What do (or will) your grandkids call you?

[Ann.without.an.e]

I now have a grand-dog 😁  She's precious. DD and SIL also want a baby in the near future. It sparked a convo within my family of what grandkids will call us. 

So, what's the trend here?  We need ideas 😊

[kbutton]

I know what I don't want to be called, lol! Meemaw/Mammaw--after hearing that, I would be willing to be called almost anything, including Granny, lol! I never once heard it before I lived here, and it's almost universal here and often accompanied with Peepaw/Pappaw for the grandpa. I have zero idea how they are actually spelled. For Mammaw, the first a is not pronounced like it is for Mama/Momma. It's a short a, but a different sound. 

 

 

[Tenaj]

We didn't really pick our names.  My oldest granddaughter left the first sound off of some words so we now "Yamma" and "Yampa".  Her sisters picked it up and now that's how we refer to ourselves to themso I'm sure it is permanent 😁.  

[Farrar]

Farrar.

I mean, the kids already call me by my name. I've given up trying for anything else.

My grandmother wanted to be "Granny." But then the oldest grandchild kept calling her "Banny" and it stuck and she basically had that name for everyone under 50 in the entire town by the time she died. You just don't get to pick, I think. The universe picks for you.

Also, I assume that folks have seen this mildly amusing sketch about this topic:

 

[alisoncooks]

Both of my grandmothers were just plain, ol’ Grandma.

My kids call my parents Mama and Papa. My brother’s kids call them Memaw and Papa. I *sooooo* dislike “memaw,” lol. It sounds so country. 😉

My MIL is Granny. She’s always been an older grandma, so Granny feels appropriate. 

I personally also know a Mimi and a Nanny. 

[catz]

I have no idea, I don't anticipate my kids to be married or parenting any time in the near future.  But I will say you can pick something adorable you love and when baby starts talking something else entirely might stick so best not to be super attached to any label.  I've seen it happen a bunch!  And it's kind of ridiculous seeing a grandparent be pouty about what a grandchild is calling them.  Seems like some women don't want to be called grandma or granny or whatever because it's too "old" for them or whatever.    

[Melissa in Australia]

I think I will be called granny,

my mum already has  the title of grandma and I don’t want  Nana

I am pretty sure that dh would like to be called Opa

[Kassia]

I don't have any preference and will be happy with whatever my kids decide on that!  

My oldest tried to say Grandma for my MIL and it came out "Gnam" so that's what she was called by my three sons until my niece was born.  She called my MIL "Gramma"   After years of calling my MIL "Gnam" my sons were told by my MIL she didn't like it and wanted them to call her Gramma.  Her excuse was that "Gnam" couldn't be found on cards, but that was BS because you can't find Gramma on cards either.  My niece has ALWAYS been the favorite since the day she was born and my in-laws never tried to hide that.  I was pissed and had them call her Grandma after that even though I knew she didn't like it and preferred Gramma.  

 

 

Edited September 29, 2021 by Kassia

[kbutton]

In our family, we do a lot of Grandma/Grandpa and then first name. Most people are or want to be Grandma/Grandpa. We might be boring. One great-grandparent is Old Grandma at her own request. 

[Dynamite5]

I'm not a grandmother, but in my circle there's a Nanny, a Gigi, a Bunny and a Pippa.

ETA: and a Granny

Edited September 29, 2021 by Dynamite5
forgot one

[Ann.without.an.e]

43 minutes ago, kbutton said:

I know what I don't want to be called, lol! Meemaw/Mammaw--after hearing that, I would be willing to be called almost anything, including Granny, lol! I never once heard it before I lived here, and it's almost universal here and often accompanied with Peepaw/Pappaw for the grandpa. I have zero idea how they are actually spelled. For Mammaw, the first a is not pronounced like it is for Mama/Momma. It's a short a, but a different sound. 

 

 

 

YES, I agree with you 100%. My Grandmothers were all maw maw and no, I'd rather die 🤣

[gardenmom5]

I'm traditional.  Grandma (or gramma as he just turned three.)

dh is insisting on "granddaddy".

[JFSinIL]

Mine were Grandma and Grandpa(dad's folks) and Grandma Sewart and Norman (mom's mom and stepdad).  My kids called the local grandparents Grandpa and Grandma...my folks halfway across the country were Papa and California Grandma.

I'm happy as long as my last name doesn't have to be part of my moniker.  Grandma, Granny, whatever.

 

Mom later said Norman would have loved to be called Grandpa...but we kids heard her call him Norman and no one ever corrected us from calling him by his first name, too.  He married my grandma during WW2, she had been a widow since the family was in a bad car crash in 1940. 

