Feminine form of Antoninus, a Roman family name possibly meaning 'priceless' or 'praiseworthy.'
Antonina is the ancient and stately feminine form of Antoninus, itself a variant of Antonius — the great Roman clan name whose origins have long fascinated etymologists. Some ancient sources traced it to a legendary Etruscan ancestor; others linked it to Greek roots meaning "priceless" or "praiseworthy." Whatever its precise ancestry, the gens Antonia produced towering figures of Roman history, most famously Mark Antony and the philosopher-emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus.
The name carried enormous prestige across the Roman world. Several early Christian martyrs bore the name Antonina, helping anchor it in the hagiographic calendar and ensuring its transmission through the medieval Church. The Byzantine period produced perhaps the name's most dramatic bearer: Antonina, wife of the great general Belisarius in the sixth century AD.
A woman of low origins who rose to become one of the most powerful figures at Justinian's court, she was celebrated and reviled in equal measure in Procopius's history — a character whose ambition and loyalty make her one of antiquity's most vivid personalities. Across Slavic, Italian, Spanish, and Greek cultures, Antonina became a beloved formal given name — used in churches and on official documents — while the everyday forms Toni, Nina, Tonina, and Nina circulated as warm diminutives. In contemporary use, the full form Antonina has seen a revival among parents who favor long, classical feminine names with operatic resonance. It sounds equally at home in a Polish cathedral, an Italian village, or a Brooklyn birth announcement — a name that has never needed a trend to justify itself.