# Mama, Mamma, or Momma: how do you spell it? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 15, 2016, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mama-mamma-or-momma-how-do-you-spell-it/749072 "2016-03-15T15:08:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2016, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mama-mamma-or-momma-how-do-you-spell-it/749072/41 "2016-03-16T23:57:52Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > I grew up spelling it Mama but increasingly I’m seeing momma and I get autocorrected to Mamma. > > How do you write it? I spell it _mama_. Which has nothing to do with what I called my mother. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2016, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mama-mamma-or-momma-how-do-you-spell-it/749072/42 "2016-03-17T13:45:13Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Mama. But it doesn’t rhyme with drama. How do you say “drama”? Is it that the first vowel is more like the one in Dramamine? ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2016, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mama-mamma-or-momma-how-do-you-spell-it/749072/43 "2016-03-17T14:21:55Z")
Mama, llama, and comma rhyme for me. Drama sounds more like draw-ma – in IPA I _think_ the vowel is a “ɔ” rather than an “ä” for the other ones. ---
**Author:** ![Atomic\_Mama](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5ac83/32.png) [@Atomic\_Mama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atomic_Mama)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2016, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mama-mamma-or-momma-how-do-you-spell-it/749072/44 "2016-03-17T16:41:34Z")
This should be obvious from my Doper handle. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_Hey\_Paula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hey\_Hey\_Paula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_Hey_Paula)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2016, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mama-mamma-or-momma-how-do-you-spell-it/749072/45 "2016-03-17T18:28:26Z")
> [@Infovore](#): > > For me (from California), all those words rhyme with each other. Mama, drama, llama, and comma. Same here. Hello, fellow Californian! ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2016, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mama-mamma-or-momma-how-do-you-spell-it/749072/46 "2016-03-17T18:47:06Z")
Drama, Llama, Santa. Comma isn’t exactly like Mama, but that didn’t deter Frank Zappa: “She said she was a magic **mama** , and she could throw a mean tarot, Then carried on without a **comma** , That she was someone I should know.” ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2016, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mama-mamma-or-momma-how-do-you-spell-it/749072/47 "2016-03-17T20:05:33Z")
With just those three choices, I’d spell it Momma, but like others I never called her that. Usually Mom, but sometimes Mommie Dearest ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2016, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mama-mamma-or-momma-how-do-you-spell-it/749072/48 "2016-03-18T12:35:48Z")
I use ma or mammy. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2016, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mama-mamma-or-momma-how-do-you-spell-it/749072/49 "2016-03-18T21:58:21Z")
I would generally use momma with the understanding that it was spoken similarly to the word comma. I might use mama if it was being used by a very young child or doll, where the pronunciation would be more closer to rhyme with the bah bah, in “bah bah blacksheep”. I personally call my mother mom. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2016, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mama-mamma-or-momma-how-do-you-spell-it/749072/50 "2016-03-18T23:59:12Z")
“Mum” or “mummy” (which drives her nuts). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mama-mamma-or-momma-how-do-you-spell-it/749072.md?page=2)