Calling people Aunty who are not your aunty

[Snog]

Does this still happen or was it unique to the 1970s?
And did it happen in middle class families or only in working class families?
Did you have aunties who were not actually your aunty?

I live in West London. My elderly( mid 80 American upper class)neighbour is called Aunty x by DCs which she likes. My other older , single male neighbour and friend has been young school run with DCs for about 7-8 yrs ( english) . He has always been first name basis for Children (11&15), which seems to work. Lot of friends in school assumed he was Grandfather ! So as far as I can see, no particular rules, depends on how we as parents were brought up and our circle of wider network of family, external “aunty/ uncles” and more distant Mr/ Mrs X or first names/ profession ie builder X , farmer Y , nurse z, Dr A , teacher B, etc.
This is such a British dilemma,I love it . 🙂

I've got godparents that I still call aunty and uncle their name if I see them and I'm in my 40s.
It wasn't all my parent's friends but definitely their closest friends. I've also got parents' cousins who I call aunty and uncle and younger cousins myself who call me aunty eggs.
I quite like referring to my godparents like this, it feels warm and familiar for me and signifies that we had/have a special relationship.
I don't really have any strong feelings either way about what I'm called. I'm more than happy with my name or nickname unless the parent themselves wants to use aunty.

I’m white and northern. Growing up, anybody who was a close friend of my parents would be auntie or uncle. My actual aunts were called aunt though.

My kids do the same - my close friends are their aunties.

I like it - it’s a recognition that it’s a family-type bond and that my close friends are important in my children’s lives.

No, I don't like this. Actual aunts and uncles are called Aunty X and Uncle X but other than that mine don't call anyone it. I never did either (growing up in the eighties). My children call everyone by their first names except for their teachers, the same as everyone calls them by their first names.

I understand it's cultural in some communities though. I can't get worked up about others doing it (like most things!) I just don't do it here.

I never had an extra auntie. My dds call my best friend auntie. My elder dd is 6 and understands that friend isnt a real auntie but she also adores friend and is aware that friend makes a lot more effort then her real aunties

God it used to absolutely infuriate me in DH’s family when we were young - he would say this is Uncle or Auntie such and such, I would ask if they were on his Mum or Dad’s side and I would get looked at like an idiot. There seemed to be bloody hundreds of them. SiL still calls random people Uncle and I find it utterly bizzarre, she’s in her 50’s ffs!
DH knows better than to do it after 35 years.
I find it ridiculous.

My dcs have adopted aunties and uncles all over the place. They love it and so do our friends. It's a sign of how important those people are in their lives.

Our only aunts who weren't 'real' aunts were godmothers and that is the approach we have taken with our children.

I think this was probably more common in the 70s and 80s, I certainly called my mum's and dad's friends (particularly the ones we went on holiday with) aunty and uncle. I'm 40 now and would be mortified to just call them by their first names now - that would seem very weird 😁 FWIW, we were broadly upper working class/lower middle class.

Amongst my friends, my kids call my closest friends aunty and uncle but it's definitely less common than it was, I think.

I had lots of non-related Aunties and Uncles in the 40s and 50s.

My Mum's friends were all Aunty Jo / Aunty Carole etc when I was growing up. But strangely, when a new family moved in next door when I was maybe in secondary school, and mum made friends with their mum, she never became Aunty, we just called her by her name. I don't have any friends for my kids to call Aunty anyway, and their real aunt has died sadly.

My DD calls some of my very closest friends "Auntie" and "Uncle". It's not to everyone's taste but I see them as family and we've been through a lot together. I've explained to DD the difference between blood family (e.g. her uncle and I both come out of Nanna's womb) and people we think of as like family because we love them. My best friend has been an amazing aunt to DD even though she's not someone who is naturally interested in kids. She has honestly been an absolute godsend, whereas my DB doesn't really give a shit, if I'm honest.

I certainly called my parents closest friends Auntie and Uncle in Scotland in the 70s (all families who were middle class professionals but of working class origin). I still feel funny just calling them by their first names and hesitate on Facebook etc.
However , it never occurred to me to suggest anything other than first names with my old friends kids.

My dc have a few non related auntie and uncles. They are a huge part of their lives.

They also call my cousins auntie and uncle. The children's choice, nothing pushed on them.

I think my sister (their only actual aunt) was a little out of at first tbh. But as she now have friends kids call her auntie too she understands the love you can have for a non related child.

It did happen in my family in the 1970s.

Our children use if both for their actual aunties and uncles, and also for their godparents and close family friends.

My partner's niece and nephew don't use it at all, and never have.

I quite liked being Auntie Misrule, though my relatives are adult now, so only use it occasionally (to make a point about may age!!)

I called all of my parents close friends Aunty and uncle and still do in my 40s. My children call close friends the same.

@ForgedInFire

When I was a kid (mid 90s) I remember men would call any older lady mum but that has gone now. As in "come on mum, let me help you onto the bus". Working class, East End of London.

Yes, I remember that. And older men would be ‘pop’. ‘Do you want me to reach that for you, pop?’

I grew up in a large wc Scottish family so had plenty real aunties and uncles to remember anyway. But yes I was aware there were several kids my age who had extra aunties that were mostly their mums best friends, much more common than extra uncles.

I'm AuntieCushions to my best friends kids (we've known each other since school and now in our 50s) and she's AuntieBestie to mine. It's an acknowledgment of the closeness of the relationships and that we all support each other in life. We are closer than many blood families. I like it.

There were a few when I was growing up. I'm now in my 50's and think it's weird to be able to drop the Aunty bit and just use their first name.

@GenderApostate19 You sound very judgemental and intolerant of the fact that other people might be different from your self.

I like it - it’s a recognition that it’s a family-type bond and that my close friends are important in my children’s lives

This ^.
To me, it is saying "we consider you to be an important part of our lives". Our 'community' , if you like. The people we would choose as family, if you could choose your family. It makes a distinction between people 'you happen to know' and people who are loved.

Interesting that some posters see people outside bio family being called aunt and uncle as 'rude' or 'ridiculous' and all children call everyone by first names. What about parents? Are they first name as well?

In my culture children calling elders by their first names would be considered the height of disrespect, but we're all different at the end of the day - would be boring of we were all the same

I have one real uncle and aunt, and called nobody auntie growing up!

My nieces and nephews have always called me by my name, apart from when they were maybe preschoolers. This makes me feel in no way less close to them.

I called our elderly female neighbours who were 'of a generation' Mrs so and so though. Did anyone else do that?

This is the norm is African cultures even people that live here in UK. It’s a sign of respect especially to your in laws and the older generation. The community is usually close knit and I think it’s nice.