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Original poster

If you were going to be a grandmother, what would you call yourself?

288 replies

MILTOBE · 15/12/2023 12:48

Just as the title says - if one of your children was having a baby, what would you want to be known as?

The only options I can come up with are:

Gran
Granny
Grandma
Nan
Nana
Nanny

Which would you choose, or would you choose something else?

OP posts:
OhYeahOhYeah · 16/12/2023 21:48

Oh. Agree, Nan/Nana/Nanny are really common!

My daughters were banned from using Nanny but awful MIL insists this is what she’s called 🤢

Crumblecakes · 16/12/2023 21:51

OhYeahOhYeah · 16/12/2023 21:48

Oh. Agree, Nan/Nana/Nanny are really common!

My daughters were banned from using Nanny but awful MIL insists this is what she’s called 🤢

Thats like saying Mum and Dad are common 😂 I don’t like Gran or Granny but it’s personal preference , I wouldn’t say they are really common or really snooty

YesIReallyDoLikeRootBeer · 16/12/2023 21:56

I am a grandmother and he calls me Grammy

BronnauMawrion · 16/12/2023 21:56

What about Grammie?

My friend is a grandfather - started off as Grandad Andy. Before long the toddlers had shortened it to Grandy. I quite like that too!

55larry · 16/12/2023 22:00

I am Granny as were my mother and my grandmother but when he was little my gs couldn’t say Granny so called me Branny which I quite liked. Dh was going to be Grandpa but has ended up as Papa which was the name my grandfather was called. Dgs other grandfather is Grandad but his other grandmother died very soon after he was born but she was Nana to her older grandchildren.

Montegufoni2017 · 16/12/2023 22:01

My Mums name is Jan and my Husband come up with Janma instead of Grandma as a joke but it stuck and we now love it.
Could you do something similar with your 1st name if you want something a bit different?
Out of your list though I think Nanny is the nicest.

MrsCarson · 16/12/2023 22:08

Probably Grandma, or Memaw
One of my kids insisted on calling my mother Gamgam.

Sennelier1 · 16/12/2023 22:09

I am Omi to my grandchildren 😊 I chose that name after a German woman I loved and admired very much and who was such a wonderful Omi to her grandchildren. At that time I was only a teen, but decided if ever I became a grandmother I would be just like her. And now I am. And yes, my husband is Opi.

Mew2 · 16/12/2023 22:42

So I had Granny and Grandad- both sides
My parents are Granny and Grandad
My inlaws are Poppins and Grumpy
Not sure what I want to be called- but I love Poppins!!

BeverleyMacker · 16/12/2023 22:47

Meemaw 😁👍

PotteringAlonggotkickedoutandhadtoreregister · 16/12/2023 22:49

Nain

JudyGemstone · 16/12/2023 22:50

herbyham · 15/12/2023 13:16

My mum chose Amma, which to be fair none of the rest suit her in the slightest so it's a good one.
Easy for the kids to say too, I think my MIL has settled on nanny but honestly I'm not sure it changes so often

My mum wanted to be Amma, but I never really remembered to use it and it didn’t stick so she’s nanny like my grandmothers were.

Digestivechocolatebiscuit · 16/12/2023 23:00

I've been Granny for 18 years.. eldest is 18 youngest 8.
My Mum was known as Granny and so was her Mum.
If it was good enough for The late Queen.. it is more than good enough for me.

RitaFromThePitCanteen · 16/12/2023 23:28

I'll be Nanny, as is traditional in my family. My mum is Nanny, as were both my grandmothers. We distinguished between them by their shortened first names: Nanny Em and Nanny Liz, for example.

No, Nanny doesn't make me thinks of goats. No, it doesn't make me think of childcare workers. It makes me think of my lovely grandmothers, wonderful inspirational women that they were. I hope I'm like them when I'm older. Rather than some of the the clearly unhappy Grandmas on this thread who sit at home sneering at anyone and anything they deem common.

asco · 16/12/2023 23:40

I will be Mamó as I have a Mamó and Daideo - Irish speakers.
I called my great grandparents Mamóg and Dadóg

Our kids are lucky enough to have 3 sets of grandparents between them in their lives (blended family) and they have
Mamó & Daideo. Nan and Grandad. Nana and Pops.

And then there's my Dad who is referred to as either his name or Mums Dad😄

NameChange30 · 16/12/2023 23:53

I've always called both my grandmothers "Grandma" and they are still alive, so when I had children it didn't seem to make sense for my mum to have the same name - she is "Nana" and it suits her.

No idea if I'll have grandchildren but if I do, I think I'd quite like to be Grandma.

I'm not a fan of Granny or Nanny for some reason. Or using forced cutesy names or names from other languages if there's no genuine link.

Abbyant · 16/12/2023 23:55

My mum was 44 when her first grandchild was born so picked nanny, my mil is grandma and my fil’s wife is grandmama. Also my grandmother ( childrens great grandmother) goes by Nana Cathy.

NameChange30 · 16/12/2023 23:58

Strange that "Papa" seems to be a name for grandfather for many people. It's French for dad, and my DH is French so he's Papa to our children. If we have grandchildren he'll probably be Papi (can also be spelt Papy).

Lovepeaceunderstanding · 17/12/2023 00:01

I’m nanny. It’s a class thing according to one of my DIL’s her mother is known as Gra’ma.

romany4 · 17/12/2023 00:08

Possibly outing myself because I think my grandsons mother and Auntie are on here..

I'm Noo noo...
I was trying to get my grandson to say Nanna when he was starting to babble and he came out with noo noo. And it stuck.
I'm not sure if he'll stick to that as he gets older though...

Needhelpsupport · 17/12/2023 00:14

My lovely mum was grandma for my children,now I have a granddaughter she calls me garandma as well. Cannot think of a better alternative TBH ,nanny,granny etc sounds really old !!

MumofSpud · 17/12/2023 00:25

My nearly 2 year old has started calling me Nanny + my dog's name Grin

Jux · 17/12/2023 00:27

I'd prefer granny. But whatever dd was most comfortable with. Not Nana though

LadyEloise1 · 17/12/2023 00:43

I like Mamó.also.
I don't like Nanny.
Granny is old as is Grandma.
Nana is nice.
Or perhaps just my Christian name.

MrLambertsPersonalAssistant · 17/12/2023 00:50

This is going to be me in February and for the first time too so it’s very exciting!

When I was a child, my mums mum was Nanny and my dads mum was Grandma

When I had children my mum wanted to be called Grandma (she’d had old fashioned tutors when she did her NNEB who insisted that they refer to each other as Nanny and as she was 30 at the time she vowed she’d be Grandma when she had grandchildren) My mother-in-law also wanted to be Grandma so they became Grandma (followed by surname)

So the debate has been on about what we’ll be known as! My mother-in-law is sadly no longer with us but we already have ‘Grandma’ in the family(my mum) My daughters mother-in-law already has 4 grandchildren and she is known to them as ‘Granny’ so I’m going for Nanny so that there’s no confusion!
Of course it may well change in the next 10wks but at least we have a starting point!!