My great grandmother (born in Canada as a first generation Ukrainian-speaking immigrant) was named "Mikalina", but everyone called her "Lina". I believe the borders between Ukraine and Poland were in flux in the 1890's, but she and her parents definitely spoke Ukrainian. I named my US-born daughter "Leena" in her honor - I did not know how to spell it, so I went with the double E to make sure it was not confused with "Lena", which should be pronounced with the soft E sound, as my Greek friend Lena explained to me. If anyone knows if "Lina" is also Ukrainian, please let us know!
I did not know Michalina was legitimately a Polish name. I learned something today! My grandma's cousin is named Michalina; they are third-generation Polish from Chicago. She is also known as Mickey as they pronounce her name "mik-uh-LEEN-uh."
I prefer the English pronunciation (with a k) simply because otherwise I associate this name with another vintage-ish name, quite comedic these days in Poland, Halina.It's a nice, unusual name! English nicknames may include: Mia, Miki, Micky, Mika, Lina, Minny and many more.