Edited September 29, 2021 by JFSinIL

[Ann.without.an.e]

I could add, I will be way too young for granny, haha. DD wants a baby in the next 1-2 years and if that happens, I will only be 44-45-ish. 

I lean toward GiGi but 🤔

[MooCow]

I'm grandma! Dil wanted me to be called Biji, which is Punjabi for like mother grandmother etc. However that's what I call my stepmom and while I love her dearly it just brings up too many bad things. So I switched it LOL. The other grandma is called glammy 

[fraidycat]

My son called my parents Buppa and Bee when he was little. We can only surmise that he got Bee from the fact that my grandma was called Granny B. by everyone, so he assumed all grandmas were "B". 😁

[stephanier.1765]

Gigi. I'd been okay if the kids had come up with something on their own but I chose Gigi and that's what they use. For DH, he wanted to be called Grandpa but the kids changed that to Papa and he's happy with it.

[ChickaDeeDeeDee]

Granny does sound old,  but I think plain 'ole Grandma is a bit of a badge of honor -

You're now the GRAND one, not just the regular Ma  

Implies that you've grown to an additional role in the family.  The mom to the mom.  

 

Other things too.  

I guess,  do you want to be seen as the matriarch of the family or as more of a friend/peer, or some other image?  That probably matters in what you'd like to be called and somewhat depends on existing family dynamics.   You need the word that fits with the role you have and/or want 🙂

 

[theelfqueen]

I'm hoping for Gran. Someday. In the far off future lol

[Kanin]

I had a Grammie and Papa. I know a Mimi which I think is cute. 

[Beth S]

I'm Mumzy.  From Ripping Yarns with Miechael Palin.

Sadly, I can't find a youtube clip.

My dh is Opa = German for Grandfather.
 

[Ann.without.an.e]

11 minutes ago, stephanier.1765 said:

Gigi. I'd been okay if the kids had come up with something on their own but I chose Gigi and that's what they use. For DH, he wanted to be called Grandpa but the kids changed that to Papa and he's happy with it.

 

I'm trying to come up with something all on my own because my son and my other dd's bf have this bright idea that I should be called homie 🤣  Thank goodness these boys are very unlikely to be the first with kids 😝  So I have this stellar plan to pick a name and drill it into everyone's heads while talking to my new grand-dog. The other day I was calling myself GiGi to her so maybe that'll be it. 

[hippymamato3]

45 minutes ago, alisoncooks said:

Both of my grandmothers were just plain, ol’ Grandma.

My kids call my parents Mama and Papa. My brother’s kids call them Memaw and Papa. I *sooooo* dislike “memaw,” lol. It sounds so country. 😉

My MIL is Granny. She’s always been an older grandma, so Granny feels appropriate. 

I personally also know a Mimi and a Nanny. 

Aren't you Mama though? My mom is a Mimi. My MIL was a Memere. I don't have a strong feeling about what I will be called.

[alisoncooks]

17 minutes ago, hippymamato3 said:

Aren't you Mama though? My mom is a Mimi. My MIL was a Memere. I don't have a strong feeling about what I will be called.

Nope. I’m always Mommy. Unless my teen is exasperated; then I’m Mother. 

[HS Mom in NC]

Gran: simple, straight-forward, classic, easy to pronounce. 

I was raised in part by one of my grandmothers and didn't know the other.  I called her Grandmother, but it wasn't a formal relationship, she was the sweetest woman to ever walk the earth. Her kids and nieces and nephews called her mother Grandmother.  My kids call my mother, Grandmother. I'll be the one to break the link in that chain.

I called her husband Grandad. My kids, his great-grandchildren knew him and called him Grandad too. My husband consistently jokes he wants to be called Pappy.

My step-dad is Grandfather Bob.  My dad is Grampa Roli.  (His name is Rolan.)  When my cousin was little he called him Uncle Roli, which my husband thought was so cute, and it made my dad nostalgic about his nephew, so that was that.

My husband and I don't come from a family cultures that look favorably at adults adopting baby talk, so the Memaw/Gigi stuff doesn't fly. When my mother jokingly teases that she'll do something I don't like I pull out the big guns and say things like, "Keep it up, and the kids will be calling you Memaw." Then she acts like she's horrified and immediately drops it.

My husband's family took the Gramma/Grammie and Grampa route. 

[Mrs Tiggywinkle]

My mom is Mimi, my MiL is Grandma, my grandmother is Grammie.  My great grandmother, who lived long enough for several of her great great grandchildren to talk, was Gram to everyone for about 60 years lol.

[SoCal_Bear]

I have a older friend from my old church. She is really into fashion and dance so her grandkids call her Glammy!

