# What do you call your grandmother? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 23, 2005, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-your-grandmother/313761 "2005-07-23T03:17:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Adoptamom\_II](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Adoptamom\_II](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Adoptamom_II)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2005, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-your-grandmother/313761/1 "2005-07-23T03:17:44Z")
Mr. Adoptamom and I found out yesterday that we’re going to be grandparents! He’s decided to be called “Gramps”. I’m still trying to decide. What do you call your grandmother? ---
**Author:** ![Anastasaeon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Anastasaeon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anastasaeon)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2005, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-your-grandmother/313761/2 "2005-07-23T03:22:01Z")
I have a Nanny and had a Grammie. Mr. Stasaeon calls his Gramma or GrandmaMA (think of it in french). My mother used to call her grandmother Mamere. My father has taken to calling my Nanny “Nanoo nanoo.” ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2005, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-your-grandmother/313761/3 "2005-07-23T03:22:36Z")
When my grandmothers were alive, I called one of them “Grandma,” and the other one “Jennie Mom.” That’s what they wanted to be called. Jennie Mom’s real name was Jennie Myrtle, and her first grandchild (one of my older cousins) came up with the “Jennie Mom” name. It stuck. Sometimes pet names for grandparents just kinda happen. ---
**Author:** ![MissGypsy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8491ac/32.png) [@MissGypsy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissGypsy)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2005, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-your-grandmother/313761/4 "2005-07-23T03:25:21Z")
I had a Granny, who I adored, and a Grandma [Lastname], who I didn’t so much. My boys have a Grandma, a Grammie, and a Grandmom. They’re all wonderful. And congratulations to you and Adpotadad! ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2005, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-your-grandmother/313761/5 "2005-07-23T03:30:15Z")
All four of my grandparents died before I was born, so I don’t call mine anything. However, when my sister had a baby last year, my mum decided on ‘nanna’. That’s probably one of the more common ones around here, alongside “grandma”. ---
**Author:** ![BlueKangaroo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3d9bf3/32.png) [@BlueKangaroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlueKangaroo)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2005, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-your-grandmother/313761/6 "2005-07-23T03:32:33Z")
Both sets of grandparents are Grandma and Grandpa Lastname. Occasionally, my paternal grandparents are Grandpa Firstname and Grandma Firstname. But that’s rare. My dad’s biological dad is just Grandpa. My great-grandmothers were Grandma Lastname, until now. Now I only have one left and she’s “Grandma” when I’m talking to her and “Grandma first name or last name, whichever comes out of my mouth” when I’m talking about her. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2005, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-your-grandmother/313761/7 "2005-07-23T04:19:14Z")
I only had one set of grandparents when I was born and I called them “grandma” and “grandpa”. How unoriginal of me! ☹ My cousin’s grandma is “bubba” which I guess is “grandmother” in Polish. My parents are “grammy” and “grampy” to my dog, tho 🙂 I think it’s pretty cute that you guys are deciding on your names. ---
**Author:** ![Nvme77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Nvme77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nvme77)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2005, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-your-grandmother/313761/8 "2005-07-23T04:31:09Z")
Abuelita- she’s the only one we have left… ☹ ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2005, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-your-grandmother/313761/9 "2005-07-23T04:48:14Z")
When they were alive it was just Grandma and Grandpa. “Lastname” was added for clarification as neccesary. My nephew’s father abandoned his family when he was less than a year old and when was little he called his grandfather, my father “Buddy”, which perfectly desecribed their relationship. StG ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2005, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-your-grandmother/313761/10 "2005-07-23T04:57:26Z")
I called the one I loathed “Grandmother” and the one I liked “Meemaw”. (Nobody ever knew why I called her that as she was “Grandma” to the rest of her family.) My niece, Sarah, was a badly spoiled brat when she was a little girl. She used to call my mother by her first name (“Blanche”) which my mother had no problem with, but Sarah’s mother decided was disrespectful, so when she was about five her mother “why don’t you think of something else to call her?” She asked my mother “what do you want me to call you… granny? grandmama?” My mother’s answer: “Long distance.” I always liked “grandmama” (pronounced in the French style, or the Tabitha Stephens style- “grand-ma-MA”). My least favorite is “Big Mama”. ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2005, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-your-grandmother/313761/11 "2005-07-23T05:10:34Z")
