Shayna (
Yiddish: שיינע;
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent
* Polish chicken
*Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...
: Szejna) is a feminine name of
Yiddish origin, meaning "beautiful" or "lovely", and evocative of the Yiddish phrase "אַ שיינע מיידל" ("a shayne maydel", or "a lovely girl"). Its
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
equivalent is Yaffa (יפה) or Yafit (יַפִית); during the years following the
Holocaust
The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...
, the name Shayna (and its Arabic cognate,
Jamila
Jamila ( ar, جميلة) is a feminine given name of Arabic origin. It is the feminine form of the masculine Arabic given name Jamil, which comes from the Arabic word ''jamāl'' (Arabic: جَمَال), meaning beauty. The name is popular on a glo ...
) was often Hebraicized to Yaffa upon immigrating to
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
or, outside Israel, as a post-Holocaust distancing of diasporic heritage.
[Anita Diamant, ''New Jewish Baby Book: Names, Ceremonies & Customs―A Guide for Today's Families'', Second Edition, Jewish Lights, New York, 2005, p. 23]
People named Shaina or Shayna
*
Shaina Magdayao
Shaina Garcia Magdayao (; born November 6, 1989) is a Filipino actress, dancer, singer and model. She is currently working for Star Magic and a talent of ABS-CBN.
Magdayao is recognized as one of the country's premiere actresses and prettie ...
, (born 1989) Filipina actress, dancer, singer and model
*
Shaina Sandoval, (born 1992) American actress
*
Shayna Baszler, martial artist
*
Shayna Fox (born 1984), American voice actress
*Shayna Hubers (born 1991), perpetrator of the
murder of Ryan Poston
*
Shayna Levine, actress
*
Shayna Nackoney (born 1982), synchronized swimmer
*
Shayna Richardson (born 1984), Missouri skydiver who survived a fall
*
Shayna Rose (born 1983), soap opera actress
* Shayne-Feygl Szapiro (Szejne Fejgl Szapiro-Michalewicz,
Dina Blond, 1887-1985), member of the Jewish Labour Bund in Poland and a prolific Yiddish translator
References
{{given name
Feminine given names
Yiddish words and phrases