So my great Aunt was [name]Nina[/name], pronounced N-eye-na, (With a strong I sound, almost like Nine-ah, rhymes with [name]Dinah[/name]) not Nee-na. (with an ee sound)
I can’t seem to find this pronunciation anywhere, nor make out where it comes from, everywhere I have looked says Nee-na???
Can anybody help me out on this and shed some light on the matter? Thanks!
No (sorry!), but that’s weird because I had a dream I named my daughter that. Spelled [name]Ninah[/name]. I tried looking it up everywhere too and no luck! I thought I made it up.
I think it’s a really pretty name. I love those long i sounds!
I had a great-great-aunt [name]Inez[/name], also pron. with a long I (her nickname was “Inie,” = “tiny” sans T), which I can only assume was an Americanized pronunciation (of Spanish Inés). She would have been born a century ago in the Midwestern United States, long before Forvo or Howjsay. 
Also, Behindthename.com says of [name]Mariah[/name]: “It is usually pronounced in a way that reflects an older English pronunciation of [name]Maria[/name]” (i.e. another long I).
Anyway, your Aunt [name]Nina[/name] had a sweet way of pronouncing her name – maybe moreso than (shriller) NEE-na. 
Not to be rude to your great-grandmother’s memory, but do you think it’s possible she saw the name [name]Nina[/name] somewhere (which would have been very exotic 80+ years ago) and simply mispronounced it?
I was also thinking that could have been a possibility [name]Blade[/name]! Mostly because I really haven’t heard it pronounced that way anywhere else! Her siblings were [name]Olive[/name], [name]Margaret[/name], [name]Russell[/name] and [name]Douglas[/name] I believe (there honestly could have been more of them, but I don’t know that side of the family too terribly well), I could see [name]Nye[/name]-na fitting in with them better than Nee-na
@r_j - My Great Aunt definitely pulled if off when she was alive, I think it would be sweet to meet a little [name]Ninah[/name], even if it is a mispronunciation!
I know a couple of women named [name]Nina[/name] who pronounce it to rhyme with [name]Dinah[/name]. I do believe it is either because of not knowing the correct pronunciation, or an attempt to English-ize (Canadian-ize?) it. [name]One[/name] of those women has a granddaughter named after her, a teenaged [name]Nina[/name], pronounced [name]Nye[/name]-na.
Me too kibby! It has such a sweet ring to it.
I also knew of an older woman named [name]Nina[/name], pronounced [name]Nye[/name]-nah. My personal theory is that it was a trend around that time. Perhaps their was a character in a novel or an actress that is no longer well known but was then, so their was a brief burst of popularity for this pronounciation. Now I will have to try and see if I am right!
I also knew an older lady (birth year c. 1910) who was [name]Inez[/name] (Eye - nez).
My great-aunt’s sister was named [name]Nina[/name] (ny-na/ nine-a/ n’eye-na) as well. I’ve always preferred this to nee-na.
Actually though, I was shocked to find out her name was actually “n’eye-na”, I thought it was a nickname or something, but nope, it was her real name.
I’m from [name]Canada[/name] too. Would it not be totally crazy if this were the same woman? (ETA: obviously not because I just read your reply with the sibling names in it lol) I don’t know her side of the family well, because my grandmother’s brother married the great-aunt, and her sister was [name]Nina[/name], so it’s a pretty big extension of family.
My great-aunt was named [name]Sinclair[/name] (only found this out after she died, she went exclusively by [name]Clair[/name], and actually [name]Sinclair[/name] was her middle name, [name]Jean[/name] was her first name), and I think her family is Scottish? I don’t remember her maiden name, though…
[name_f]My[/name_f] name is [name_f]Nina[/name_f] ( n’eye-na") with a long I. I am 72 years old and have no idea where my dad got the name but out of 7 kids, I was one that Dad named. People have called me [name_f]Neena[/name_f] most of my life until I correct them. I met a Russian guy once overseas and he told me my name is Russian from the name [name_f]Katrina[/name_f]. That is all I know.