# Weird things you called your g-parents, or how you kept both sets distinct **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 4, 2003, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-things-you-called-your-g-parents-or-how-you-kept-both-sets-distinct/211397 "2003-11-04T18:43:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![pervert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bbe5ce/32.png) [@pervert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pervert)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2003, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-things-you-called-your-g-parents-or-how-you-kept-both-sets-distinct/211397/21 "2003-11-05T06:16:19Z")
Maternal grandparents were papa and Grandma. Paternal grandparents were Grandpa and Grandma (rose) if needed. I do have an interesting story. The paternal Granparents were divorced and both had remarried. On a subsequent christmas My siblings and I had gotten presents for all of them. In order to tell them apart and not have to write grandpa \ on every tag, I came up with the bright idea to number them. (I know, I’m a geek). So, I thought it would be fairer to number them based on maleness, femaleness, and blood. so: Maternal Grandmother = Grandma 1 Paternal Grandmother = Grandma 2 Newest Grandmother = Grandma 3 Paternal Grandfather = Grandpa 1 Maternal Grandfather = Grandpa 2 Newest Grandfather = Grandpa 3 Of course this meant that the grandparents were not married to their opposite with the same number. so: Grandpa 1 is Married to Grandma 3. Grandpa 2 is Married to Grandma 1. And Grandpa 3 is Married to Grandma 2. Of course, My dad though it was so funny, that he made me go through the whole system for each present that went to any one of them. ---
**Author:** ![Morelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Morelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morelin)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2003, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-things-you-called-your-g-parents-or-how-you-kept-both-sets-distinct/211397/22 "2003-11-05T06:23:31Z")
Hmm, One of my sets was “green” grandma and grandpa, and the other set was “blue” grandma and grandpa. My older brother named them and I don’t remember exactly why that’s what they were called, but I think it had something to do with the colored house they lived in. And it’s been so long I can’t remember which is which anymore. ---
**Author:** ![stupidgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac8455/32.png) [@stupidgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stupidgirl)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2003, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-things-you-called-your-g-parents-or-how-you-kept-both-sets-distinct/211397/23 "2003-11-05T11:03:53Z")
My cousins call their maternal grandparents ‘Grandma and **Grumpy** ’! (And my Uncle calls them, (his parents in law) ‘The Outlaws’. Which I’ve always thought pretty funny - although as I write it here, maybe not that funny at all). My maternal great grandparents were always referred to as ‘Nana and Little Grandan’ for reasons I have no clue about. My maternal grandparents are simply ‘Granny and Grandad’ ---
**Author:** ![Angua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8baadc/32.png) [@Angua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angua)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2003, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-things-you-called-your-g-parents-or-how-you-kept-both-sets-distinct/211397/24 "2003-11-05T11:24:08Z")
Hmm… things are so much easier in Gujerati/Kutchhi/Hindi where we have seperate names for maternal and paternal grandparents: My maternal grandmother was my “nannima” or “nanni” for short, my maternal grandfather is my “nanabapa” or “nana” for short. My paternal grandmother was my “dadima” or “dadi” for short, and my paternal grandfather was my “dadobapa” or “dada” for short. See. Easy. And no cinfusion. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Odinoneeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/97f17d/32.png) [@Odinoneeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odinoneeye)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2003, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-things-you-called-your-g-parents-or-how-you-kept-both-sets-distinct/211397/25 "2003-11-05T12:05:55Z")
Dad’s side, Grandma and Grandpa Mom’s side, Tutu and Grandfather (Tutu is the Hawian word for grandmother) Now through confusion comes history… My ex and I argued over what my kids should call my father. I wanted them to call him grandpa, she wanted them to call him Papa. (what she always called her grandparents). We were leaving the kids with them for 3 days. I kept saying “You’re gonna stay with Grandpa and Tutu”, my ex, “You’re gonna stay with Papa and Tutu” When we picked the up, they were now dubbed “Grandpa and Papatutu” Papatutu has stuck to this day. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2003, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-things-you-called-your-g-parents-or-how-you-kept-both-sets-distinct/211397/26 "2003-11-05T16:11:25Z")
My Paternal: Great Grandmother = Granny Grandfather = Paw Paw [last name] Grandmother = Grandma My Maternal: Great Grandmother = Grandma [first name] Grandfather = Paw Paw Grandmother = Maw Maw ---
