Save Gender Feminine & Masculine Usage Chinese Scripts 小宁, 晓宁, etc.(Chinese) 小寧, 曉寧, etc.(Traditional Chinese) Pronounced Pron. /ɕjaʊ̯.niŋ/ [key·simplify] Meaning & History From Chinese 小 (xiǎo) meaning "small" or 晓 (xiǎo) meaning "dawn, daybreak" combined with 宁 (níng) meaning "peaceful, calm, serene". Other character combinations can form this name as well.