[MEmama]

1 hour ago, Ann.without.an.e said:

 

YES, I agree with you 100%. My Grandmothers were all maw maw and no, I'd rather die 🤣

When we had DS (first grand child)  MIL wanted to be called MeeMaw or something equally atrocious. We started referring to her immediately as Grandma. AFAIK all her grandkids call her that as well.

Neither DH nor I had ever heard of such a name before.

Edited September 29, 2021 by MEmama

[iamonlyone]

Maternal grandparents: Mam-ma and Pap-pa (pronounced ma'am maw and pap paw)

My mom and dad: Gran and Grandpa (although one set of grandkids called her Big Grandma, which is funny as she was 5'2" and 115 lbs. and their other grandma is larger 😆)

My ILs: PawPaw and MiMi (She chose Gram, but our dd26 was the first grandchild and doubled the final consonants of words when she talked, so she called her MiMi and it stuck.)

I'm considering Nan, which is similar to my first name and a nickname I was called in high school. My husband prefers Grandpa Lastname, as that was the tradition in his family (i.e., Grandma or Grandpa Lastname)—but I jokingly tell him I'm going to insist on MeMaw and TayTay!

[Not_a_Number]

1 hour ago, Farrar said:

Farrar.

I mean, the kids already call me by my name. I've given up trying for anything else.

My grandmother wanted to be "Granny." But then the oldest grandchild kept calling her "Banny" and it stuck and she basically had that name for everyone under 50 in the entire town by the time she died. You just don't get to pick, I think. The universe picks for you.

Also, I assume that folks have seen this mildly amusing sketch about this topic:

 

OK, that's hilarious. I love the Meemaw one... 

[MooCow]

I originally wanted to be Gigi, but I live in the south and apparently Gigi means great grandma lol

[Ann.without.an.e]

28 minutes ago, Homeschool Mom in AZ said:

My husband and I don't come from a family cultures that look favorably at adults adopting baby talk, so the Memaw/Gigi stuff doesn't fly. When my mother jokingly teases that she'll do something I don't like I pull out the big guns and say things like, "Keep it up, and the kids will be calling you Memaw." Then she acts like she's horrified and immediately drops it.

My husband's family took the Gramma/Grammie and Grampa route. 

 

My son and potential future SIL are totally going to pull that with homie, I can see it now 🤣. "Keep it up and we'll have them call you homie" 😝

I don't think of Gigi as baby talk at all, it is just a nickname. My mom is nana and I think both are cute, but we're pretty laid back. We have 0% snobby family expectations in us (🤣) and don't really look unfavorably on others for their choices, but to each their own. 

[Ann.without.an.e]

1 minute ago, MooCow said:

I originally wanted to be Gigi, but I live in the south and apparently Gigi means great grandma lol

 

 

ummmm I live in the south and I'll be Gigi if I want to 🤣  I've never heard of it as a great grandma thing

[MooCow]

1 minute ago, Ann.without.an.e said:

 

 

ummmm I live in the south and I'll be Gigi if I want to 🤣  I've never heard of it as a great grandma thing

Well my in-laws are quite Southern LOL, so it was explained to me. I pretty much do whatever my daughter-in-law request because she's so awesome! 

[annandatje]

Potential grandchildren may call me whatever they wish within reason.  I called my grandmother "granny."

[Clarita]

My kids call my MIL and FIL granma and granpa. My mother they call PoPo, because in chinese all your relations have specific names to be called.

[Ann.without.an.e]

Just now, annandatje said:

Potential grandchildren may call me whatever they wish within reason.  I called my grandmother "granny."

But not homie, right?  I'm not outside of reason to say no, boys, you cannot teach your children to call me homie 🤣

[annandatje]

I would accept "homie" once in a great while if it was all in good fun and not rude, but definitely not as my usual moniker.

[73349]

I'd choose Nana. I don't see myself as a Granny, Grammy, or Grandma.

However, I will answer to practically anything a little one calls me. And I have hopefully15+ years before it's a question.

[Spryte]

My mother is an Uma. I always liked that one, it suits her. We also have a Nonnie, a Nama, and the ubiquitous Grandma.

Kids have had a blast this afternoon deciding DH and my grandparent names for some day far in the future! Hysterical.

[Jann in TX]

I have a grandson (22 months!).  He and his mom (middle dd) live with us.  DD has health issues so DH and I are doing the 'child raising'.

I wanted to be called 'Jaja' because that is what my friends in Uganda call the older women... DH didn't like it-.  I settled on Grammy (my 2nd choice).  GS calls me Mom-Mom.  So sorry kid-- I'm going to do everything in my power to change this!!

DH decided to be called 'Granddad'-  GS tries to say Granddad-- it comes out as either 'Dod-dod' or 'GOD'd!

 

[Ann.without.an.e]

20 minutes ago, Carolina Wren said:

I'd choose Nana. I don't see myself as a Granny, Grammy, or Grandma.

