Definition of "Ina"

Miss Ina Claire tells me that half her acquaintances call her "Eenah" and the other half "Eynah". She answers docilely to either.

1935, Winthrop Ames, What Shall We Name the Baby?, New York: Simon and Schuster, page 18

The eldest, originally called Christina in spite of her Jewish father's protests, eventually had her name sliced in half. "Stop sulking, Abe," Aurora commanded. "From now on she's plain Ina without the Christ." So poor Ina grew up with only half a handle, and when the second child was born a year later matters were made worse because this time Aurora insisted on "Inamorata". Abraham protested again: "People will confuse," he said plaintively. "And this Ina-more it is like saying she is Ina-plus."

1995, Salman Rushdie, The Moor's Last Sigh, page 139