Is the spelling nana or nanna?

When talking about one’s grandmother we often use the terms nan, nana and nanna. In Australia, what then is the preferred spelling? Is nana spelled with one n, or is nanna spelled with two n’s.

First, we do have to remember nana and nanna are considered colloquial spellings and as such, are used informally. Also since people use Nana and Nanna as names, names can often vary in spelling. Having said that, the best approach is to refer to the authoritative references.

The Macquarie Dictionary lists nana as a secondary spelling of nanna and the entry nana refers on to nanna. Thus according to the Macquarie Dictionary the preferred spelling would be nanna. The Australia Oxford dictionary entry nanna states a variation of nan, with nan listing nana and nanna as variations for nan. The Australia Oxford thus doesn’t directly give us answer for nana and nanna.

The online Oxford dictionary doesn’t directly list nanna, but interestingly, states nanna as the British form for nana under the nana entry.

Based on the Macquarie Dictionary it would appear the preferred spelling in Australia is nanna. The spelling preference in Australia appears to be: grandmother, nan, nanna and then nana.

Kelvin Eldridge

www.Australian-Dictionary.com.au

The preferred Australian English spelling.