What do (or will) your grandkids call you?

[TexasProud]

I eont ever be a grandmother. Mute point. 

[Kalmia]

My mother-in-law chose "Grandma" and my mom chose "Nana", but for the first 6-7 years my ASD kid got stuck on the names and insisted that Nana was not a grandmother/his grandmother! That was hurtful to my mom. My sister and I called our grandparents Grandma Lastname and Grandpa Lastname which is what my parents called them so we could know which set they were talking about. Apparently my Grandma Lastname on my mom's side would have rather been called Grammie. 

I want to be Grammie Lolly. Lolly is a nickname my Grammie (Grandma Lastname on my mom's side) always called me. My kids think this is ridiculous. 

[TCB]

I want to be Grandmamaw as in Heidi

ETA not sure if that’s the right phonetic spelling or maybe it should be Grandmama with the accent on the last syllable.

Edited September 29, 2021 by TCB

[Cordelia]

I envision myself as a Gigi, but I suppose we'll see what actually happens when the time comes. 

[Janeway]

I have heard so many names, from Mimi to Nana, to Omma...to...whatever. Once, my mom swore my oldest, as a baby, was saying her name by saying Goo-Gaa. That was never an official name, but I did use it sometimes. Anyway, so far, I want to go old school and just be Grandma. But, I guess we will see if the grandkids call me something else. You could be Arf-Ma to your grandpuppy!

[Tree Frog]

We had a Mimi and a Papa. My kids started out calling her Momo, which she thought made her sound like a whale. When they switched to Mimi, she was a little happier. Her other grandkids, who lived further away and didn't see her as often, called her Grandma. On my side, my mom is Grandma Lastname. Her husband is PopPop. Sometimes it was confusing having a Papa and a PopPop. My dad is Grandpa FirstName and his wife is Grandma FirstName.

I'm hearing you all refer to grandma and granma as though they're 2 different words. In my family, they both sound the same. Do some of you pronounce the 'd' in grandma?

[mom2scouts]

My granddaughter calls me Oma. Well, she doesn't really talk much, but that's what her parents use. DH's birth family are German immigrants so they chose Oma and Opa for us.

Edited September 30, 2021 by mom2scouts

[Hoggirl]

Cyn-Cyn

I am not a grandmother and likely won’t be for many, many years.  My plan had always been to be called, “Queenie,” but our close friends had their first grandson, and I wound up being, “Cyn-Cyn” to him. It just happened.  So, I guess that is what I shall be!  I’m fine with that. My husband would like to be called, “Big Daddy.”

I have a friend whose name is Lori, and she goes by LaLa and hashtags all her pics with her grandson with #LaLaLand. 

My favorite story of the evolution of a grandmother name was a friend of mine who called her grandmother, “My mama.”  This moniker came about because her own mother would say, “We’re going to my mama’s house!” when they were going to visit! 

[Brittany1116]

I've always liked Nonna. 

I've had (across my family and his) Granny, Mimi, Grandma, Mammaw, Momma B__(last name)___. 

[Tap]

It will be interesting. DD22 has called me 'MO' since she was in high school. When she and dsil talk about me, they call me "MO" so I am sure my grandkids will have a  nick name for me too.  Ds27 has called me mom since I can remember so I could see his kids going with a more traditional route. 

I am fine with whatever they call me. 

~~MO comes from a Magic School Bus episode about sound, where they sing "LO de LO de LO" (alto voice) and "HI de HI de HI"  (soprano voice). I started calling her "LO de LO" so she called me "MO de MO".  Hence we call each other LO and MO. HAHA.  She has always had some atypical nick name for me growing up, so I am sure he kids will too. 🤣 

[WildflowerMom]

5 hours ago, MooCow said:

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

My mil is GiGi.   My sil jokes it's really 'GG' and stands for 'grey-haired granny'.  

[HS Mom in NC]

3 hours ago, wilrunner said:

I'm hearing you all refer to grandma and granma as though they're 2 different words. In my family, they both sound the same. Do some of you pronounce the 'd' in grandma?

Yes, Grandma means the n is clearly pronounced the d may or may not be pronounced.  When it is, it's pronounced to different degrees of clarity depending on the family culture.  Gramma means there is no n or d sound at all.

[easypeasy]

My kids tried to say “Grandpa” for my dad and all three of them started out pronouncing it “Crap’-paw.” 😄 We could not get them to say it correctly til they were each a little older and able to change that C to a G.  So he’s been called “Grappaw Firstname” for most of their years. 🤣 

The kids called MIL by her first name when she’s not with us and by grandma firstname when she is. My mom got Gran and she’s been happy with that. 
 

