Gina began as an Italian short form of names such as Regina, meaning "queen", Georgina or Luigina, and became an independent name in the 20th century. The actress Gina Lollobrigida made it glamorous in the 1950s, and it was a midcentury favorite in America. In the United States Gina ranked number 356 in 2000, dropped out of the top 1000 soon after and stands at number 2085 among girls' names in 2025.