Nene is a feminine and masculine given name, surname and nickname in several cultures. In

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

, it is generally a masculine term of endearment and an affectionate nickname meaning "baby". Alternative variations such as Neneh, Néné, Nené, Nenê and Nenè are used within

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

, with Nenê being more common in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. The feminine form of this nickname is

Nena Gabriele Susanne Kerner (born 24 March 1960), better known by her stage name Nena, is a German singer who rose to international fame in 1983 as the lead vocalist of the band Nena (band), Nena with the Neue Deutsche Welle song "99 Luftballons". I ...

. In Turkish and other

Turkic languages The Turkic languages are a language family of more than 35 documented languages, spoken by the Turkic peoples of Eurasia from Eastern Europe and Southern Europe to Central Asia, East Asia, North Asia (Siberia), and West Asia. The Turkic langua ...

such as Crimean Tatar, Nene means "grandmother", and is also generally used as a nickname for elderly women. In

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

, Nene is exclusively a feminine given name. It can be written as "ねね" and rarely "ネネ", or it can be written using different

kanji are logographic Chinese characters, adapted from Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script, used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are ...

characters and can mean: *, "shrine, mausoleum" *, "ancestral shrine, mausoleum,

idol Idol or Idols may refer to: Religion and philosophy * Cult image, a human-made object that is venerated or worshipped for the deity, spirit or daemon that it embodies or represents * Murti, a devotional image of a deity or saint used during puja ...

" *, "peaceful, tranquil" *, "sound, voice" *, "peaceful and tranquil child" (These kanji can also be read as Yasuko.)

People with this nickname or professional name

;Female * Néné (1834–1890), nickname of

Duchess Helene in Bavaria Duchess Helene in Bavaria (Helene Caroline Therese; 4 April 1834 16 May 1890), nicknamed Néné, was the Hereditary Princess of Thurn and Taxis as the wife of Maximilian Anton Lamoral. She was a Duchess in Bavaria by birth as the daughter of D ...

* Nene Hatun (1857–1955), Turkish folk heroine * Nené Cascallar (1914–1982), pen name of late Argentine writer Alicia Inés Botto * Nene Gare (1919–1994), professional name of late Australian writer and artist Doris Violet May Wadham * Nene Go (born 1962), nickname of former Filipino politician Ma. Catalina L. Loreto-Go * Nene (born 1997), nickname of Thai-Chinese singer and actress Pornnappan Pornpenpipat * Nene (2000–2019), nickname of the late South African murder victim Uyinene Mrwetyana *Momosuzu Nene, Japanese VTuber affiliated with

Hololive Production (; stylized in lowercase) is a virtual YouTuber agency owned by Japanese tech entertainment company Cover Corporation. In addition to acting as a multi-channel network, Hololive Production also handles licensing, merchandising, music product ...

;Male *

Nenè ''Nenè'' is a 1977 Italian drama film directed by Salvatore Samperi. The film is a historical drama, set in post-war Italy in 1948 during the first free elections after the war. It tells of a romance and a coming-of-age amid a difficult family ...

(1917–2007), nickname of late Sicilian mafia boss Antonino Geraci * Nene (1933–2019), nickname of the late Filipino politician and human rights lawyer Aquilino Pimentel Jr. * Nené (1942–2016), nickname of Brazilian footballer

Claudio Olinto de Carvalho Claudio is an Italian and Spanish first name. In Portuguese, it is accented Cláudio. In Catalan and Occitan, it is Claudi, while in Romanian it is Claudiu. Origin and history Claudius was the name of an eminent Roman gens, the most importan ...

* Nene (born 1949), nickname of Peruvian footballer Teófilo Juan Cubillas Arizaga *

Nené (footballer, born 1949) Tamagnini Manuel Gomes Batista (born 20 November 1949), known as Nené (), is a retired Portuguese professional footballer. A prolific striker, he played his entire career with Benfica, appearing in nearly 600 official games for the club and ...

