Original: 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.
Simplified: She got "Nina" from a nickname given to her by a boyfriend, and "Simone" from a French actress called Simone Signoret.