to ask what grandparent names you use (in light of frustrating lunchtime experience)

[5Foot5]

So what happened was, among the 17 or so other jobs I was trying to squeeze in to my lunch hour, I had to buy two "Grandma and Grandad" cards for DD to send. Yes she would normally take care of this herself and will no doubt pay me back for them, but she is at school all day and there is a particular urgency for one of the cards. It needs posting soon and we want to put it inside our card to save on stamps.

Anyway I found the relevant section only to be confronted by a plethora of cards to "Nan and Grandad" or "Nanna and Grandad". I scanned the rack in growing frustration but the only "Grandma and Grandad" I could find was a large letter size so would have to be posted separately, which would cost nearly as much as the card itself. (Well I was in Card Factory)

At last, when I was about to give up in despair I found just one card of the right size for people with Grandmas not Nans or Nannas. So with at least a dozen choices for this Nanna person there was only one large and one small design for Grandma.

Now this I find hard to understand. I don't know anyone who has a Nanna. Seriously, among all my family, friends and acquaintances I can't think of one whose children say Nan or Nanna.

This being the case why would the shop have so many cards for her? I suppose one answer might be that there are hardly any Nannas only Grandmas so they have sold out of Grandma and are stuck with a lot of Nanna left on the shelf. But surely these shops aren't stupid and would stock what they have a market for?

So, in my long-winded way, I thought I would ask on here what names you all use for the grandparents so that I could tell whether IABU or Card Factory are. That's it really.

Nanna/Nan/Nanny is working class and you were in Card Factory - go somewhere posher.

My family has always had 'nanny and grandad'

I know my mum and MIL would detest being called Grandma/Granny...after all they are still relatively young!!

My niece calls her grandfather 'papa' I hate that!!!

With the 'class' thing that was alluded to the few Grandma's I have known have been from very rough areas of my town. Whereas in other towns it is supposed to be a higher-class of grandmother I personally can't see a correlation, am sure it will be that years ago if you were a Northern muppet who worked down t'mines then it was Nanny/Nanna, whereas the more refined Southern family would have a Grandma [tongue in cheek]

The assignation of the name is done with great affection in my family at least, class does not dictate. Nor does the North/South divide as my family straddles the North/South divide.

I LOL'd at the thought of the trendier/more fun Nan buying her cake at M&S That is the Grandmother I aspire to be!

My dd has an Omi, an Opi and a Grumps.

wow - never realised 'Grandma' was seen as posh/old fashioned? Both Mum and MIL are Grandma....

and disagree with the idea that grandma/granny sound old while Nanny sounds young???

DD has Grandma and Gran'dad (no idea why he puts the rogue apostrophe in - his cards go to 'Grandad'); Nan and Granddad (yes, with a double d), and Nana. Bloody nightmare trying to buy cards, we usually have to go to at least half a dozen before we've got all the ones we need. Card Factory is usually a good'un and nice and cheap. Glittery pens have been a lifesaver!

Granny & GrandPa for my parents. Dh's are Grandma and Grandad although his Welsh mums Mum was called Ming Gee!!!!

My maternal grandmother is 'nana' and my paternal grandmother was 'nan'. My mam has made it known she wants to be 'nan' when DS can talk. I personally will then become 'nana' when/if my children have children.

I don't think nan/nana is that uncommon. Although I am geet rough and grew up on a north-eastern council estate...

disagree with the idea that grandma/granny sound old while Nanny sounds young

my take on this is that my parents/grandparents viewed 'Grandma' as old because that's what they called their GP's. So, because my nan/mum were married/had children quite young (early 20's) you had Grandparents in their early 40's who didn't want to feel old, so 'Grandma' was out and 'Nanny' was in.

I've no idea what I'd like to be called - I view 'Nanny' as old funnily enough.

I would say Granny and Grandad.

I think it's often a geographical thing. I'm from the west of Scotland and had a Grandma and Grandpa and a Gran and Papa. I think Papa is quite a regional thing.

DH has a Nanny and Grandad on his mum's (Irish) side and a Dede and Baba on his dad's (Eastern Europe) side.

It's all just down to family tradition and where you're from, isn't it?

Growing up in the south west, my grandparents we're (and thankfully still are) Nanny and Grampy and my fathers mother is Nan.

I now live in the South East. My daughter is only just coming up to a year old and is being brought up to call the in laws Grandma and Grandad whilst we're honouring my Polish heritage by calling my father Dziadek (and his mother Babcia). My mother is Nana to all her Grandchildren.

Mine have nanas exept ds1 who has a nana and a mama (hate it) they call my nana granny

We have a grandma and grandpa on one side and an Oma and Opa on the other (Dutch heritage)

'Tis definitely a class thing. I reckon Granny (or Grannie) and maybe Grandma too would rather have a card with Happy Birthday on the front rather than a reference to the specific relationship.

I have a Grandma and had a Nana. DD has a Gran and a Granny.

Are you buying Christmas cards? I have wondered who buys Christmas cards for named relatives. Mine all get the same cards as everyone else. Individually priced ones seem like a complete waste of money to me.

we have granny & grandpop, & ouma & grandpa.

we are in the north-west & from what dd comes home from nursery with, nanna is very common (as in usual).

We are Grandma and Grandads in our house....

I can remember my Grandma saying only goats and people who are paid to look after children are called Nannies - and you know what? I kind of agree with her!! :) :)

My DM - Nanny
ILs - Granny and Grandad
They chose their own names. My mum prefers Nanny because 'Granny sounds like a little old lady with white hair doing knitting' (she's only in her fifties), and MIL prefers Granny because 'She's not a goat'

Mine is Granny as is my mum to my DS. I have been tod in loads of shops last week they dnt stock "Granny and Grandad" as it is not popular or in demand. My family are Irish thou and Granny is more popular over there. Here in England everyone i know says Nan

My MIL was called Nana but she passed away when my eldest was tiny.

I had a Grandma and Grandpa, and a Granny and Grandad. I used to make the cards (in plenty of time and with much nagging).

My mum and Dad are Grizzly and Grumpa... so rather hard to find cards for them, so again, my boys make the cards (in plenty of time and with much nagging).

My Granny refused to be referred to as Nanny as she wasn't a goat, and Nana as she wasn't 'banana slang'... I do miss her.

My DM is Granni (she decided on the spelling herself), my late DMiL was Grandma. I'm in the South and surrounded by Nanny/Nannas.

Granny and Grandad here (from West Highland of Scotland)
plus Grandma and Grandad (from West Midlands).

My mum can't stand Nan, or Nanny or any of the variations on it. It is hard finding anything with Granny on it.

amazing a simple discussion about what you call grandparents turns into i am considerably posher than you contest discussion

only on mn :)