Nana (given name)

Nana
Pronunciation	/ˈnɑːnə/, /ˈnana/, /naˈna/
Gender	varies
Origin
Meaning	varies
Region of origin	Ethiopia, Georgia, Ghana, Greece, India, Korea, Japan

Nana is a given name that has different origins in several countries across the world. Its use as a feminine or masculine name varies culturally. It is feminine in Japan, Korea, Georgia and Greece, masculine in Ethiopia and India, and epicene in Ghana. In Georgia, Nana is the fifth most popular given name for girls. In Ghana, among the Akan people, particularly the Akyem, Ashanti and Akuapim peoples, Nana is used as the title of a monarch to signify their status. Furthermore, the stool name of kings and queens is always preceded by Nana. Non-royal Ghanaian people also use Nana as a given name. In some cases, they may adopt the name Nana, if they have been named after a monarch. In Ghana, one can respectfully refer to a King or Queen as Nana without mentioning their full name.

People

Acting

• Nana Ama McBrown (born 1980), a Ghanaian actress
• Nana Bryant (1888–1955), an American film actress
• Nana Jorjadze (born 1948), a Georgian film director and scriptwriter
• Nana Eikura (born 1988), a Japanese model and actress
• Nana Gbewonyo (born 1980), a Ghanaian actor
• Nana Katase (born 1981), a Japanese actress
• Nana Ozaki (actress), a Japanese actress
• Nana Palsikar (1907–1984), an Indian film actor
• Nana Patekar (born 1951), an Indian actor and filmmaker
• Nana Visitor (born 1957), an American actress
• Nana Yamaguchi (born 1938), a Japanese voice actress
• Nana Yanagisawa (born 1987), a Japanese actress and fashion model

Art

• Nana Haruta (born 1985), a Japanese manga artist
• Nana Meskhidze (1936–1997), a Georgian artist-painter

Music

• Nana Caymmi (born 1941), a Brazilian singer
• Nana Gualdi (1932–2007), a German singer and actress
• Nana Hedin (born 1968), a Swedish singer
• Nana Kitade (born 1987), a Japanese J-Rock singer
• Nana Mizuki (born 1980), a Japanese voice actress and singer
• Nana Mouskouri (born 1934), a Greek singer
• Nana Kwame Abrokwa (born 1968), a German rapper and DJ
• Nana Tanimura (born 1987), a Japanese pop singer
• Naná Vasconcelos (1944-2016), a Brazilian Latin jazz percussionist, vocalist and berimbau player
• Im Jin-ah (stage name "Nana") (born 1991), South Korean singer and member of girl group After School.

Politics

• Nana Akufo-Addo (born 1944), a Ghanaian politician and diplomat
• Nana (Apache) (1800?-1896), a Chiricahua Apache leader
• Nana Effah-Apenteng, the Permanent Representative of Ghana to the United Nations
• Nana Fadnavis (1742–1800), an influential minister and statesman of the Maratha Empire in Pune, India
• Nana of Iberia, a 4th-century Georgian queen
• Nana Olomu (1852–1916), an Itsekiri chief and merchant from the Niger Delta region of southern Nigeria
• Nana Osei Bonsu II (born 1939), the regent of the Ashanti Kingdom
• Nana Owusu-Nsiah, a Ghanaian diplomat and ambassador
• Nana Patil (1900-1976), an Indian independence activist
• Nana Sahib (1824-?), an Indian leader during the rebellion of 1857
• Nana Sir Ofori Atta I (born 1881-1943), a King of Akyem Abuakwa in 1912

Religion

• Nana Dharmadhikari (1922–2008), an Indian spiritual guru
• Nana of Pécs, a 12th-century bishop in the Kingdom of Hungary

Sports

• Nana Alexandria (born 1949), a Georgian chess Grandmaster
• Nana Arhin Duah (born 1980), a Ghanaian football player
• Nana Attakora (born 1989), a Canadian football player
• Nana Eshun (born 1969), a Ghanaian football player
• Nana Eshun (born 1982), a Ghanaian football player
• Nana Falemi, a Romanian-Cameroonian football player
• Nana Ioseliani (born 1962), a Georgian chess player
• Nana Iwasaka (born 1990), a Japanese volleyball player
• Nana Joshi (1926–1987), a cricketer
• Nana Konadu (born 1964), a retired Ghanaian boxer
• Nana Kuffour (born 1985), a Ghanaian-American soccer player
• Nana Miyagi (born 1971), a Japanese American tennis player
• Nana Ofori-Twumasi (born 1990), a professional Ghanaian-born English footballer
• Nana Takeda (born 1988), a Japanese figure skater

Other

• Nana Asma’u (1793–1864), a poet, teacher and a revered figure in northern Nigeria
• Nana Chudasama, an eminent jurist, former mayor and Sheriff of Mumbai
• Nana Keum, Miss Korea 2002
• Nana Natsume (born 1980), a Japanese award-winning former AV idol and celebrity
• Nana Ozaki, a Japanese gravure idol

Fictional characters

Anime & Manga

• Manga: +Anima
• Anime series Elfen Lied
• Nana Osaki, a character in the Japanese manga Nana
• Nana Komatsu (Nana), a character in the Japanese manga Nana
• Character in Cyborg Kuro-chan
• a character in Battle Angel Alita
• Nana Sendo, a character in the anime series Crash B-Daman

Other characters

• Nana April Jun, one of the personae of Christofer Lämgren, a Swedish artist
• Nana Dawson, a character in Heroes
• Nana McQueen, a character in Hollyoaks
• Nana Moon, a character in the popular British BBC soap opera EastEnders
• Nana Oyl, the mother of cartoon character Olive Oyl
• Nana, the Newfoundland dog nurse of Wendy, John and Michael in Peter Pan
• A main and playable character in the video game series Ice Climber and Super Smash Bros.
• A minor recurring character from Grandia 1
• An artificial Earth satellite in Teletraan I universe
• A character in the Transformers universe
• Nana, the protagonist of Émile Zola's novel, Nana
• Kim Nana, a character in the Korean drama City Hunter