Nani: Name Meaning of Nani in Hawaiian for Baby Girl Names

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Nani is a popular name for girls and women and has different meanings in different languages. However, it is universally a name associated with grace and beauty. The gentle sound ‘n’ twice repeated, flanked by the smooth, short ‘a’ and the happy short ‘i’ create an appealing moniker that invokes the image of a lively, attractive woman of any age. It’s no wonder this name is popular as a given name in Hawaii and Greece and is a diminutive for the maternal grandmother in India.

In traditional Hawaiian culture where tribal elders bestow names on their offspring, Nani, meaning beautiful is popular for girls. (Crinella, 2015) Like all Hawaiian words, it uses the traditional Hawaiian alphabet which has five vowels a, e, i, o, u and eight syllables h, k, l, m, n, p, w, and v (a glottal stop representing an absence of sound). Elders choose the babies name based on dreams, desires for the child, or simply a characteristic the child displays when they are born. It’s not surprising then that many elders hope for or see beauty in the baby they are naming.

In Greece, the name Nani means grace or graceful. Specifically, “One who is graced with God’s favor.” (Meaning of Nani, n.d.) It is also another form of the common name Anne which has among its many diminutives names like Nancy, Nan, and Nani. However, in this case, it would be pronounced with a hard (a) like Ann.

In Hindi, children call their maternal grandmother, Nani, pronounced with the soft (a) and bright (i). However, it is written as Naanee. Much the way English speaking children call their Grandmother Mimi or Nana. However, in Hindi, there is a distinction between the maternal Grandmother and the paternal Grandmother. (Hindi Family Relations, n.d.) The paternal Grandmother would be called dadi.

Although not a common name in the United States, it does have a lovely ring. It’s meaning of either grace or beauty is also a good reason to choose this as a name for a treasured daughter.