India, Nov. 5 -- Google's new image generation model, known widely as Gemini Nano Banana, has drawn attention for both its name and its performance. However, few knew how the name came about until David Sharon, Group Product Manager for the Gemini App, explained the story on the Made by Google podcast.

According to Sharon, the name "Nano Banana" began as a placeholder. An employee named Nina submitted the model anonymously to LM Arena, a public platform where users test AI models without knowing their source. To maintain anonymity, she entered a temporary name at random. "Nano Banana was created by a PM named Nina," Sharon said. "When you submit a model anonymously to LM Arena, you must include a placeholder name."

He added that Nina ca...