# Grandma & Grandpa? Granny & Grandad? Nana & Papa? Grandparents' names ... **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 16, 2005, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandma-grandpa-granny-grandad-nana-papa-grandparents-names/299644 "2005-04-16T16:26:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Captain\_Roscoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f6c823/32.png) [@Captain\_Roscoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Roscoe)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2005, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandma-grandpa-granny-grandad-nana-papa-grandparents-names/299644/21 "2005-04-16T20:04:25Z")
I have: **Gran and Pap** (formerly Granny and Pappy) - my mum’s mum and her second husband **Grandad** - my mums dad **Black nanny with the big shoes on** (my five yr old name that stuck) - my dad’s mum **Yaya and Bapu** - my dad’s dad and his second wife (she is Greek, and her became Greek Orthodox when they married, so we use the Greek names for grandparents - I don’t know if that’s spelt correctly, but that’s how you say it) **Nanny G and Grandad G** - my half-brothers grandparents (his dad’d mum and dad, whew!), who I’m very close to. I also have quite a few great-granparents, but I’m not going to go into that right now. ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2005, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandma-grandpa-granny-grandad-nana-papa-grandparents-names/299644/22 "2005-04-16T20:09:12Z")
Mom’s parents: Ummie (grandmother) and Ubbie (grandfather) - this is from Ami and Afi, which are the Icelandic words. Dad’s parents: Grandma and Grandpa. Dave’s bio-mom is known as Ma’amaw, and all the other grandparents (my parents and his) are known as Grandma and Grandpa. ---
**Author:** ![Eleusis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Eleusis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleusis)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2005, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandma-grandpa-granny-grandad-nana-papa-grandparents-names/299644/23 "2005-04-16T20:16:41Z")
Dad’s mother: Grandmother stepdad’s mother: Grandma Aunt’s mother: Ma-maw (the “Ma” part is prounced with a short “a” as in hat) Aunt’s father: Pa-paw (as above) If I have ever had kids, my mother-in-law wants be Nan-ah ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Tonya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/4491bb/32.png) [@Queen\_Tonya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Tonya)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2005, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandma-grandpa-granny-grandad-nana-papa-grandparents-names/299644/24 "2005-04-16T20:17:07Z")
For whatever reason, we had a Grandma Firstname and a Grandma Lastname growing up, and one Pawpaw. Great’s on one side were Grandpa and Mawmaw, the others were Great-Gramma and Great-Grampa. When my generation started breeding and most of my grandparents were still around, my mother choose Meemaw to distinguish herself from the ranks. Sounds like the children are braying, but she likes it. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Anastasaeon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Anastasaeon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anastasaeon)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2005, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandma-grandpa-granny-grandad-nana-papa-grandparents-names/299644/25 "2005-04-16T20:37:41Z")
My father’s side: his father died shortly after WWII, so we just had a Grammy. The few pictures we had of our grandfather were simply shown to us and commented: “That is your grandfather.” MY mother’s side: we have disowned our maternal grandfather, and never saw him anyway, so from what’s left, we have a: Nanny and Edgar. Edgar is Nanny’s “boyfriend” of like, 24 years or some such. Nanny is Catholic and has some kind of concerns about remarrying or something along those lines, and she’s a big, silly goose because she’s too scared to go talk to the priest about it. My mother is working on this. Until then, it is “Nanny and Edgar”. He’s the only man I’ve ever known who we could come close to calling a Grandfather, and we call him Edgar. My mother’s family is Acadienne, and she always called her grandparents (sadly gone before I could meet them), and my grandmother _also_ called her own grandparents: Mamere and Papere. This all makes me wonder what I’ll be called someday… did your grandparents choose what to be called? In my family, that’s what my mother tells me happened with us as kids, they discussed it all before we were born. It made me think, because my husband and I are thinking about starting our family within the next couple of years, and my mother is beyond excited about this, but what to call them both just hasn’t come up. ---
**Author:** ![Anastasaeon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Anastasaeon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anastasaeon)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2005, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandma-grandpa-granny-grandad-nana-papa-grandparents-names/299644/26 "2005-04-16T20:40:41Z")
> [@umop ap!sdn](#): > > We used to call my father’s parents Mémère and Pépère because they were French Canadian. And _that’s_ how you spell it. :smack: (hey, I can speak it, I can understand it, but don’t ask me to _spell_ it!) ---
