Nana
Feminine
Nana is given to both — 2,530 girls and 866 boys since 1880. See Nana as a boy nameSee other names given to both
Zola published Nana in 1880 and the name peaks in American records in 1881. The novel is about a courtesan who destroys everyone who wants her, and it was one of the most widely read and most scandalous books of the decade.
How old is the name Nana?
Nana first appears in US birth records in 1881 — 144 years ago. The typical Nana alive today was born around 1971, making them about 54 years old. About 1,700 people named Nana are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Nana most popular?
Nana peaked in 1881, reaching #582 nationally. Today it ranks #6838, 6,256 places below that high. See the whole 1881 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Anne to Nana
The story of Nana
Zola's Nana appeared in 1880 as the ninth novel of the Rougon-Macquart sequence and was an immediate sensation; the first printing sold out in a day. Its heroine is a working-class woman who becomes a courtesan and ruins a series of aristocratic men before dying of smallpox. The American naming record shows a sharp single-year peak in 1881, immediately after the English translation, which is the shape of a book-driven name. Nana meanwhile has its own quite independent lives in Ghana, where it is a title used as a name, in Japan, and in English as a grandmother word.
Meaningscholars disagree
Not established
The name has several unrelated sources. In English it is a nursery word for a grandmother. In Akan, spoken in Ghana, Nana is a title of respect for a chief or an elder and is used as a given name for both sexes. In Japanese it is a name written with the character for seven. Zola's Nana is a French diminutive of Anne. None is the source of the others.
How the name formed
- Anne
- Nana
Related forms: Nana · Nana · Nana · Nana
Pronouncing Nana
NAH-nah
Two identical syllables with the stress on the first. English speakers often say NAN-uh with a short a, following the grandmother word.
Nicknames for Nana
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1881
- Most girls named
- 200236 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #582reached in 1881
- Change vs 2022
- 0.0%16 in 2025, from 16
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Nana in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Nana in Akan — related form
- Nana in Japanese — related form
- Nana in Georgian — related form
- Nana in French — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: New York, Maryland.
Nanas among us
people named Nana are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 100,454 born in 2025 was named Nana
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Nana sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Nana beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Nana in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Four letters, two identical syllables, and impossible to misspell.
- Used in Ghana, Japan, Georgia and France by completely separate routes.
- Easy for speakers of almost any language.
- In English it is a common word for a grandmother.
- Zola's novel is the strongest literary association and its heroine is a courtesan.
- Several unrelated traditions share the spelling.
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What they receive
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Nana
Feminine · #6838 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Nanas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,700 people named Nana are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Nana in 2025?
- Nana ranks #6838 among US girl names in 2025, with 16 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Nana?
- About 1 in every 100,454 US girls born in 2025 was named Nana — 16 in all.
- Will my child share the name Nana with classmates?
- Nana will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Nana
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Malana#6838 · Jeannie#6838 · Maxie#6838 · Nicol#6838 · Chaney#6838 · Keana#6838 · Concetta#6838 · Pheobe#6838
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Nana? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Nana and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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