, nickname of Portuguese footballer Tamagnini Manuel Gomes Baptista * Nené (born 1964), nickname of Spanish football manager and a former player José Antonio de la Ballina Avilés * Nenê (born 1976), nickname of Brazilian women's footballer Elissandra Regina Cavalcanti * Nené (footballer, born 1979) (born 1979), nickname of Cape Verdean footballer Adriano Barbosa Miranda da Luz *

Nenê (footballer, born 1981) Anderson Luiz de Carvalho (born 19 July 1981), known as Nenê, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club Juventude. As of 2025, he is the oldest player to score in a Séri ...

, nickname of Brazilian footballer Anderson Luiz de Carvalho *

Nenê (footballer, born 1983) Ânderson Miguel da Silva (born 28 July 1983), known as Nenê, is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a striker for Primeira Liga club AVS. After being crowned the Portuguese Primeira Liga's top scorer in the 2008–09 season, he went on to ...

, nickname of Brazilian footballer Ânderson Miguel da Silva * Nenê (born 1983), nickname of Brazilian futsal player João Carlos Gonçalves Filho *

Nenê Nenê (; born Maybyner Rodney Hilário, September 13, 1982) is a Brazilian former professional basketball player. Known previously as Nenê Hilario, he legally changed his name to simply Nenê in 2003. Early life Born Maybyner Rodney Hilário i ...

(born 1992), nickname of Brazilian footballer Luis Otavio Bonilha de Oliveira *

Nené (footballer, born 1996) Feliciano João Jone (born 15 November 1996), commonly known as Nené, is a Mozambique, Mozambican footballer who plays as a midfielder for CD Costa do Sol and the Mozambique national football team. Career International Nené made his senior in ...

, nickname of Mozambican footballer Feliciano João Jone

People with this given name

;Female *

Kōdai-in (died October 17, 1624), formerly known as , , , was an aristocrat and Buddhist nun, founder of the temple Kōdai-ji in Kyoto, Japan. She was formerly the principal samurai wife of Toyotomi Hideyoshi under the name of . Nussbaum, Louis-Frédé ...

, formerly known as Nene (ねね, 1546–1624), principal samurai wife of Toyotomi Hideyoshi * Nene (禰々, 1528–1543), sister of

Takeda Shingen was daimyō, daimyo of Kai Province during the Sengoku period of Japan. Known as "the Tiger of Kai", he was one of the most powerful daimyo of the late Sengoku period, and credited with exceptional military prestige. Shingen was based in a p ...

, a pre-eminent daimyō in feudal Japan * Nene (祢々, 1585-1644), Japanese noble lady, aristocrat and later daimyō * Nene (音々), former member of Japanese heavy mental band Destrose *

Nene Hieda is a Japanese voice actress who is affiliated with 81 Produce. She started her career following her selection as one of the finalists in an audition held by 81 Produce. She is known for her roles as Momoka Yashiro in ''Gundam Build Divers'', Mi ...

(稗田寧々, born 1997), Japanese voice actress and singer * Nene Humphrey (born 1947), American installation artist * Nene Jitoe (地頭江音々, born 2000), Japanese idol and member of

HKT48 HKT48 (read "H.K.T. Forty-eight") is a Japanese idol group produced by Yasushi Akimoto. HKT48 is named after the Hakata-ku, Fukuoka, Hakata-ku ward of Fukuoka, where Akimoto originally intended to base the group. The group currently performs at ...

* Nene King (born 1943), American journalist *

NeNe Leakes Linnethia Monique "NeNe" Leakes (; née Johnson; born December 13, 1967) is an American television personality, actress, presenter, businesswoman, author, and fashion designer. She first rose to prominence after becoming the breakout star on B ...

(born 1967), American actress * Nene Ito (伊藤寧々, born 1995), former member of Japanese idol group

Nogizaka46 is a Japanese female idol group produced by Yasushi Akimoto, created as the "official rival" of the group AKB48. They are the first group from the Sakamichi Series, which also includes sister groups Sakurazaka46 (formerly Keyakizaka46), Yoshim ...

