# I have no name--what do you call YOUR grandmother? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 28, 2008, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-no-name-what-do-you-call-your-grandmother/461581 "2008-08-28T18:16:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![levi1820](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@levi1820](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levi1820)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-no-name-what-do-you-call-your-grandmother/461581/81 "2008-09-04T09:41:26Z")
I call my grandmother Mamaw (what can I say? I live in the mountains of North Carolina.) My son calls my Mom Nonna. My Step-dad is Italian, so it fits for her. ---
**Author:** ![UncaStuart](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uncastuart/32/404_2.png) [@UncaStuart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncaStuart)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-no-name-what-do-you-call-your-grandmother/461581/82 "2008-09-04T15:05:17Z")
My maternal grandmother was Gammy, my paternal grandmother was Dada, pronounced DAY-da, from her name, Ada. My wife became a grandmother at 36. Ten grandkids later she is Samma (from Samantha) to all of them. Parenthetically, I am Granpa Doug to most of the kids. For a whiile in each case I was Granpa Duck when they were having trouble distinguishing the hard G from a K. I was kind of disappointed when they each grew out of it. However, one set of grandsons, 7 and 10, now call me Biddyguck for fun, which is how one of their cousins mangled Granpa Doug for a while. ---
**Author:** ![Clovernook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ec9cab/32.png) [@Clovernook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clovernook)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-no-name-what-do-you-call-your-grandmother/461581/83 "2008-09-04T20:21:12Z")
My maternal grandmother was “Nannie.” My paternal grandmother was “Grandma [First Name].” My paternal step-grandparents were “Grandma/Grandpa [Last Name].” My maternal step-grandparents were “Pappy” and “[First Name].” ---
**Author:** ![lizardling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f4b2a3/32.png) [@lizardling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lizardling)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-no-name-what-do-you-call-your-grandmother/461581/84 "2008-09-04T21:25:26Z")
I called my grandmothers “Oma Lastname”, _never_ by their first names. I think I grew up thinking that ‘Oma’ really was their first name. 😃 Same goes for the Opas. My family’s Indonesian, so I’m not really surprised that we went with ‘Oma’ given Indonesia used to be a Dutch colony. …come to think of it, I really can’t remember any of their firstnames. Except for my maternal grandmother and that’s because I have her address. ---
**Author:** ![buttonjockey308](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@buttonjockey308](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buttonjockey308)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-no-name-what-do-you-call-your-grandmother/461581/85 "2008-09-04T21:42:05Z")
Dead. /rimshot Never knew a Grandmother, but my Mother’s dad was Grampa Swede and my Father’s dad was Poppy. ---
**Author:** ![Proudest\_Monkey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/proudest_monkey/32/13257_2.png) [@Proudest\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Proudest_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-no-name-what-do-you-call-your-grandmother/461581/86 "2008-09-04T22:58:16Z")
I may have posted this before. My dad’s parents were Masy and Pasy (pronounced Mah-zee and Pah-zee), named by me as soon as I could talk, and called that by virtually everyone who knew them thereafter. At my Masy’s funeral, there were people who didn’t know her real name, but knew she was Masy. My other grandparents were more mundanely called Grammie Rand and Grampie Rand. My mother-in-law is Mimi to her grandchildren. ---
**Author:** ![Batsinma\_Belfry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@Batsinma\_Belfry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Batsinma_Belfry)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-no-name-what-do-you-call-your-grandmother/461581/87 "2008-09-04T23:13:43Z")
Both grandmothers died before I was born. However, my mom was a grandmother when I was born, and she was “Nana” to one set of grandkids, and “Granny Lastname” to the other set. ---
**Author:** ![Septima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@Septima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Septima)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-no-name-what-do-you-call-your-grandmother/461581/88 "2008-09-05T09:45:00Z")
In norwegian, an alternative to mormor/farmor is “Bestemor” (Best Mother. I don’t know why) with the shortened form being “Besta”. Since the norwegian word “best” is identical in meaning to the english one, I thought you might like it. ---
**Author:** ![leander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bcef8e/32.png) [@leander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leander)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-no-name-what-do-you-call-your-grandmother/461581/89 "2008-09-05T10:39:29Z")
Granna Grappa My parents drink too much wine ---
**Author:** ![TroubleAgain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e480ec/32.png) [@TroubleAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroubleAgain)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-no-name-what-do-you-call-your-grandmother/461581/90 "2008-09-05T15:09:51Z")
I called my grandmothers “Grandmother” and “Granny.” My MIL is called “Nanna” by her grandkids, and my mother is called GeeGee (with a hard G.) My husband’s grandmothers are Granny (lastname), both of them. ---
**Author:** ![Foxy40](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a9a28c/32.png) [@Foxy40](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foxy40)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-no-name-what-do-you-call-your-grandmother/461581/91 "2008-09-05T15:29:00Z")
I call them grandma and grandpa. But they don’t answer because they are dead. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-no-name-what-do-you-call-your-grandmother/461581/92 "2008-09-05T15:39:54Z")