I had a nanny and pawpaw on my mom’s side and a popsi and momsi on my father’s side. Before she passed away, my mom wanted to be called MiMi, but my Laura couldn’t get that one and called her meemaw. ---
**Author:** ![Ashes\_Ashes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/db5fbb/32.png) [@Ashes\_Ashes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashes_Ashes)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2005, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-your-grandmother/313761/12 "2005-07-23T05:23:28Z")
> [@Anastasaeon](#): > > My father has taken to calling my Nanny “Nanoo nanoo.” Your family is from Ork? All five of my grandparents were grandma or grandpa when speaking to them. They’d be referred to as grandma and grandpa, -mother and -father, granny, grammy, grampy, gram-ma and grampa. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2005, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-your-grandmother/313761/13 "2005-07-23T05:30:18Z")
I called my grandparents by their first names, they wanted it that way. My folks are now just Grandma and Grandpa, but for a while the baby called my dad Papa, which was cute. I wish she hadn’t stopped. ---
**Author:** ![Anastasaeon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Anastasaeon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anastasaeon)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2005, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-your-grandmother/313761/14 "2005-07-23T05:41:42Z")
> [@Ashes](#): > > Your family is from Ork? My father likes to think so. Ar ar. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2005, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-your-grandmother/313761/15 "2005-07-23T05:48:28Z")
The late ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2005, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-your-grandmother/313761/16 "2005-07-23T06:21:51Z")
I call my paternal grandmother Grandma (sometimes Grandma Lastname), and I called my maternal grandmother Nanny. I never knew my grandfathers, but when older family members talked about them to me they called my paternal grandfather Grandpa or Grandpa Lastname, and my maternal grandfather Pop-pop. My kids call my parents Nanny and Pop-pop, and their dad’s parents Farmor and Farfar. Ah, the joys of raising bilingual children 😃 ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2005, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-your-grandmother/313761/17 "2005-07-23T06:52:34Z")
Grandma Ruth. When I was younger, Granmaruth. When I write it, though, it tends to be G. Ruth, which makes her sound like a rapper. But then she is pretty down for a white chick. ---
**Author:** ![BrattiAtti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c57346/32.png) [@BrattiAtti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrattiAtti)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2005, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-your-grandmother/313761/18 "2005-07-23T06:55:25Z")
For my paternal grandparents, it’s Grandma and Grandpa [last initial]. For my mother’s mom and stepdad, it’s Grandma Cookie (Cookie being a nickname she’s had forever, even outside of the family) and [man’s first name]. For my mother’s father and stepmother, it’s Grandpa [first name] and [woman’s first name]. Occasionally she is Grandma [first name], but usually not. I’ve had this thing hang-up since childhood that if my parents call them one term, I’m following suit. Since my mom’s step-parents are addressed by each one’s first name, I have followed suit. The same goes for my parents’ siblings. I address all of them by first name. The only time that varies is when I’m referring to my mom’s younger brother, who is a Jr. So I say “Uncle [first name]” to differentiate between him and mom’s dad. My step-parent’s parents… I’ve only met my step-mom’s parents once, and they were Mr. and Mrs. [last name]. I probably will call them by their first names if I am ever around them for a period of time long enough for us to be comfortable with each other. I really don’t see this happening in the near future. I refer to them as first names in other conversations. If they send a gift for any reason, the thank-you card is addressed to the signature they put on the card to me. My step-dad’s parents are first names. They are Grandma and Grandpa to my (half) brothers. So are all the other grandparents. 😃 Makes me do a 😕 when the older of the two starts a convo with “Grandpa said” and I have to remember the turn of events, like who sent the latest gift, etc. My step-dad’s grandmother is “Great Grandmother [first name]” in my head, though she signs her cards “G.G. [nickname]”. Yeah, hi, I come from dysfunction, how about you? ---
**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:** [July 23, 2005, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-your-grandmother/313761/19 "2005-07-23T06:56:16Z")
Either “Grandma” or “Grandma” plus the name (Irene or Edna). The same went for my Great-Grandma Marie. ---
**Author:** ![Sierra\_Indigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Sierra\_Indigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sierra_Indigo)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2005, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-your-grandmother/313761/20 "2005-07-23T07:38:32Z")
Maternal - Grandma and Grandpa Paternal - Nanny and Pa Maternal Great Grandmother - Namma Stepmother’s parents - don’t talk to them much [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-your-grandmother/313761.md?page=2)