DH wants to be called Grandpa because he’s a traditionalist. I’m gonna leave it mostly to my kids and grandkids to decide. I don’t really care what they call me as long as they give me lots of hugs!

[HS Mom in NC]

Here's comedian homeschooler Tim Hawkins on Grandparent names for the first 1:40.

 

[HS Mom in NC]

4 minutes ago, easypeasy said:

My kids tried to say “Grandpa” for my dad and all three of them started out pronouncing it “Crap’-paw.”

My nephew started out with Crap-paw and then transitioned to Grey-paw before he finally mastered Grampa.

[Elizabeth86]

14 hours 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. 

 

 

Aww Mamaw and Papaw are just about the standard around here. That’s what I called mine and what my kids call theirs.

 

[Scarlett]

My mom is Grandma to my brothers kids, but I wanted my son to call her Nana which has annoyed my niece especially for 21 years.  
 

I campaigned to be Mimi and I think I won, I am sure because DILs mom was already a grandmother and Dss’s mom is in denial that she is a grandmother.  

Dh is going to be Poppa.  Although he doesn’t seem to care one way or the other.  

Edited September 30, 2021 by Scarlett

[Scarlett]

I know a Nene, a Nonnie; a Momo, 

 

[Faith-manor]

Mine call me Marmee. Dh is Papa Mark. Names were decided when dd was pregnant with our first grandson. There were six great-grandparents still alive and well enough to interact and visit with baby, and the four grandparents. It was going to be confusing for him if grandma or grandpa was used for everyone of them or great so and so. My MIL asks to be called granny when she became a grandmother the first time and that stuck, so one great grandparent down. Son in law's parents are just grandma and grandpa. Then there is Grammy Pat, Grammy Jane, Papa Dan, and Gramps (until he died last year, sniff sniff so he never got to meet our second grandson).

I always liked Susan Sarandon's portrayal of Marmee in Little Women so I decided maybe when I grow up I could be like her! 😁 I love the name. The boys call their mother mama (for now, it will be mom soon enough I am sure), and really haven't struggled with Marked except the not quite two year old sometimes says Mamey which, ya know, who cares! Long as I get to snuggle that cutie pie, I am good.

Edited September 30, 2021 by Faith-manor

[Faith-manor]

Papa Mark proposed Mormor and Farmor (Danish to mother of mother and father of mother), but dd wasn't that fond of those.

[Zinnia2]

My husband and I always joke about country grandma/grandpas, and we refer to them as "Mamaw and Papaw" or "Meemaw and Peepaw."   The other day we realized because we are always joking about it, that's totally going to be what we are called.  Might as well get out the corncob pipes and rocking chairs on our back porch.  We've done turned country.

[Zinnia2]

My great-grandmother was known as Mamama.  My mom is the oldest grandchild, and she heard her mother introduce her as "my mama," which stuck.  I loved Mamama, and I wouldn't mind being called that.  But when someone new marries into the family, it does cause a lot of confusion.  In our minds, "my mama" and "Mamama" are completely different and sound different, but to someone outside the family, they seemingly are the same.

[SKL]

I prefer granny, but will accept grandma if granny is taken.

I find all those shasha bawbaw jeejee names cringy.  Sorry.

[Anne]

I am Gram to my grandchildren.  My mom is Nana.  Her mom was Grandmother (very formal - brrrr!).  My husband’s mom was Grandma and we all adored her.

Anne

[Hoggirl]

2 hours ago, Anne said:

I am Gram to my grandchildren.  My mom is Nana.  Her mom was Grandmother (very formal - brrrr!).  My husband’s mom was Grandma and we all adored her.

Anne

My husband’s paternal grandmother was called, “Grandmother Last Name.”  Talk about formal! 

[rebcoola]

IAll the grandparents have been Grandma and Grandpa ( yes with the d pronounced) plus their name if needed.  

I kind of like the Gaelic Mam`o but I should have awhile before I need to really think about it.

[Annie G]

We’re Grandma and Grandpa Green, and the other grands are the same, only with their last names, of course. It’s rare that the kids actually need to use the last name part, since when they’re at our house of course ‘grandma’ means me. When we’re all together it’s still pretty unusual for them to use the last names. To make it even MORE boring, they call their great grandparents the same thing-grandma last name.  
 

