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Nana

#7,043 in 2025UnisexGirls' nameBoys' name

Multiple documented origins; meaning depends on tradition

Nana has been given to 3,396 babies in the U.S. since 1881. In 2025 it ranked #7,043 of 17,293 girls’ names in use. Its peak year was 2000, with 47 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 74% girls, 26% boys all-time.

Babies named Nana, 2025

1 in 207,000

Nana over time, 1880–2025

GirlsBoys
020406018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Girls or boys — Nana over time

In 2025, Nana went to 50% girls and 50% boys.

18812025

A sex is only published in years it reached five applications, so a stretch at 0% or 100% means the other side stayed under that floor — not that it was never used.

Nana: meaning, origin, and history

Multiple documented origins; meaning depends on tradition

Japanese

What Nana means

Nana has more than one naming route in the cited origin entries: distinct naming traditions.

The naming story behind Nana

A separate documented entry treats Nana as a diminutive of Ioanna. That is a personal-name relationship, which differs from translating the letters of the modern spelling into one universal English word. The linked origin entry identifies the context of this relationship.

One of the source’s documented entries for Nana records a meaning of vegetables, greens.

An additional editorial entry explicitly leaves the meaning of Nana uncertain. That qualification belongs to its own naming route, even when another tradition using the same spelling has a known translation. The spelling alone cannot decide which history a family intends.

Origin, language, and formation

Nana is used in English, Cebuano, Danish and Finnish. Its origins include Japanese.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include Ana.

Pronunciation and spelling

In Danish, Nana is pronounced [ˈnana].

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 2,530 girls were recorded with the name Nana between 1881 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 47 in 2000; its best national rank was #613 in 1881.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #4,970 in 2020 to #7,043 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #5,971 in 2015 to #7,043 in 2025.

In the United States, 866 boys were recorded with the name Nana between 1972 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 32 in 2014; its best national rank was #3,084 in 2003.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #4,976 in 2020 to #5,771 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #4,143 in 2015 to #5,771 in 2025.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

How common is Nana?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 207,000
16 of 3,315,165 births
Among girls only
1 in 100,000
<0.01% of girls
Rank, 2025
#7,043
of 17,293 girls’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
143,620 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Nana sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Olivia (13,544)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 143,620 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Nana. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Nanas were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Nana was born before 1972 — so the typical Nana is around 53 today.

Median birth year
1972
About 53 years old
Biggest decade
2000s
13.6% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
24.6%
Spread across generations
Recorded since 1950
1,580
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2000s — 13.6% of all recorded uses (345).

Is Nana rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
+805
Places climbed
Rank vs 5 years ago
−2,073
Places dropped
Rank vs 10 years ago
−1,072
Places dropped
Births vs 10 years ago
0.73×
Fewer babies than then
Share of its own peak
34.0%
Peak was 2000 (47)
Years since peak
25
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Volatile
30.7% average annual change
Best rank ever
#613
1881

Spellings of Nana

Nana is not the most common spelling — Nancy is, with 11.6% against Nana's 0.03%.

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Where Nana is used — girls

Across 1910–2025, Nana was most concentrated in New York — about 1 in 50,000 girls, against 1 in 160,340 across all states with data. It was least common in Virginia (1 in —).

02 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1New York1 in 50,000
  2. 2Maryland1 in 100,000
  3. 3California1 in —
  4. 4Illinois1 in —
  5. 5Kentucky1 in —
  6. 6Missouri1 in —
  7. 7Texas1 in —
  8. 8Virginia1 in —

Shading is the share of that state's recorded girls given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings. Nana has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Where Nana is used — boys

Across 1910–2025, Nana was most concentrated in Maryland — about 1 in 100,000 boys, against 1 in 167,171 across all states with data. It was least common in Virginia (1 in —).

01 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Maryland1 in 100,000
  2. 2New Jersey1 in 100,000
  3. 3New York1 in 100,000
  4. 4Massachusetts1 in —
  5. 5Virginia1 in —

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings. Nana has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Nana around the world

Where Nana ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    1996–2025
    #816
    in 2025
  • Scotland
    2024–2024
    #790
    in 2024
  • Ireland
    2001–2006
    #764
    in 2006
  • France
    1972–2025
    #1,443
    in 2025
  • Canada
    1991–2022
    #3,098
    in 2022
  • South Australia
    1989–2008
    #796
    in 2008

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland, Central Statistics Office, Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques, Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS, NRS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. CSO, CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0. INSEE data under Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence.

Notable people named Nana

People whose public names include Nana, backed by Wikidata given-name records and ordered by linked Wikimedia pages. The name may be a middle name.

People data from Wikidata (CC0). Fame is measured, not judged — the order reflects how widely each person is documented, not the U.S. birth records popularity this page is otherwise about.

Nana in other languages

Cross-language forms and variants of Nana. Linked forms have their own page here.

NanNonaIoannaYiannaPanayiotaNa-naYiotaZanetZannetaZannettaYiannoula

Variant forms from Wikidata (CC0). Most are used mainly outside the United States; U.S. birth records statistics cover US usage only.

Nana by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#7,043
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 2,073
Best rank ever
#613
1881
Peak year
2000
47 that year
First recorded
1881
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
2,530
Count in 2025
16

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#5,771
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 795
Best rank ever
#3,084
2003
Peak year
2014
32 that year
First recorded
1972
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
866
Count in 2025
16

Names similar to Nana

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

NaniYanaZanaNandiRanaSanaCianaQianaKeanaTyanaRianaTwanaKyanaKanaIanaYoanaManaTanaCanaAhanaJianaLuanaLeanaSiana

Names with a curve like Nana

Not spelling — timing. These names rose, peaked and faded in the same years as Nana, so they read as being from the same moment even when they look nothing alike.

MaryannaDaiseyCandelariaClairNicolettaKatheryneAntoninaJettaVashtiCelestinaThaisLovina

Sibling names for Nana

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Nana

Top names of 2000, Nana's peak yearThe 2000s in fullOther names that peaked in 1881Girls' names starting with NAkan Boy NamesAkan Girl Names