French).
Nina is also a pet form (Catalan, Czech, English, French, Hebrew, Indian, Russian, Slavic, and Spanish) of the name Antonina (Italian, Polish, Russian, Spanish, English, and German).
Nina is also a variant (Polish) of the name Jean (English and Scottish).
Bosnian & Dalmatian variant of the sam name is Nana, but on Bosnian language this means grandma.
The Russian version of Nina means gracious, full of grace, mercy." Scottish word which means, "Light rain." Kiswahili word which means, "I have ."
Nina is a classic favorite. At present it is still fairly popular as a baby name for girls, though it was in more widespread use in the past. Its usage peaked modestly in 1902 with 0.132% of baby girls being given the name Nina. Its ranking then was #145. The baby name has since experienced a fall in frequency, and it is of occasional use in recent years. In 2010, its usage was 0.051% and its ranking #319, but it was nonetheless the 2nd most popular after Anna, among all girl names in its group. In 2010, its use outnumbered Nina's by 6 times.
Baby names that sound like Nina include the English Neena, the English Neenah, the English Neneh, the English Niina, the name Nyna, the name Pnina, the Hebrew Naama, the name Naamah, the name Naho, the name Nahyd, the Arabic Naima, the name Naimah, the English Naimi, the name Najma, the Arabic Najwa, the Japanese Nami, the name Namy, the English, Spanish, and Japanese Nana, the Greek and Hawaiian Nani, and the English and Scandinavian Nanna.
A famous person named Nina is Singer Nina Simone, born Eunice Kathleen Waymon, 21 February 1933 - 21 April 2003, Tryon, North Carolina.
In geographical terms, La Niña is a fluctuation in ocean surface temperature, the opposite to El Niño. La Niña is characterised by cold ocean temperatures in the eastern Pacific, whereas El Niño has warm temperatures. La Niña makes north and eastern Australia wetter than normal and warmer winters for SE USA.
Historic names connected to Nina via Bible in: LAST DAYS AND FALL OF NINEVEH
LITERATURE
1. First Biblical Mention:
The first Biblical mention of Nineveh is in Gen 10:11, where it is stated that NIMROD (which see) or Asshur went out into Assyria, and builded Nineveh and Rehoboth-Ir, and Calah, and Resen between Nineveh and Calah, with the addition, "the same is the great city." Everything indicates that these statements are correct, for Nineveh was certainly at one time under Babylonian rule, and was at first not governed by Assyrian kings, but by issake or viceroys of Assur, the old capital. To all appearance Nineveh took its name from the Babylonian Nina near Lagas in South Babylonia, on the Euphrates, from which early foundation it was probably colonized. The native name appears as Ninua or Nina (Ninaa), written with the character for "water enclosure" with that for "fish" inside, implying a connection between Nina and the Semitic nun, "fish."
2. Etymology of the Name:
The Babylonian Nina was a place where fish were very abundant, and Ishtar or Nina, the goddess of the city, was associated with Nin-mah, Merodach's spouse, as goddess of reproduction. Fish are also plentiful in the Tigris at Mosul, the modern town on the other side of the river, and this may have influenced the choice of the site by the Babylonian settlers, and the foundation there of the great temple of Ishtar or Nina. The date of this foundation is unknown, but it may have taken place about 3OOO BC.
3. Position on the Tigris:
Nineveh lay on the eastern bank of the Tigris, at the point where the Khosr falls into that stream. The outline of the wall is rectangular on the West, but of an irregular shape on the East. The western fortifications run from Northwest to Southeast, following, roughly, the course of the river, which now flows about 1,500 yards from the walls, instead of close to them, as in ancient times.
Nina in Japanese:
The name Nina when pronounced nEE-nah in Japanese is which is read ni-na.
This is a phonetic translation to katakana which is the standard way names are translated to Japanese. Katakana translates the pronunciation of the name, not the spelling; and the symbols, like English letters, have no meaning - so they can't have strange or bad meanings. And because katakana is standard, the translation can be independently verified.
We also offer the name Nina in hiragana which, strictly speaking, is not standard. Hiragana was created by the poetesses of the Heian period as a more feminine, flowing version of katakana. Today Japanese male and female names may be written in hiragana though it is more common for females. Nina in hiragana is .
Names often have meanings which translate nicely to kanji. The name Nina originally meant "Girl" which in kanji is shoujo written Japanese for Maiden (shoujo)
From: http://www.stockkanji.com/Nina_nEE-nah_ni-na
:)
D:
--- Quote from: Ljubica on July 02, 2011, 01:28:32 PM ---
From: http://www.stockkanji.com/Nina_nEE-nah_ni-na
:)
--- End quote ---
WOW! That's really cool!!! Thanks Ljubica! :thup:
Bar Kochba:
I never gave much thought to what my name means, although I have always been interested in etymology. So, I went to the same sight Ljubica went to and here is what it said (my real name is Jason):
JASON
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Greek Mythology (Anglicized), Biblical
Other Scripts: Ιασων (Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: JAY-sən (English) [key]
From the Greek name Ιασων (Iason), which was derived from Greek ιασθαι (iasthai) "to heal". In Greek mythology Jason was the leader of the Argonauts. After his uncle Pelias overthrew his father as king of Iolcos, Jason went in search of the Golden Fleece in order to win back the throne. During his journeys he married the sorceress Medea, who helped him gain the fleece and kill his uncle, but who later turned against him when he fell in love with another woman.
This name also appears in the New Testament, belonging to man who sheltered Paul and Silas. In his case, it may represent a Hellenized form of a Hebrew name. It was not used in England until after the Protestant Reformation.
I'm not quite sure what to make of all that. Jason is the healer, but Jason also married a sorceress, killed his uncle, and had a messy divorce over what looks like infidelity. Hmm... :/
Bim:
lol Jason. Maybe it just means u wont have a boring life ;)
Mine's Wanda, and here's what i've found
http://www.behindthename.com/name/wanda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Polish, English, German, French
Pronounced: VAHN-dah (Polish), WAHN-də (English) [key]
Possibly from a Germanic name meaning "a Wend", referring to the Slavic people who inhabited eastern Germany. In Polish legends this was the name of the daughter of King Krak, the legendary founder of Krakow. It was introduced to the English-speaking world by the author Ouida, who used it for the heroine in her novel 'Wanda' (1883).
http://babynamesworld.parentsconnect.com/meaning_of_Wanda.html
Used in: English and Polish speaking countries (i live in a spanish speaking country, so here too :P)
Additional info:Of uncertain etymology, Wanda is generally believed to be of Germanic origin, perhaps from 'vond' (wand, stem, young tree) or from Wend, a term denoting a member of the old Slavic people who now live in an enclave south of Berlin.
Author Ouida used this name in 1883 for the heroine of her novel "Wanda".
http://www.name-meanings.com/search.php
A Slender, Young Tree
Gender: Female
Origin: German
Slender and young? i can go along with that :lol2:
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