**Author:** ![Hyperelastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Hyperelastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hyperelastic)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2003, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-things-you-called-your-g-parents-or-how-you-kept-both-sets-distinct/211397/27 "2003-11-05T16:40:34Z")
Mother’s parents: Grandma and Grampa Father’s parents: Mamaw and Dadaw. Those are Appalachian in origin. My wife’s parents are Vietnamese. Apparently the names for mother’s parents and father’s parents are distinct in that language. ---
**Author:** ![Breezy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b3f665/32.png) [@Breezy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Breezy)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2003, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-things-you-called-your-g-parents-or-how-you-kept-both-sets-distinct/211397/28 "2003-11-05T17:11:11Z")
Maternal: Grandma (instertlastname), Grandpa (insertlastname). I’m the oldest on this side of the family, and I think everybody else calls her Maw-Maw (insertlastname). My brother and I just call her grandma though. Paternal: Grandma (insertlastname), this grandpa died WAY before I was born. Anyway, my other grandpa is dead now too. BUT, I always just call them “Grandma” when I’m talking to them. It’s when I’m talking to somebody else that I use the last name. My husband used Grandma Mary and Grandma Ellen instead of last names. BUT, he too just calls them “Grandma” when he talks to them. My little nephew calls his grandpa (my father in law) paw paw. I think it’s adorable. And so far he calls his grandma (my mother-in-law) nanya. He can’t quite get his mouth around “grandma” yet. It’s really sweet. My mom always called her grandpas Grandad. ---
**Author:** ![DaToad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@DaToad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaToad)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2003, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-things-you-called-your-g-parents-or-how-you-kept-both-sets-distinct/211397/29 "2003-11-05T17:17:40Z")
I called my maternal GF, Pap-pap (My maternal GM died when my mother was 12yrs. old) I called my paternal GF, Grandpap, and my GM, Grandma. My daughter called my mom, grandma, but named her maternal GPs, Mimi and Poppy. She was the oldest grandchild and all of her cousins followed suit. ---
**Author:** ![Flowerchild](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/858c86/32.png) [@Flowerchild](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flowerchild)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2003, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-things-you-called-your-g-parents-or-how-you-kept-both-sets-distinct/211397/30 "2003-11-05T18:14:05Z")
My Dads side: Nonnie and Pop-pop My moms side: Grammom and \* \*My moms dad died when she was 2, so I never called him anything. I dont know where Nonnie came from, she just always told us to call her that and we called her mother big nonnie ---
**Author:** ![Tamarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@Tamarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamarin)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2003, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-things-you-called-your-g-parents-or-how-you-kept-both-sets-distinct/211397/31 "2003-11-05T18:32:48Z")
Maternal Grandmother: Little Grandma Maternal Grandfather: Grandpa {Firstname} Paternal Grandmother: Big Grandma Paternal Grandfather: Grandpa {Firstname} And yes, one grandmother was fat and one thin. It sounds so cruel now, but they didn’t ever have seem to mind…and by the time we realized that the names were kinda mean, we’d been calling them that for years. I still call my Dad’s mom Big Grandma, but my other grandmother has just become Grandma. ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2003, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-things-you-called-your-g-parents-or-how-you-kept-both-sets-distinct/211397/32 "2003-11-05T19:54:16Z")
I only ever had a Mugga. Mom’s mom. My oldest sibling got confused between mother and grandmother. So he said Mugga. Now for the weird part. My son calls my Mom and Dad Nana and Papa, My nephews and neice had already claimed naming rights by the time Riley rolled around. But for some odd reason, he decided to call my wife’s mother Mugga. Mugga had left this world a good fifteen years before Riley was around. I never told him her name. ---
**Author:** ![Gravity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gravity/32/14322_2.png) [@Gravity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gravity)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2003, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-things-you-called-your-g-parents-or-how-you-kept-both-sets-distinct/211397/33 "2003-11-05T20:47:50Z")
Mom’s mom: Gramma Mom’s dad: Grampa (and, when I was little, Bumpa) Dad’s dad: Grampie My nephew has his own system: Maternal great-gramma: Poppi Maternal great-grampa: Papa Maternal gramma: Eema Maternal step-grampa: Papa Pete Paternal gramma: Grammy with the cane ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2003, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-things-you-called-your-g-parents-or-how-you-kept-both-sets-distinct/211397/34 "2003-11-05T22:27:35Z")
