Alina (Ալինա in TAO or Ալինա in RAO, Armenian pronunciation: [/'aˌlɪə ŋa/] —alina) is a female given name of Armenian origin which means "bearer of the light" ("կրողը թեթեւ" in Hayeren). It is still regarded as a relatively rare and exotic name in the Western world, despite now beginning to be more widely adopted, in places such as the Americas, France, Italy and Spain. Besides its native home, it serves a similar purpose in Azerbaijan, Iran and the Arab world where it means "illustrious" ("لامع" in Arabic). It is generally found in Russia, Albania, Georgia, Kosovo, Romania and other Eastern-European countries. It enjoys great recognition in Poland and Lithuania where settling Armenian immigrants popularized it. Such was its impact on Polish naming, reflecting the Armenian assimilation into the culture from the 1300s onwards, that it is often mistaken for a Slavonic or sometimes even a Germanic name and appears there officially on calendars noting the Nameday, falling on the mutually agreed dates of 16 June and 16 December. However, it is still used traditionally, within families of Armenian diaspora, of which there are few remaining in Poland, surviving mainly as the descendants of the szlachta.