Nanna

name, noun

name, noun ·2 syllables ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    grandmother
  2. 2
    (Norse mythology) wife of Balder wordnet
  3. 3
    the mother of your father or mother wordnet
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A goddess, the wife of Balder. Norse
  2. 2
    The god of the moon in Sumerian mythology.
  3. 3
    A surname from Italian.

Synonyms

All synonyms
baalbalderbragidonarfreyfreya

Etymology

Etymology 1

Possibly derived from Proto-Celtic *nana (“grandmother”); probably from a Proto-Indo-European root imitative of a child babbling, similar to Ancient Greek νάννα (nánna). See also nanny. Compare Welsh nain, Sicilian nanna, Italian nonna, Norman nonne, Galician nana, Spanish nana, Old French nonain, Late Latin nonna.

Etymology 2

Uncertain, probably from Old Norse Nanna, with Norse levelling of -nþ- to -nn- from Proto-Germanic *nanþ- (“brave, daring”), related to *ninþaną (“to dare”); or possibly from an Old Norse baby talk word for "mother," as in nanna, nanny.

Etymology 3

Learned borrowing from Sumerian 𒀭𒋀𒆠 (ᵈnanna /⁠Nanna⁠/).

Etymology 4

Borrowed from Italian Nanna.

More for "nanna"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.