Niska

[RainbowsAndFrogs]

We have been watching the programme 'humans' and have seen this name on there.
Is it too out there? I really like it for dd3 due in may but don't want to land her with something ridiculous

Sounds lovely.

I have no idea if it has terrible connotations!

I’ve heard this before, softened with an “h” - so Nishka. I believe it’s Russian. I may be wrong.

I love the sounds of both niska and nishka.
I think it has Finnish origins?
I, on the other hand have only distant Irish connections so not sure if its too out there. I just really love how it sounds. Feminine but strong

Well, it's the name of a very famous European rapper (may or may not be your thing) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niska_(rapper)

I really like it.

Ooh I didn't know about the rapper!

I really love the sound of Niska - but it must be really rarely used (apart from in the tv series) as I can't find much about the history of the name. Could Niska be a nickname for something?

@IamnotwhouthinkIam

I really love the sound of Niska - but it must be really rarely used (apart from in the tv series) as I can't find much about the history of the name. Could Niska be a nickname for something?

Agnieszka maybe?

Oh, well thought of @whatausername ! I thought Niska sounded Eastern European and I'm sure you're right (as they seem to be pronounced very similarly - minus the Ag at the beginning). I wonder if Niska is ever used as a given name too in Poland, it's very pretty. Agnieszka is lovely too, but I think would have spelling issues in the UK.

Niska is not a Russian name. It sounds too close to Piska (which is vagina in Russian). I wouldn't personally use it

For some reason it makes me think of a supermarket . However, you've had a lot of positive feedback, so don't mind me!

it sounds like a brand name to me. a bit like nisa corner shops.
i wouldn't use it for a person.

I wonder if Niska is ever used as a given name too in Poland, it's very pretty.

Absolutely not, niska is the feminine form of the adjective short (niski). You can describe a woman in such a way, but not as her name.

I wouldn't say it's pronounced similar to Agnieszka and it's not a typical diminutive. It's also very rare for someone to be given a name that's typically a shortened form (and trying you might encounter problems with registering it as a birth in Poland (if originally, they accept all sorts of names when presented already on the original birth certificate)).

Thanks for the info @Precipice , very interesting !

When I did a further search on Niska, it seems to mainly come up as a Surname (usually Finnish heritage), so maybe the TV programme makers just heard it and thought it sounded nice as a first name.

OP I think you can probably get away with using Niska as a name in the UK (just maybe not in Poland!). I don't think it sounds too "out there", it has a nice sound and being fairly short and 2 syllables, should be pretty easy to pronounce and spell.

Sounds like a vehicle ....

It makes me think of the rapper or the corner shop

It just makes me think of whisker.

Niska is the back of the neck in Finnish so probably not used as a first name.

I think she would face a lifetime of questions about her name, and she’d have to repeat it and spell it every time she gave her name over the phone. People would ask about its origins, and she’d have to say “My mum heard it on a telly programme”.

She might find this tedious in the extreme or not bat an eyelid. No way of knowing which way that would go.

Nikita?

I think it sounds like it could be a name for a car. The new Renault Niska 😁

Haha i can't help but hear whisker now you've said it!
We don't know the sex yet anyway (should have said potential dd3!)

Think I will keep looking, I do love it but maybe I'll call it a pet down the line instead 😂🙈

Reminds me of a girl I once knew called Nish - full name Anoushka. One of her parents was Indian, that may be where it came from.

I would assume it was a nickname for something, maybe Franziska?