Nienke Explained

Nienke
Pronunciation:	pronounced as /nl/ pronounced as /fy/
Gender:	Feminine
Meaning:	little Nine
Language:	Dutch
Language2:	West Frisian
Language origin:	West Frisian
Alternative Spelling:	Nynke
Derived:	Catharina
Derivation:	Nine + Western Frisian: ke

Nienke (pronounced as /nl/), also spelled Nynke, is Dutch and West Frisian feminine given name of West Frisian origin. It is a diminutive of Nine which is probably derived from Catharina. It is the given name of over 14,000 women in the Netherlands and Belgium.

Etymology

Nienke was originally a West Frisian name.^[1] It is a diminutive, indicated by the suffix Western Frisian: -ke, of the West Frisian name Nine.^{[2] [3]} Nine is probably a flattery form or children's form for the name Catharina, which comes from the Greek word Greek, Modern (1453-);: καθαρός (Greek, Modern (1453-);: katharós|italic=no) meaning clean or pure.^{[4] [5]}

Popularity

As of 2017, Nienke was the first name of 12,515 women (0.1677%) and a middle name of 1,192 women (0.0161%) in the Netherlands.^[6]

As of 2022, Nienke was the given name of 781 women in Belgium (0.0132%).^{[7] [8]}

People with the name

Nienke

People with the given name spelled Nienke include:

• Nienke Brinkman (born 1993), Dutch long-distance runner
• Nienke van Hichtum, pen name of Sjoukje Troelstra-Bokma de Boer (1860–1939), Dutch children's book author
• Nienke Hommes (born 1977), Dutch rower
• Nienke Kingma (born 1982), Dutch rower
• Nienke Kremers (born 1985), Dutch field hockey player
• Nienke Timmer (born 1998), Dutch track and field para-athlete
• Nienke Wasmus (born 1999), Dutch cyclist

Nynke

People with the given name spelled Nynke include:

• Nynke Dekker (born 1971), a Dutch biophysicist
• Nynke Klopstra (born 1973), a Dutch judoka
• Nynke Laverman (born 1980), a Dutch writer and performer

Notes and References

1. Gerrit Bloothooft, "Typisch Nederlandse voornamen" (in Dutch), Neerlandistiek, 4 June 2021. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
2. "-tje - (verkleiningsachtervoegsel)" (in Dutch), Etymologiebank.nl, Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
3. "Verklaring voornaam Nienke" (in Dutch), Nederlandse Voornamenbank, Meertens Institute. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
4. "Verklaring voornaam Nine" (in Dutch), Nederlandse Voornamenbank, Meertens Institute. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
5. "Verklaring voornaam Catharina" (in Dutch), Nederlandse Voornamenbank, Meertens Institute. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
6. "Verspreiding voornaam Nienke" (in Dutch), Nederlandse Voornamenbank, Meertens Institute. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
7. "Prénoms des femmes en 2022" (in French), Statbel. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
8. "Population by gender and age group - Belgium, last year", Statbel. Retrieved 28 November 2023.