I have three siblings and all four of us have kids, and ALL FOUR sets of grands called my parents different things. It was weird. Granny, Grandma, Gram, MimiJeb.   My dad is Grandpa, Pop, Papa, and Papajeb.  (The jeb part is the absolute weirdest. Not their names, not inititials, or anything. My brother was a jerk as a teenager and called my dad Jeb just to annoy him, I guess. And taught his kid to call him papajeb)

[KidsHappen]

My oldest dgc called me mum until he turned 12. The little ones called me amara until they could pronounce grandma and now they all pretty much call me grandma. I would have preferred nanna but one of my dds nickname is nanna.

[Lawyer&Mom]

My kids have a total of *eight* grandparents because I have a lot of step-parents.    Everyone is Grandma/Grandpa First Name.  Keep it simple, treat everyone equally.  This was not what some of them wanted, but it’s important to me. 

[SKL]

My dad was "grumpa" at one point, LOL.

[Ann.without.an.e]

Another issue for us is that our kiddos have two set of grandparents, one set is nana and papa (they are close to them) and the other are grandpa and grandma and we went separate ways from them about 7 years ago. My kids do not miss them, do not want them to be a part of their lives, it was a very strained and troubled relationship. My grandparents were maw maw and paw paw or poppy so the only association we have with grandma/grandpa are very negative for my own children 😞 

[Clarita]

12 hours ago, SKL said:

I find all those shasha bawbaw jeejee names cringy.  Sorry.

Bawbaw is actually the correct title for your mother's mother or generic elderly lady in certain Chinese dialects. 

I would share your cringe at weird grandma and grandpa names, but I live in an area diverse enough that I'm just not quite sure if the name being called is a legitimate name just in a different language.

[Scarlett]

9 hours ago, Clarita said:

Bawbaw is actually the correct title for your mother's mother or generic elderly lady in certain Chinese dialects. 

I would share your cringe at weird grandma and grandpa names, but I live in an area diverse enough that I'm just not quite sure if the name being called is a legitimate name just in a different language.

Interesting! Thank you.

[Lady Florida.]

We're Nonna and Pop-Pop. I wanted to be nonna because that's Italian for grandmother. Dh (no Italian heritage) didn't want to be nonno. Pop-Pop just sounded good with nonna so we went with that. We have 3 grandchildren (from dss) - 9 and 7 yo boys and a 3yo girl. Their other grandparents are just Grandma and Grandpa. 

Names in my family have been mostly Grandma- also Gramma or Gram and Grandpa. Some of my aunts or cousins chose to be Gigi or Mimi, though Nonna is also among the names used. My maternal great grandmother was Nonna but my grandmother was Grandma. Then my mom went back to Nonna. I don't know why it skipped a generation.

In dh's family it was usually Mamaw (yes, they're southern) and Grandad. MIL was Grandma though, not Mamaw.

[Lady Florida.]

On 9/29/2021 at 4:15 PM, Kassia said:

Her excuse was that "Gnam" couldn't be found on cards,

 

 

You can't find Nonna on cards either, though there are plenty that say Nana (not at all the same). The kids just pick out a grandma card they like and dss or ddil cross out whatever name is on it and write Nonna above it. Sounds like she gave a flimsy excuse.

[CAtoVA]

I'm nowhere near being a grandma myself so I don't know what I would want. I do like the idea of Gran though (from a poster upthread). 

Some neighbors I used to live next to have a Nana and a Pop Pop. My friend growing up had a Poppa. Another neighbor is Grammy to her grandkids.

Edited October 1, 2021 by CAtoVA

[Arcadia]

We are Chinese so we will go by the conventional traditional address of paternal grandfather and paternal grandmother as we only have sons. My kids address my parents as maternal grandfather and maternal grandmother. 

[Hannah]

I like BGE - pronounced BeeGee - for Best Grandma Ever.  I see grandkids in the future, but hopefully not for many years.

Growing up my grandparents were Opa + Surname and Oma + Surname.  Very formal.  They were Dutch.  My father and Stepmom are Oupa and Ouma (in Afrikaans) and Dh's parents were Grandma and Grandpa.

[Ellie]

We are Grandmother and Poppy. My maternal grandparents were Grandmother and Poppy, and I just thought we should continue that. 🙂

"Grandmother" might sound formal to some, but my grandchild doesn't know it. That's what he calls me. 🙂

[Bootsie]

DH has grandkids that call him "Opa"; they call me by my first name (which is what their parents call me). I think it depends on which of our kids has children first (and what any other existing grandparents are called by cousins) what I will be called.