Given name & surname · also Italian
Nino
“God is gracious”·“a young boy”
Nino is used as a given name and a surname. Interpretations include “God is gracious” and “a young boy”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts.
Original ItalianGiovanni
Meaning & origin
What it means
Interpretations include “God is gracious” and “a young boy”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts.
Where it comes from
This spelling has been associated with Italian and Spanish naming traditions.
How it developed
In Italian use, Nino is used as a shortened form of Giannino.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1912. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Nino through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 2,740
- 2,719 boys · 21 girls
- Most popular year
- 1998
- 54 babies
- 2025
- 30
- #3,728 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +1%
- Steady
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 30 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 3,728 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 3.3% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 54 in 1998. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 4,418 as a first name in 2020; 10,939 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Nino’s family of names
In French usage, Nino is a diminutive of Giovanni. In Italian usage, Nino has a conventional equivalent in the German form Hans. In Italian usage, Nino is a short form of Giovanni.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Nino has relatives in 6 languages. Lines run from its Spanish roots to each of them.
9 related names in 6 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 9
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Giovannifull form · Italian, French
- Giannifull form
- Nikolafull form · Serbo-Croatian
- Johannesvariant · German
- Gaetanofull form · French
- Antoninofull form · French, Italian
- Ninoshkavariant
- Ninnolikely variant
Show 1 moreShow fewer
Spellings & scripts 4
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 3
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Nino
- Nino RotaItalian composer1911–1979
- Nino BurjanadzeGeorgian politician and lawyer, Speaker of Parliament (2001–2008) and twice acting President of Georgiaborn 1964
- Nino BuleCroatian footballer (born 1976)
- Nino BenvenutiItalian boxer1938–2025
- Nino SalukvadzeGeorgian sport shooterborn 1969
- Nino KhurtsidzeGeorgian chess player (1975-2018)
- Nino CastelnuovoItalian actor (1936-2021)
- Nina AnaniashviliGeorgian artistborn 1963
- Nino Vaccarellaracecar driver1933–2021
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
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