Given name & surname
Polina
“a small woman”
Polina is used as a given name and a surname. One Russian interpretation is “a small woman.”
Original RussianПолина
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Russian interpretation is “a small woman.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Russian.
How it developed
In Russian use, Polina is used as an affectionate form of Apollinaria.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1991. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Polina through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 1,334
- 0 boys · 1,334 girls
- Most popular year
- 2017
- 74 babies
- 2025
- 48
- #3,284 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −13%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 48 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 3,284 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 13.4% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 74 in 2017. In 2025, Florida had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (8). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 4,245 as a first name in 2020; 369 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.
Polina’s family of names
Polina is an affectionate form of Apollinaria. Polina has a related form in Poleana. Polina has a related form in Poleanah.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 13
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Pollinalikely variant
- Polynahvariant
- Polynavariant
- Poleinahvariant
- Poleinavariant
- Polienahvariant
- Polienavariant
- Poleanahvariant
Show 5 moreShow fewer
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 8
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Polina
- Polina GagarinaRussian singer-songwriterborn 1987
- Polina ZherebtsovaRussian writerborn 1985
- Polina OsipenkoSoviet aviator1907–1939
- Polina AstakhovaSoviet-Ukrainian artistic gymnast (1936–2005)
- Polina GuryevaTurkmenistani weightlifte (1999-)
- PelageyaRussian singer (1986-)
- Polina ZhemchuzhinaSoviet politician (1897-1970)
- Polina KuznetsovaRussian handball playerborn 1987
- Polina GelmanSoviet Air Force officer, Hero of the Soviet Union1919–2005
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
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