Nina

Nina is used independently and as a short form of several longer names, including Antonina and Giannina. Its meaning depends on that particular name history. A single translation cannot accurately explain every Nina across the languages in which it is used.

Nina Zarechnaya in Chekhov’s The Seagull gives the name a literary association. The four-letter form is compact without requiring a nickname, and families can choose it directly rather than deriving it from a longer name. If Nina is intended to honor someone, identifying the specific longer form can explain the connection more clearly than combining unrelated dictionary meanings.