Zina
The short form of Zinaida, built on a Slavic root that means life and, further back, a Greek sense of belonging to Zeus. Most Poles have never met one: around 185 women carry it, nearly all through Russian families.
Zina Pronunciation
Zina is pronounced ZHEE-nah (/ˈʑina/).
What Zina means
Where Zina comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Zina comes to Poland as the short form of Zinaida, a name long tied to Russian households. Its footing is Slavic. Polish sources gloss it as żyjąca, from the root that means life.
A second reading rides along. Zinaida traces back to the Greek Zēnais, meaning of Zeus, so that sense of the god came in with the longer name. The Slavic root points the other way, toward life. Two stories sit under four letters.
Zinaida also has a literary bearer. She is the young heroine of Turgenev's First Love, from 1860. Zina, the short form, keeps that Russian shading, which is exactly the cultural tie the records note.
In a Polish class register, Zina is short. It fits between longer names without crowding them. What it keeps is legible: a Slavic root for life, and a Greek grandmother in Zinaida.
How many people are named Zina
1 in 121859 women in Poland is named Zina. 185 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #2336 among female names.
Zina's popularity over time
Fewer than 2 girls were given the name in 2025. It has been stable for a decade.
Zina as a middle name
Zina is a first name for 185 women in Poland and a middle name for another 23, an 89/11 split. In the women's middle-name ranking it sits 1509th, between Yehudit (23) and Zlata (23).
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#1507 Wiktoryna23
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#1508 Yehudit23
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#1509 Zina23
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#1510 Zlata23
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#1511 Anette22