Nano Banana may be famous today for its viral image-editing capabilities, but the story behind its quirky name is just as unexpected as the technology itself.
The popular AI image generation and editing model from Google DeepMind began life with a far more technical title: Gemini 2.5 Flash Image. While the engineering was locked in, one crucial element was missing ahead of its early testing—an easy, memorable codename for public evaluation platforms.
That moment arrived during a late-night rush in July, as the team prepared to submit the model to LMArena, a platform that anonymously compares AI models using crowd-sourced feedback. With the deadline approaching and no codename finalized, Product Manager Naina Raisinghani предложed a playful option during a 2:30 a.m. exchange: Nano Banana.
What began as a joke quickly stuck.
The name was inspired by a mix of Naina’s personal nicknames—“Nano,” a nod to her love for computers and petite height, and “Banana,” a nickname given by friends. Combined, the phrase felt light, humorous, and oddly fitting for a fast, compact “Flash” model.
When Nano Banana quietly appeared on LMArena in early August, users were impressed by its advanced image-editing skills, including maintaining facial likeness and blending multiple images seamlessly. Then they noticed the name—and social media quickly took notice.
The contrast between the model’s serious capabilities and its playful branding sparked widespread online discussion. Banana emojis, memes, and speculation followed, prompting Google engineers to subtly hint at their involvement on social media before the official reveal.
Once fully launched, Nano Banana quickly rose to become one of the world’s top-rated image-editing AI models. Its global availability from day one helped fuel its popularity, as region-specific creative trends—from figurines in Thailand to saree edits in India—went viral across platforms.
Though its technical name remained Gemini 2.5 Flash Image, the Nano Banana identity proved too popular to drop. Google leaned into the branding, adding banana-themed visuals in AI Studio, emojis in the Gemini app, and even limited-edition merchandise.
The introduction of Gemini 3 Pro Image marked the evolution of the branding again, thus creating Nano Banana Pro, a name that symbolizes both the technical advancements and the fun-loving nature of the users.
Initially, it was a joke that was made at the last minute, but now it has turned into one of the most famous names of the AI models on the Internet—showing that, at times, a bit of humor can have a large impact.
