You're probably familiar with Nano Banana for its viral knack at editing images. But how did one of Google DeepMind's most popular models end up with such an unexpected name? The story mixes a personal nickname, a last-minute decision, and a bit of humor that turned into a brand.
From a nickname to a public name
In July, the team was preparing the first release of the model: Gemini 2.5 Flash Image. Everything was on track until one small but important detail was missing: a public name to use on LMArena. Why did that matter? Because teams often upload development versions to that platform to get human feedback without revealing the technical identity.
The conversation about a name was left to the end. At 2:30 a.m., in the middle of a race against the clock, someone suggested sending something funny. Naina Raisinghani, product manager, proposed Nano Banana: a mix of two of her personal nicknames — Naina Banana and Nano — and it also fit the Flash family of the model. It was a spontaneous, almost improvised decision that ended up sticking.
What is LMArena and why did a codename matter?
LMArena is a public platform that compares models through anonymous human voting. A user sends a prompt and gets responses from two models without knowing which are which. After voting, the platform reveals the identities. For models in development, using a codename avoids exposing technical details too early and lets teams collect real performance signals.
That made the name more than a label: it became the model's public face while it was tested in real conditions. And Nano Banana arrived on LMArena just before its visibility exploded.
Viral for its capabilities and for the humor
The mix was perfect. The model surprised people by editing while keeping people's likeness, stitching multiple images coherently, and generating readable text inside images. That technical power would have made waves on its own, but the name added a cultural factor.
Users shared results not just for quality, but also for the story behind the name. Who resists a cute name that comes with flawless results? Cultural trends helped too: viral figurines that started in Thailand or the saree trend in India spread fast, helped by the model being available globally from day one.
Branding born from a joke that stuck
Though the technical name stayed Gemini 2.5 Flash Image, the nickname Nano Banana remained. The team leaned into it: the 'run' button in AI Studio turned yellow, the Gemini app showed a 'Create image' chip with a banana emoji, and they even made themed merch. With the launch of Gemini 3 Pro Image, the name naturally evolved to Nano Banana Pro.
We laughed at the silliness and in the end the banana became part of the team's identity.
That humor didn't make the product any less serious. On the contrary: it humanized the technology and created an immediate connection with users of all kinds, from creatives to developers to casual consumers.
What lessons does this anecdote leave?
Names matter. Not just as a technical label, but as a cultural bridge between technology and people. A spontaneous decision at 2:30 a.m. helped a powerful model become recognizable and easy to remember.
There's a practical lesson too: giving universal access from day one speeds adoption. Nano Banana benefited from being available in all countries and to diverse user profiles at the same time. That, combined with outstanding results, is the recipe for sustained virality.
Can you imagine naming your next project with the same spirit? Sometimes the best name comes from something personal and a little bit of humor.
