Kina
Feminine · “Short form of Kristina”
English shortens names from the front and from the back, but Kina comes from the middle. Kristina yields Kina by cutting both ends — the same operation that gives Lisa from Elisabeth and Della from Adelaide, and it is much rarer than the other two.
How old is the name Kina?
Kina first appears in US birth records in 1952 — 73 years ago. The typical Kina alive today was born around 1980, making them about 45 years old. About 1,400 people named Kina are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Kina most popular?
Kina peaked in 1973, reaching #1832 nationally. Today it ranks #7491, 5,659 places below that high. See the whole 1973 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Kristina to Kina
Our story of Kina
Clipping a name has three possible cuts and English strongly prefers two of them. Front-clipping keeps the beginning and is the usual English move: Robert to Rob, Jennifer to Jen, Margaret to Marg. Back-clipping keeps the end and is common where the front is unstressed: Elizabeth to Beth, Alexander to Xander, Antonio to Tonio. Medial clipping keeps only the middle and throws away both ends, which requires the stressed syllable to sit in the center — Elisabeth gives Lisa, Adelaide gives Della, Kristina gives Kina, Alexandra gives Sandra. It is the rarest of the three because most English names put their stress at the front, leaving nothing on the left to discard. Kina peaks in 1973, in a period when short vowel-final names were widely favored.
Meaningscholars disagree
Short form of Kristina, or an independent modern name
Kina is most often a medial clipping of Kristina or Lakina. Christina is from Greek christos, anointed, through Latin Christiana, a Christian. Separately, Kina is the Hawaiian form of the word China, and a Japanese and Basque name of unrelated origin. No single meaning applies, and the record does not distinguish which source lies behind an American bearer.
How the name formed
- Kristina
- Kina
Related forms: Kena · Kina
Pronouncing Kina
KEE-nah
Two syllables, stress on the first, with a long ee. Some families say KY-nah with the vowel of nine; both are in use and the spelling does not decide.
Nicknames for Kina
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1952
- Most girls named
- 197346 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1832reached in 1973
- Change vs 2024
- −6.7%14 in 2025, from 15
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Kina in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Kena in English — spelling variant
- Kina in Hawaiian — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California.
Kinas among us
people named Kina are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 114,805 born in 2025 was named Kina
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Sherra test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Kina's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Sherra climbed just as high around 1943, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Sherra's path sketches the road Kina is walking now.
Kina sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Kina beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Kina in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- It is short, four letters, and easy to say in most languages.
- It works as a standalone name or as a short form of Kristina.
- The final -a marks it clearly as a girl's name in English.
- The first vowel is pronounced two different ways.
- Several unrelated sources share the spelling.
- It is often taken for a shortening of a fuller name people cannot supply.
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What they receive
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Kina
Feminine · #7491 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Kinas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,400 people named Kina are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Kina in 2025?
- Kina ranks #7491 among US girl names in 2025, with 14 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Kina?
- About 1 in every 114,805 US girls born in 2025 was named Kina — 14 in all.
- Will my child share the name Kina with classmates?
- Kina will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Kina
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Christie#7491 · Carmelita#7491 · Jetta#7491 · Hildegard#7491 · Rickie#7491 · Billy#7491 · Angelyn#7491 · Jewell#7491
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Kina? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Kina and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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