* Nene Otsuka (大塚寧々, born 1968), Japanese actress * Nene Sakai (酒井寧子, born 1995), Japanese long track speed skater * Nene Sakuragi (桜木寧々), former member of Japanese idol group Houkago Princess * Nene Sugisaki (杉﨑寧々, born 1998), former member of Japanese idol group

Sakura Gakuin was a Japanese idol girl group formed in 2010 by the Amuse talent agency. The group's membership fell within the age range of Japanese compulsory education, typically containing between 10 and 12 members at a time who fall between the ages of ...

* Nene Tamayo (born 1981), Filipina reality television personality * Nene Thomas (born 1968), American artist * Nene Tomita (冨田寧寧), Japanese-born Chinese volleyball player * Nene Yokode (横出寧々), Japanese model and former

Miss Universe Japan 2017 Miss Universe Japan 2017 () was the Miss Universe Japan pageant, held at the Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan, on July 4, 2017. Sari Nakazawa of Shiga crowned Momoko Abe of Chiba as her successor at the end of the event. Momoko ...

contestant ;Male * Nene Amegatcher (born 1953), Ghanaian lawyer, academic and judge *

(born 1982), Brazilian basketball player who adopted it as his legal mononym * Nene Macdonald (born 1995), Papua New Guinean rugby league footballer * Nene Obianyo (born 1947), Nigerian paediatric surgeon

Fictional characters with the given name

* Nêne, title character of the 1920 novel ''Nêne'' by

Ernest Pérochon Ernest Pérochon (1885–1942) was a French writer who won the ''Prix Goncourt'' in 1920 for his novel ''Nêne''. Initially a teacher, he left his career in education in 1921 to pursue writing. He wrote poems, novels (ranging from realism to scien ...

* Nenè, title character of the 1977 Italian film ''

'' * Nene Romanova in the anime series ''Bubblegum Crisis'' * Nene in the video game and anime series ''Blue Dragon'' * Nene, a playable character in the video game series ''Samurai Warriors'' * Nene Sakurada in the anime series ''

Crayon Shin-chan is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yoshito Usui. ''Crayon Shin-chan'' made its first appearance in 1990 in a Japanese weekly magazine called ''Weekly Manga Action'', which was published by Futabasha. Due to the death of ...

'' * Nene Amano (天野ネネ), a character in the anime series ''Digimon Fusion'' * Nene Yashiro, the main female character of ''

Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun is a Japanese manga series written by Iro and illustrated by Aida, which results in their conjoined name 'AidaIro'. It has been serialized in Square Enix's magazine '' Monthly GFantasy'' since 2014. It has been collected in 23 ''tankōbon ...

'' * Nene Kusanagi, from the mobile rhythm game '' Project Sekai: Colorful Stage! feat. Hatsune Miku'' * Nene Kinokuni (紀ノ国寧々), a character in the manga and anime series '' Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma'' * Neneh, the title character of the 2022 French film '' Neneh Superstar''

People with this surname

* Adriano Néné (born 1979), Cape Verde footballer *

Tāmati Wāka Nene Tāmati Wāka Nene (1780s – 4 August 1871) was a Māori rangatira (chief) of the Ngāpuhi iwi (tribe) who fought as an ally of the British in the Flagstaff War of 1845–1846. Early life Tāmati Wāka Nene was born to chiefly rank in the Ng� ...

(1785–1871), Māori chief *

Zakithi Nene Zakithi Nene (born 2 April 1998) is a South African sprinter, who specializes in the 400 metres. Career He won the South African 400m national title in 2021 and qualified for the 2020 Summer Olympics through his world ranking. He competed in the ...

, South African sprinter * Madhuri Dixit Nene, Indian actress *

Nhlanhla Nene Nhlanhla Musa Nene ( tɬantɬa born 5 December 1958) served as the Minister of Finance of South Africa under President Jacob Zuma from 25 May 2014 until his controversial removal on 9 December 2015, and under President Cyril Ramaphosa from 27 Fe ...

(born 1958), former South African Minister of Finance {{given name, Nene, type=both

People with this nickname or professional name

People with this given name

Fictional characters with the given name

People with this surname

See also