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 [ 3 syll. re-gi-na, reg-ina ] The girl name Regina is pronounced RihJHIYNah KEY. Regina is of Latin origin. It is used mainly in English and German. Derived from the word reina with the meaning 'queen'. The name is known from 'Regina Caeli' meaning 'Queen of Heaven', one of the titles bestowed on the Virgin Mary from the 8th century. The name was borne by Saint Regina, a 3rd century virgin martyr in France. The name has consequently been popular among early Chrisitians; it was also often found in the medieval form Reina, as an Anglicized form of the medieval French Reine. The Catholic associations diminished the popularity of the name after the Reformation, but it later saw a revival in the 19th cenutry. The name is used as a Anglicized form of Raghnailt and Riona in Ireland. Regina is the feminine form of the English, French, and German Rex. Regina is a widely used name; it has 35 forms that are used in both English and foreign languages. English forms of the name include Ina (used in Irish, Polish, Dutch, Japanese, German, and Scandinavian too), Raina (used in Slavic, Czech, German, Polish, and Russian too), Raini, Rainie, Rayna (used in Slavic and Yiddish too), Regan (used in Irish too), Regenia, Regennia, Reggi, Reggie, Reggy, Regi, Regia, Regie, Regine (used in French too), Reginia, Reginique, Regis, Reina (used in German, Spanish, and Italian too), Reyna (used in Spanish too), and Rina (used in Dutch, Hebrew, Russian, Estonian, and German too). Other English forms include the short form Gina (used in German too), and the spelling variants Ragina, Rajena, Regena, Regiena, Rejina, and Rigina. Forms of Regina used in foreign languages include the Scandinavian Rane, the Polish Reginy, the French Reine, the French Reinette, the Polish and German Renia, the French Régine, and the French Réjane. See also the related form, the German Regula. Regina is an all-time favorite. At present it is still rather popular as a baby girl name, but to a lesser degree than it was previously. At the height of its usage in 1964, 0.256% of baby girls were named Regina. It had a ranking of #83 then. The baby name has seen a marked decline in frequency since then, and in recent times it is of only modest use. In 2008, it ranked at #688 with a usage of 0.021%, but it was nevertheless the 2nd most popular after the English and Spanish Reyna, within all girl names in its family. It was 1.408% more popular than Regina in 2008. Baby names that sound like Regina include the English Rigina, the English Ragina, the Indian Rajani, the English Rajena, the English Regena, the English and French Regine, the English Reginia, the Polish Reginy, the English Rejina, the French Régine, the Polish and Russian Roksana, the Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese Rosana, the English Rosanah, the English, German, and Italian Rosanna, the English Rosannah, the English Roseanna, the English Rosheena, the English Roshena, the English Roshenna, and the English, German, Italian, and Spanish Rosina. KEY: Pronunciation for Regina: R as in "read (R.IY.D)" ; IH as in "it (IH.T)" ; JH as in "gee (JH.IY)" ; IY as in "eat (IY.T)" ; N as in "knee (N.IY)" ; AH as in "hut (HH.AH.T)"   |
