Gender Feminine & Masculine Usage Japanese Scripts 直, 奈央, 奈緒, etc.(Japanese Kanji) なお(Japanese Hiragana) Pronounced Pron. /nä.o̞/ Meaning & History From Japanese 直 (nao) meaning "straight, direct" or from a combination of 奈 (na), a phonetic character, and 央 (o) meaning "center". Other kanji or kanji combinations can form this name as well.