However, I will answer to practically anything a little one calls me. And I have hopefully15+ years before it's a question.

 

See, I love nana so we called my mom that for my kids. Not exactly the best thinking in the long run 🤣. 

[lynn]

I go by Nana my husband hasn't decided so right now it's grandfather.  

[fairfarmhand]

1 hour ago, Beth S said:

I'm Mumzy.  From Ripping Yarns with Miechael Palin.

Sadly, I can't find a youtube clip.

My dh is Opa = German for Grandfather.
 

MY dd calls me Mumzie, so I wouldnt be surprised if I end up as that.

But I'd like to be Nan.

My mothers mom was Grandmother (yes, we said it like that.) And Grandad. 

My dad's parents were Meemaw and Pawpaw.

My mom was Nana, Dad is Papa. Step mom is Grandma K (her first name)

Dhs parents were Grandma and PawPaw. 

[lynn]

34 minutes ago, Carolina Wren said:

I'd choose Nana. I don't see myself as a Granny, Grammy, or Grandma.

However, I will answer to practically anything a little one calls me. And I have hopefully15+ years before it's a question.

My cousins and I all chose to be called Nana.  We had an amazing Nana and we all want to follow her legacy.

[Ann.without.an.e]

7 minutes ago, lynn said:

My cousins and I all chose to be called Nana.  We had an amazing Nana and we all want to follow her legacy.

Love that ❤️ 

[Guest]

I plan to be a normal name like Grandma/Grandmom. I dislike people coming up with strange iterations just because they think “Grandma” sounds like an old person. I don’t mind foreign iterations, though, if they make sense, like YaYa for a Greek or Oma for…is it Dutch? I forget. Someone I know has a made-up iteration and I think it’s…really dumb. It’s a sort of portmanteau of her initials with a diminutive stuck on the end. Not a fan.

I wrote a short story about this topic, and also baby names, right before the pandemic. I had intended to find a publishing outlet for it but I lost my mojo on it and now I think the window had closed (because it talks about the “Abcde” kid).  

[Ann.without.an.e]

8 minutes ago, Quill said:

I plan to be a normal name like Grandma/Grandmom. I dislike people coming up with strange iterations just because they think “Grandma” sounds like an old person. I don’t mind foreign iterations, though, if they make sense, like YaYa for a Greek or Oma for…is it Dutch? I forget. Someone I know has a made-up iteration and I think it’s…really dumb. It’s a sort of portmanteau of her initials with a diminutive stuck on the end. Not a fan.

I wrote a short story about this topic, and also baby names, right before the pandemic. I had intended to find a publishing outlet for it but I lost my mojo on it and now I think the window had closed (because it talks about the “Abcde” kid).  

 

Our last name starts with G so Grandma G can be shortened to Gigi so that was my thinking. I just don't feel old enough to be called Grandma tbh. It is weird to me. I haven't even hit menopause, I still have kids at home. My mom was the same way, she was 38 and had a 4 year old when dd was born so she was more comfy with nana. I don't tend to dislike what other people choose. It seems strange to have strong opinions about other people's choices that don't directly impact me. But again, to each his own ❤️ 

Edited September 29, 2021 by Ann.without.an.e

[Guest]

4 minutes ago, Ann.without.an.e said:

 

Our last name starts with G so Grandma G can be shortened to Gigi so that was my thinking. I just don't feel old enough to be called Grandma tbh. It is weird to me. I haven't even hit menopause, I still have kids at home. My mom was the same way, she was 38 and had a 4 year old when dd was born so she was more comfy with nana. I don't tend to dislike what other people choose. It seems strange to have strong opinions about other people's choices that don't directly impact me. But again, to each his own ❤️ 

Yeah, you’re right. I just cringe when I hear the name I don’t like. But you’re right; it’s not my circus, so whatever. I wouldn’t advise someone to make one up, though. 
Gigi is pretty mainstream, as is Mimi and Nana. I know someone named Nancy who uses Nana; that seems fine to me. 

I don’t get “not old enough” to be called by a common grandmother name. Technically, anyone old enough to have a kid old enough to produce a baby could be a grandma. I wrote on here before how my cousin was a great-grandma at just 50, give or take a year. And my aunt was still living and so was a great-great grandma! 

[Eos]

In our family Grandmother and Grandfather are for the maternal side, Grandma and Grandpa are paternal.  I only want to be Grandmother, though, so my boys will have to live with that.  My terribly proper Quaker lady Grandmother declared when my eldest was tiny that her choice as a great-grandmother was Granny, which was kind of a hoot.  So if my mother gets any great-grandchildren, meaning I get some grandchildren, she will continue the Granny tradition.

Edited September 29, 2021 by Harpymom