nana

appears in the second half of the 19th century with the slang meaning of 'concubine, woman of a pimp' and quickly takes on the meaning of 'woman' (in general). diminutive of the name anne, anna, popularized by the heroine of the novel by émile zola, nana (1880) and reinforced by the indo-european root nann- which gives néné, nénette in french, nonna in latin, няня niania in russian, etc. in breton, we call nenn a godmother, or even a grandmother.