My mother’s parents: Then and now, Gramma and Grampa. My father’s parents: When I was a kid, they were Honey and Papa. I don’t know where “Honey” came from; she’s the Chicana who made me the mutt I am today. Now, though, we call her by her actual first name (on the rare occasions we see her), whereas Papa has vanished into the wilds of California, never to be heard from again — so we don’t call him anything. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2003, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-things-you-called-your-g-parents-or-how-you-kept-both-sets-distinct/211397/35 "2003-11-06T05:43:19Z")
Our family was easy: Gramma Edna and Grampa Bob, Gramma Irene and Grampa George. But Irene and George were both remarried by the time I came along. For some reason George’s wife was Gramma Marilyn, but Irene’s husband was just Pasquale. I guess it’s because “Grampa Pasquale” is impossible to say. That whole side of the family lives in California, so we rarely see them, which is sad. (We used to see Gramma Edna and Grampa Bob more often, but they’ve since died.) ---
**Author:** ![Crispy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e47774/32.png) [@Crispy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crispy)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2003, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-things-you-called-your-g-parents-or-how-you-kept-both-sets-distinct/211397/36 "2003-11-06T07:20:44Z")
One side’s normal enough. Paternal grandparents: Grammie and Grandpa On my maternal side however, it’s a little stranger. My mom’s mom was only 43 when her oldest grandchild (me) was born, and she refused to be a “Grandma.” So there was a family gathering where “Neat” was decided upon. Her first name is Juanita, which she loathes. So she goes by Claire, her middle name. Of course, the kids couldn’t call her by the same name adults called her, too disrespectful. So the fam shortened Juanita to Neat. I used to get some pretty weird looks in school when I talked about her. “I’m going to stay over at my Neat’s house this weekend.” :rolleyes: Anyways, her husband, my stepgrandfather is a Frenchman named Jean. Once again, he was too young to be Grandpa (38) and Jean was disrespectful. What’d the family come up with? Jean Jean (pronounced zhan zhan, easy on the n’s) Maternal grandmother and husband: Neat and Jean Jean And, lucky me, because of remarriages I got more than the usual two sets. Maternal grandfather and wife: Granpa Mike and Sheri ---
**Author:** ![Coil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Coil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coil)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2003, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-things-you-called-your-g-parents-or-how-you-kept-both-sets-distinct/211397/37 "2003-11-06T13:12:45Z")
In Swedish we have separate terms for maternal and paternal grandparents. So we can just say farfar and farmor for the paternal GPs and morfarn and mormor for the maternal ones. Far is father and mor is mother so basically farfar is dad’s dad etc. Much easier! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Sassafras](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a87d85/32.png) [@Sassafras](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sassafras)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2003, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-things-you-called-your-g-parents-or-how-you-kept-both-sets-distinct/211397/38 "2003-11-06T15:49:08Z")
maternal : Mammie and PopPop Paternal: MaMa and Grandaddy Step grandmother-Grandma (last name) my mom and dad are called RiRi (her name is Maria) and Grampy by the grandkids. My niece calls her maternal great grandmother Old Grandma and her maternal g-mother Young Grandma. ---
**Author:** ![AmericanMaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@AmericanMaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AmericanMaid)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2003, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-things-you-called-your-g-parents-or-how-you-kept-both-sets-distinct/211397/39 "2003-11-06T17:03:57Z")
Maternal grandparents: Grandma and Grandpa Paternal grandparents: Ahmama and Ahpapa Paternal great-grandmother: Grossmutti ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2003, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-things-you-called-your-g-parents-or-how-you-kept-both-sets-distinct/211397/40 "2003-11-06T17:17:36Z")
Paternal: Grandpa and Grandma. Maternal: Graddad[dy] and Grandma. Grandma [last name], if necessary to make the distinction. Not all that weird, really. But if, once in a while, someone tried to call one of my grandfathers by the “wrong” name (e.g. “Grandpa” for my maternal grandfather), it sounded jarringly wrong to me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-things-you-called-your-g-parents-or-how-you-kept-both-sets-distinct/211397.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-things-you-called-your-g-parents-or-how-you-kept-both-sets-distinct/211397.md?page=3)