Nano Banana explained: How Google’s AI got its name

Google has revealed the unexpected story behind Nano Banana, the AI image generation model that has gone viral across social media. According to an official Google DeepMind blog, the name was created during a late night scramble in July last year, when the company was preparing to launch its Gemini image model on LMArena.

Its model, developed by Google DeepMind, was submitted under the technical name Gemini 2.5 Flash Image, but needed a public-facing codename at the very last minute.

It was around 2:30am when the decision was made, and it was time to ask Google DeepMind Product Manager Naina Raisinghani to suggest a name as soon as possible. She suggested something like "Nano Banana", playful and basically random, the name got approved instantly. Later on, this became one of the leading reasons for this model's internet popularity.

Why Google’s Nano Banana name stuck?

Google confirmed that the name is a mash up of personal nicknames. Raisinghani is called “Nano” by some friends due to her love of computers and her height, while others call her “Naina Banana”. Combined with the model being a Flash variant, the result was Nano Banana.

The Nano Banana AI image model quietly appeared on LMArena in early August. Users were impressed by its ability to edit and generate images, but it was the unusual name that caught wider attention. The contrast between advanced AI capabilities and a humorous codename helped the model spread quickly online.

Google said accessibility also played a key role in Nano Banana’s success. The model launched globally on day one, allowing users worldwide to test it. As the nickname gained traction, Google embraced it fully, adding banana emojis in the Gemini app, yellow run buttons in AI Studio, and even limited edition banana themed merchandise.