**Author:** ![stretch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@stretch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stretch)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2005, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandma-grandpa-granny-grandad-nana-papa-grandparents-names/299644/27 "2005-04-16T20:56:39Z")
When we were kids, we (the cousins) called them Grandma and Grandpa Lastname for both mom’s and dad’s parents. My kids has a plethora of grandparents, so it ended up being Grandma Firstname and Grandpa Firstname all the way around with the exception of their dad’s Grandma Lastname (including my parents, step-parents, grandparents, their dad’s parents, my current husband’s parents and step-parents). So, my kids currently have Grandpa: Mike, Harold, Glen, Gordy, Dave; and Grandma: Arti, Ora, Pat, Darlene, Celia, Bobbie. Now I’m a grandma, too, and I have no idea what I’m gonna get called (Michael is only 7 months old). But he has all the above grandparents and then his dad’s side, so I’m thinking first names will continue to be the rule. I so do not want to be Meemaw. I want to be Super Grandma instead. ---
**Author:** ![Ace309](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ace309/32/1050_2.png) [@Ace309](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ace309)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2005, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandma-grandpa-granny-grandad-nana-papa-grandparents-names/299644/28 "2005-04-16T21:16:17Z")
The only grandparent I had was “Grandma Murray,” of the “Grandma Lastname” formula. My cousins had Grandma Murray and a Granny, as well as a Grandpa (married, of course, to Granny). My paternal grandmother was referred to in the abstract as Grandma Mylastname. One of the other sets of cousins had “Grandma Ellen,” whose name was in fact Margaret, and “Grandma Jackie,” whose name was in fact Ellen. Margaret ceded her right to be Grandma Margaret when Ellen decided she wanted to be called whatever Jackie O would be called by her grandchildren but said it would be an awful shame if there was no Grandma Ellen. One of the cousins who had the Granny now has a daughter of her own, who calls my aunt and uncle “Granny” and “Paw.” My ex-girlfriend had Grandma, Grandpa, Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop. The kids down the street had, as I recall, an Omi and Opa. ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2005, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandma-grandpa-granny-grandad-nana-papa-grandparents-names/299644/29 "2005-04-16T21:28:42Z")
I had a ton of grandparents, through various marriages of my parents’ and their parents: Mom’s mom and her husband: Gramma and Papa Mom’s dad and his wife: Grampa and Gramma Albie (Her name was Albina) Dad’s mom: Grandma (surname) sometimes called Cookie Grandma (quite the baker, that one!) Dad’s dad was gone before I was born, but he was referred to as Grandpa (surname.) Stepdad’s parents: Nonny and Poppy Stepdad’s grandparents (alive until I was in my 20s): Nonna and Pa or Big Pa Second stepdad’s parents: Pop and Betty My daughter has: My mom and her significant other: Nonny and Vern The WryGuy’s parents: Grandma and Grandpa (although her cousin calls them Bomma and Bompa - babytalk that stuck.) ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2005, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandma-grandpa-granny-grandad-nana-papa-grandparents-names/299644/30 "2005-04-16T21:49:34Z")
> [@](#): > > **Eleusis** : Dad’s mother: Grandmother Love it. You are the only one! And I saw no one called “Grandfather.” As soon as I saw that, I looked to see if you live in the South. I was relieved to see a couple of people who still use “Grandaddy.” I am called “Grammy” by my grandchildren. But you have to expect that in Nashville. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2005, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandma-grandpa-granny-grandad-nana-papa-grandparents-names/299644/31 "2005-04-17T00:04:10Z")
I called them Grandpa (dad’s dad) and Grandma (mom’s mom). Her dad died before I was a year old, and his mom died when he was two, so I didn’t know either of them. When my older brother was small, he called them “Gimmee” and “Pap Pap.” ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2005, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandma-grandpa-granny-grandad-nana-papa-grandparents-names/299644/32 "2005-04-17T00:37:50Z")
My mom’s parents are Grandma and Grandpa. My dad’s mom is Bubbe (pr. “bubby”). I was fifteen when I realized that this is the Yiddish word for grandmother. How dumb was I, seriously? But I didn’t grow up in a very Jewish area and I didn’t know anyone else who had a bubbe, so I always assumed it was a made-up word. Durrrr. My dad’s dad died long before I was born, so he’s not really referred to as anything. I guess I think of him as my Zeyde, the Yiddish word for grandfather, but obviously that’s not a term I grew up. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2005, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandma-grandpa-granny-grandad-nana-papa-grandparents-names/299644/33 "2005-04-17T00:38:53Z")
