Given name
Pnina
“pearl”
Pnina is a feminine given name from Hebrew, meaning “pearl.”
Original Hebrewפנינה
Meaning & origin
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1971. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Pnina through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 32
- 0 boys · 32 girls
- Most popular year
- 1978
- 6 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for girls is 5 in 2023. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 366 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Pnina’s family of names
In English usage, Pnina has a related form in Peninah. In English usage, Pnina has a related form in Peninah. In English usage, Pnina was borrowed from the Hebrew form פנינה.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 7
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Pnina
- Pnina Tamano-ShataIsraeli politician and minister, born in Ethiopiaborn 1981
- Pnina RosenblumIsraeli businesswoman and politician; Former Knesset memberborn 1954
- Pnina SalzmanIsraeli pianist (1922–2006)
- Pnina GaryIsraeli actress (1927–2023)
- Penina MoïseJewish-American poet (1797-1880)
- Pnina TornaiIsraeli fashion designer and reality television personalityborn 1962
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Pnina, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Mirjana
Mirjana is a feminine given name from Hebrew. It is used in Serbo-Croatian.
>99% girls
Shoshannah
“resembling a graceful white lily”
>99% girls
Shawna
“God is gracious”
>99% girls
Tanita
“princess”
>99% girls
Shelah
“missionary” · “emissary”
>99% girls
Janna
“God is gracious”
>99% girls
Shvonne
“God is gracious”
>99% girls
Telah
“fracture”
>99% girls