trying to animate a constraint in swift

You need to first change the constraint and then animate the update.
This should be in the superview.

self.nameInputConstraint.constant = 8

Swift 2

UIView.animateWithDuration(0.5) {
    self.view.layoutIfNeeded()
}

Swift 3, 4, 5

UIView.animate(withDuration: 0.5) {
    self.view.layoutIfNeeded()
}