I called my own grandmothers Grammy and Grandma [Last name]. My mother and I cooked up “Grandmother” for her … is sounds nice and dignified and once the kids are used to it, it doesn’t sound so formal. My 4-year-old has started saying Grammymother, which charms us all, so that’s what she’ll probably stay. Other side is Grandma and Grandad ---
**Author:** ![THespos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@THespos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/THespos)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-no-name-what-do-you-call-your-grandmother/461581/93 "2008-09-05T18:35:47Z")
My grandmothers were “Mom Mom” (pronounced “Mum mum”) and “Nana.” I recently had my first child. My sister and my wife’s sister had kids before us, so the grandmother titles were already pretty well-established. My mom is “Gigi,” which has always been her nickname. My wife’s mom is “Grammy.” ---
**Author:** ![BetsQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@BetsQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BetsQ)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-no-name-what-do-you-call-your-grandmother/461581/94 "2008-09-05T18:52:31Z")
> [@Kid\_A](#): > > Baba (like the sound a sheep makes; it’s Macedonian for Grandmother) and Yia Ya (Yia rhymes with “eye”; Greek for Grandmother) Hey, ignorance fought! There’s an older Greek woman in our neighborhood who everyone calls Ya-ya, and I never knew why! To answer the OP, some of the grandmotherly names around our family: Grandma Nonnie Granny Grammie and my favorite - Big Mama (my grandmother’s grandmother) ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2008, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-no-name-what-do-you-call-your-grandmother/461581/95 "2008-09-06T00:35:20Z")
My mother’s mother is “Momma”. My father’s mother is “Nana”. My father’s father is “Grandpa”. My mother’s father died before I was born. My grandpa’s second wife I call by her name “Terry” and my stepdad’s mom I called by her name “Dorothy”. Stepdad’s dad also died before I was born. I’ll sometimes refer to any of the females as “my grandmother” or “my grandma” to people who wouldn’t know who the “pet names” referred to. I call my mom “Mom” and my dad “Dad” though I called him “Papa” when I was littler. ---
**Author:** ![calm\_kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2008, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-no-name-what-do-you-call-your-grandmother/461581/96 "2008-09-06T11:28:49Z")
My mother called both her grandmothers Grandma. When I was born my grandmother declared that only old ladies were Grandma and she would be known as Nana. When my son was born my mother declared that only old ladies were Nana and she would be known as Grandma. Have your grandchild call you what ever makes you happy, just realise will be a very special relationship. ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2008, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-no-name-what-do-you-call-your-grandmother/461581/97 "2008-09-07T02:06:35Z")
> [@Balance](#): > > For what it’s worth, my brother and I called our maternal grandmother “Grammarie” when we were kids. (We’ve picked up her great-grandkids’ habit of calling her “Gramma” or “Gammy” now.) Of course, unless your first name happens to also be “Marie”, that won’t likely help. 🙂 > The distribution of the word “baba” fascinates me. I didn’t know it was Macedonian for Grandmother, but I knew about the similar “babcia” in Polish. I believe “baba” also means “grandmother” or “old woman” in Russian, and I know it means “old woman” (or, more rudely, “old hag”) in Japanese. Some of the uses likely share roots, but in others I suspect it derives from the process of language acquisition in children, similar to parallels in the use of “mama” and “papa” in several widely separately languages. My family uses Baba as well (the whole extended family!) One of my cousins actually used Grandma, and we all think she’s a freak because of it. I’m Ukrainian, so it came from that language. Well, I mean, my ancestry is Ukrainian, not that I am actually from the Ukraine. You know what I mean. ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2008, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-no-name-what-do-you-call-your-grandmother/461581/98 "2008-09-07T10:18:47Z")
The only grandparent I knew personally and lived with was Grandma. No other title was ever mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![Jaade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/dfb087/32.png) [@Jaade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaade)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2008, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-no-name-what-do-you-call-your-grandmother/461581/99 "2008-09-07T10:53:31Z")
Nanny and Papa across the board and when I was born I had at least 10 living grands and great grands that I recall off the top of my head - including two great-great grandmothers. One of my great-great grands I called Nanny Mac and the rest usually by Nanny “first-name”. (Nanny Mac was a McDonald) Only one step-grandparent was called only by her first name. I think my mom and siblings didn’t much care for her and so she was simply “first-name” to all the cousins, too. My mother called her grandparents Nanny and Granddaddy. I don’t know why my generation changed his name to Papa. My kids, 2 being half German, all refer to their paternal grandparents as Oma and Opa. It wasn’t confusing at all to call them all one set of names. I think each family just finds something that fits their style and relationship. ---
**Author:** ![Nightingale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecae2f/32.png) [@Nightingale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nightingale)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2008, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-no-name-what-do-you-call-your-grandmother/461581/100 "2008-09-07T12:37:09Z")
My maternal grandparents: Grandmother and Papa My paternal grandparents: MawMaw and PawPaw My children call my in-laws Nana and PawPaw, and my parents Granny and Granddaddy. Aside: My husband is the eldest grandchild in his mom’s family, and he named his grandmother “Gammaw”, because he couldn’t pronounce Grandma, and so now all the grandchildren call her that. Except for our 3 year old, who _can_ say Grandma and refuses to call her anything else! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-no-name-what-do-you-call-your-grandmother/461581.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-no-name-what-do-you-call-your-grandmother/461581.md?page=6)