Gina (occasional variants Geena, Gena, Jeana, Jeanna) is a feminine given name, in origin a hypocoristic form of names ending in -gina (by metanalysis of the latinate feminine suffix -ina), such as Luigina, Regina or Georgina, also of Virginia or Eugenia.
The short form was popularized in the 1950s by the actress Gina Lollobrigida (b. 1927), whose birth name is Luigina. Lollobrigida became famous in 1953, from which year popularity of the given name Gina in the United State rose steeply, reaching a peak at rank 54 in 1967. Since the 1970s, it has declined steadily, falling below rank 1,000 in 2009.
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