Nana is a distinctive choice, ranked #621 in 2025. Your child is likely to be the only Nana in their class.
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UK Rank 2025
#621
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About the Name Nana
Nana is climbing rapidly up the charts, having climbed 673 places in just five years. Its best recorded rank was #678 in 2006 — and current momentum suggests it could challenge that mark again. The name has been a consistent presence in UK records since 1996.
Nana is uncommon in the UK, so your child is very likely to be the only Nana in their class.
⭐ Famous People Named Nana
Nana Hedin — Nana Hedin Pranschke, known as Nana Hedin, is a Swedish singer.
Nana Shettima — Nana Kashim Shettima is the second lady of Nigeria since 2023, as the wife of Vice President Kashim Shettima.
Nana Asakawa — Nana Asakawa is a Japanese actress and former singer.
Biographical summaries are shortened from Wikipedia and are used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence; those summaries remain available under that same licence.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about the name Nana
Unlikely. With around 60 UK babies named Nana per year, your child will almost certainly be the only Nana in their class, and possibly the only one in the whole school.
Nana is rising: up 490 places since 2020, to #621 in 2025. Its best recorded position was #576 in 2004.
Nana is a distinctive choice sitting outside the mainstream UK top names. Parents choosing less common names often find their children appreciate the individuality as they grow up, rarely needing to add an initial to distinguish themselves.
Notable people named Nana include: Nana Hedin, Nana Shettima and Nana Asakawa. Short summaries for each appear below.
Nana does not appear in the US top 1,000 baby names, making it a distinctively British choice — your child is unlikely to encounter American Nanas in the wild.
60
UK babies named Nana (2025)
< 1
Expected classmates with this name (class of 28)
~0.1
In a school of 600
↑ 490 places
Rank change (last 5 years)
🏫 Who else is in the room?
In a typical UK class of 28, highlighted children share the name Nana
Almost certainly the only Nana in the class
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UK Popularity (1996–2025)
Rank and birth count · ONS official data
No US data available for this name
✨ Similar names to Nana
Names with a similar style — each with their own classroom story
Nana Asmaʾu (; full name: Asmaʾu bint Shehu Usman dan Fodiyo , Arabic: نانا أسماء بنت عثمان فودي; 1793–1864) was a Fula princess, poet, teacher, public intellectual, political actor and scholarly authority and a daughter of the founder of the Sokoto Caliphate, Usman dan Fodio.