> [@me](#): > > obviously that’s not a term I grew up. Grew up WITH. Look, proofreading is hard, okay? ---
**Author:** ![Creaky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e68b1a/32.png) [@Creaky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Creaky)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2005, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandma-grandpa-granny-grandad-nana-papa-grandparents-names/299644/34 "2005-04-17T01:04:19Z")
Father’s mom: Nana Father’s dad: Pop-pop Mother’s mom: Mammo Mother’s dad: Grandaddy ---
**Author:** ![pasunejen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/58956e/32.png) [@pasunejen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pasunejen)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2005, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandma-grandpa-granny-grandad-nana-papa-grandparents-names/299644/35 "2005-04-17T01:45:49Z")
Father’s parents: Grandma and Grandpa Mother’s parents: Grampy and Mimi. In both cases these are what my parents called their paternal grandparents. ---
**Author:** ![Agonist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/439d5e/32.png) [@Agonist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agonist)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2005, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandma-grandpa-granny-grandad-nana-papa-grandparents-names/299644/36 "2005-04-17T02:27:22Z")
By his request, my friend’s kids call her father Grandpa Curmudgeon. It’s very cute. I had Grandpa Joe and Bam (because the oldest of the cousins had started calling her “Bamma”), and Grandpa George and Grandma (no distinguishing name required). ---
**Author:** ![Anastasaeon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Anastasaeon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anastasaeon)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2005, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandma-grandpa-granny-grandad-nana-papa-grandparents-names/299644/37 "2005-04-17T02:33:52Z")
Hee! I just remembered my husband’s grandmother, it slipped my mind completely. I think it’s one of the cutest names for a grandmother… When her own children were just young, during the day when she would look after them, she’d remain quiet and tolerant, and they would get away with murder. However, when her husband would come home, she would report back to him every single thing each child did, and they would get punished. This earned her the nickname “Benedict Arnold”. All of her granchildren call her “Grandma Bennie”. This Christmas she gave me a gift with the wonderful tag: “To Anastasia, From Bennie”. I told my husband that I wasn’t sure if that meant I was accepted into the family - or that I should watch my back! Either way, I think it’s cute. ---
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2005, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandma-grandpa-granny-grandad-nana-papa-grandparents-names/299644/38 "2005-04-17T02:50:25Z")
It’s been a long time since I’ve ever had to distinguish between grandparents. My grandfathers were never in my life at the same time. Both my grandmothers were in my life from when I was born until I was about 8, but one lived in Ottawa and the other was in Vancouver, so I can’t remember a time when both were even in the same city(but apparently it happened a few times, when me and my siblings were born). Anyway, maternal grandmother - Grandma maternal grandfather - Papa paternal grandmother - Gran paternal grandfather - Grandpa My younger siblings call my paternal grandfather’s second wife “Grandma”, but I don’t think that I’ll ever be able to call her that. It’s not that I don’t like her or anything, but I knew my maternal grandmother well, while my brother and sister were pretty young when she died. I doubt my sister would remember her. ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2005, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandma-grandpa-granny-grandad-nana-papa-grandparents-names/299644/39 "2005-04-17T03:23:31Z")
gramma, granpa gramma, pops ---
**Author:** ![davenportavenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f8ce5/32.png) [@davenportavenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davenportavenger)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2005, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandma-grandpa-granny-grandad-nana-papa-grandparents-names/299644/40 "2005-04-17T03:36:38Z")
Maternal grandfather: Grandpap Maternal grandmother: Grandma Paternal grandfather: Granddad Paternal grandmother: n/a because she died before I was born, but since my dad called his grandmother Nana, that probably would have been her name too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandma-grandpa-granny-grandad-nana-papa-grandparents-names/299644.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandma-grandpa-granny-grandad-nana-papa-grandparents-names/299644.md?page=3)