Back in late July, the team was hard at work preparing the first version of the model for launch, teasing out annoying bugs and testing. They were already locked in on the technical name – Gemini 2.5 Flash Image – but one important detail was still missing: LMArena's public codename.
LMArena is a public platform designed to test AI models with anonymous, crowdsourced pairwise comparisons. Users submit information and receive responses from two anonymous models. They vote for the best answer, and the platform reveals which models were used.
While LMArena showcases released models, it's also a powerful testing ground. Teams often deploy developing models to gather early performance signals and real-world, human feedback. Because these models are still being refined, using a code name is important.
“We pushed the codename discussion until the last minute,” said Product Manager Naina Raisinghani. “So at 2:30 in the morning, one of the PMs texted me saying we need to send it, and I said, 'Okay, how about something funny like 'Nano Banana'?' And they're like, 'Yeah, sure. That makes absolutely no sense.'”
The reason that idea came to Naina? It is a variation of his nickname. “Some of my friends call me Naina Banana, others call me Nano because I'm short and I like computers. “And it's appropriate because it was the Flash model.”
The team presented the Nano Banana at LMArena in early August – and the model was ripe for the virus. Users are amazed by its powerful editing capabilities, such as its ability to preserve human likeness and creatively arrange multiple photos together. Then they saw the name. And social media went bananas.
Naina says: “People are responding very well.
