She got `` Nina '' from a nickname given to her by a boyfriend , and `` Simone '' from a French actress called Simone Signoret . In 1954 she adopted the stage name Nina Simone . `` Nina '' ( from niÃ a , meaning ` little girl ' in Spanish ) was a nickname a boyfriend had given to her , and `` Simone '' was taken from the French actress Simone Signoret , whom she had seen in the movie , Casque d'or .