Trina

About Trina

Trina is a short form of Katrina, part of the international Katherine family. Its original meaning is uncertain, although the wider family has long been associated with “pure.” With two clear syllables, Trina has a compact sound and notable connections with illustration and comics.

Origin and sound

Katrina belongs to the group of names descended from Greek Aikaterine. Several explanations have been proposed for that ancient name. The familiar association with purity developed later through its connection with Greek katharos.

Trina keeps the end of Katrina and removes the opening syllable. It is pronounced TREE-nuh, with emphasis on the first syllable. The long ee sound and final vowel give it a different rhythm from the more consonant-heavy short forms Kate and Kit.

Katherine, Catherine, and Katarina are members of the same broader family. Trine is another related northern European short form. Trina can be a complete registered name as well as a familiar form used by someone named Katrina.

Trina Schart Hyman and picture books

Illustrator Trina Schart Hyman won the 1985 Caldecott Medal for Saint George and the Dragon. Margaret Hodges wrote the book's text, while Hyman created its pictures.

The story retells a section of Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene. George, the Red Cross Knight, confronts a dragon that has terrorized the countryside. The familiar dragon-slaying story is presented in a picture-book form for young readers.

The Caldecott recognizes illustration, making the distinction between Hyman's pictures and Hodges's writing central to the award. This connection places Trina within the history of American children's books and the visual retelling of older legends.

Trina Robbins and comics

Cartoonist and comics historian Trina Robbins worked within the underground comics movement and helped expand opportunities for women in the field. She published It Ain't Me, Babe, a comic produced entirely by women.

Her work also involved recovering earlier artists' histories. Books such as A Century of Women Cartoonists and The Great Women Superheroes brought attention to creators and characters who had often been overlooked.

Robbins drew the four-part The Legend of Wonder Woman in 1986. She later entered the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards Hall of Fame in 2013, recognizing her place in the medium's history.

Together, Hyman and Robbins give Trina a particularly strong visual-storytelling connection: one through richly illustrated children's books, the other through comics, historical research, and advocacy for women creators.

American popularity

Trina's largest published annual count and strongest United States ranking for girls came in 1970, with 1,933 births at #172.

The name became much less frequent in later decades. There were 96 girls named Trina in 2000 and 53 in 2010. In 2025, thirteen girls received the name, ranking #8,313. Its American peak therefore belongs to an earlier generation than its current, comparatively rare use.

How popular is Trina?

In 2025, Trina ranked #8,313 among girls in the United States, with 13 recorded uses. The U.S. birth records first list this spelling for girls in 1893; its largest annual count was 1,933 in 1970. Rankings count each spelling separately. They describe national use, so local familiarity can differ. The popularity chart shows whether the name has remained common, returned after a quieter period, or risen recently.