Lina

Few names travel as easily as Lina, partly because it is really two names that happen to share a spelling. The first grew out of the habit of shortening longer girls' names: Carolina, Angelina, Paulina and Evelina could all be cut down to Lina at home. English Wiktionary also notes that it occasionally serves as a feminine form of Linus, and that Lina already appears as a pet name in English writing of the 1840s.

The second Lina is Arabic and Turkish, written لينا in Arabic script. Behind the Name, drawing on Hans Wehr's dictionary of modern Arabic, links it to the root lāna, to do with softness, and also mentions līna, a kind of palm tree from the same root. The sources do not claim that one meaning wins out, so parents can reasonably choose the one that fits their family.

In English it is usually said 'LEE-nuh', while most other languages give it a clearer final vowel, 'LEE-nah'. Related forms include the Scandinavian Line, the French diminutive Linette and the many longer names it came from, such as Alina and Elina.

Because Lina is so short, a longer middle name balances it well: Lina Rosalind, Lina Josephine or Lina Beatrice all have a pleasing rhythm. For siblings, try names with a similarly clean sound, such as Nora, Ida or Mila for a sister and Adam, Felix or Noah for a brother.