Like Gol D. Roger, Nami's true name in One Piece may have been hidden by mistake, and all but confirms her as a Nerona family member

One of the most enigmatic characters in One Piece in terms of their true origins is none other than Cat Burglar Nami of the Straw Hat Pirates. While the series’ Cocoyasi Village arc does see her get a backstory, essentially all fans learn is that Bellemere found Nojiko and Nami while she was on the brink of death. This was during her time in the Marines after fighting pirates in the Oykot Kingdom.

Likewise, the Kingdom was utterly destroyed as a result of the battle, with Nami and Nojiko heavily implied to be the only living survivors and everything in the area reduced to rubble. In turn, this means fans have received no information on Nami’s origins before meeting Bellemere in the One Piece storyline as of this article’s writing.

Understandably, One Piece fans have become determined to discover what Nami’s true origins are, especially in recent years with the extra focus on lore, the introduction of Nerona Imu, and more.

The latest theory asserts that much like Gol D. Roger’s true name was hidden under the moniker Gold Roger, a simple reading mistake in Nami’s name may be hiding who she really is.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers from the One Piece series and is based on the author's opinion and research.

One Piece’s Nami may actually be Nerona Ami and set her up with links to Joy Boy, the Void Century, and more

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It’s first worth establishing some aspects of Nami’s character as she’s appeared in One Piece thus far at the time of this writing. Firstly, she has a very deep connection with water, has great sailing skills, and wants to draw a map of the world and all its seas for her dream. Second, while she’s not a fighter, there have been multiple moments teasing her to have Haki in some form, such as resisting Ulti’s headbutt and more.

A third relevant aspect that was touched on above is her dream to make a map of the whole world, its seas included. This is especially significant in the wake of the Egghead Island arc, which revealed that the world will be swallowed up by water as it has been before in the past. In other words, if Nami wants to draw a true map of the world, then her dream is inherently linked to Imu, Joy Boy, and the Void Century.

With that out of the way, this latest One Piece theory must first start with Nami’s name. Her full name is unknown, as is how Bellemere discovered her name. If she or Nojiko read it in the rubble to learn it, then it’s easily possible that they misread N. Ami as Nami.

Assuming it to be Nerona Ami, some parallels start to form between her and Nerona Imu, even beyond the similar wording of “Imu” and “Ami” in and of themselves.

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In Japanese, Imu can be translated as “shun,” “avoid,” or “detest,” while also being “umi” backward with umi meaning sea. Ami is translated as “beauty,” “ocean,” and “fruit,” with both relating feelings and water as some of their definitions.

Combining the pair into “Amimu” leads to the translation of “apricot tree,” “hope/wish/desire,” or “sprout/bud.” All of these words relate to Nami’s origins in Cocoyasi Village’s tangerine groves, and Imu’s garden in Mariejois.

Both also share a leitmotif of royalty in their portrayal. For Imu, this is very obvious and overt in the mainline story. However, Nami’s is more subtle, being drawn on several color spreads with crows either on her or surrounding her such as those for chapters 1, 733, 921, and 1113. She was also seen stealing a crown from various pirates during her first appearance in One Piece’s story.

There’s also the fact that the Nerona name’s katakana can be combined to form the character for “god” in Kanji, as well as the fact that he lives among the Celestial Dragons. Nami, meanwhile, has been close to a god also in Enel, being allowed to follow him.

Likewise, in the same way that Sanji was called a prince often before the reveal of his origins, Nami has been referred to as a goddess or queen several times.

Imu may target the Straw Hats specifically to obtain Nami in One Piece's coming arcs (Image via Toei Animation)

Further linking them, especially in hindsight of Dr. Vegapunk’s broadcast, is the fact that both seem to be familiar with cartography. This is supported by Imu crossing Lulusia Kingdom off of a map when he decided to be eliminated during One Piece’s Egghead arc.

This perhaps could’ve been indicative of Imu planning out the next great flood and what the world will look like after on a map, rather than simply keeping a record of which islands have been erased.

There also could be a connection drawn between them in the Arlong Park arc. Much like how Nami was given Luffy’s straw hat during the arc’s climax, Imu is seen in possession of a giant straw hat being kept within Mariejois.

It’s possible that Imu could’ve also had an incarnation of Sun God Nika, in his case, Joy Boy, fight for him after giving him his hat. However, whereas Luffy won, Joy Boy lost, likely by the nature of Imu double-crossing him rather than remaining faithful.

Likewise, with Imu all but confirmed to be from One Piece’s Void Century as of this article’s writing, chapter 1036 furthers the connections between the pair with its color spread.

Here, Nami is seen sitting inside a sunken building which is very castle-like in design while watching her friends outside. The text on Luffy and Brook’s jackets here also, in hindsight, clearly teases the reveal of the great flood, furthering the connection.

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To return to Nami’s queen leitmotif and link it to the above water/flood recurrences, it is widely held that whales and their appearances play major roles in the series. There are several moments in the series where they play a key role in developments, and most of these major moments come as Nami and Luffy reunite or meet.

The Orange Town fountain, Laboon after Loguetown, post-Fishman Island after the crew reunites, the whale tree at Zou, and even Jinbe the whale shark Fishman at Whole Cake Island all show this.

There’s also a One Piece color spread which seems Nami positioned closest to a whale with a crown on its head, being almost directly beneath the crown. With all of this in mind, it seems clear that Nami has a grander identity, which could be the Nerona family’s princess.

Final thoughts

While all these theories put an interesting perspective on Nami's origins, they are still speculations at best. Unless Oda adds more insight into Nami's backstory or gives any clear foreshadowing of her relation to Imu, fans will be inevitably left in the dark. One Piece Film: Red revealed Shanks' Celestial Dragon lineage; Nami's origin could be similarly explored in a separate movie.

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