To find it odd my brother still calls family friends

[AdrienneVole]

Auntie and Uncle?

Mostly they are a very distant relative but he calmly tells me he saw Auntie Carol and Uncle Colin in Tesco.

I am 35 and he is 38 ffs!

I've never done this but my dp does, he's 40 and it just sounds so weird sometimes as one of them has a nickname that sounds bizarre and dp actually thought that was his real name!
I pissed myself laughing when I asked fil what uncle strange name
was really called and the fact that dp actually believed anyone would name a baby " jeggy "

The whole auntie/uncle thing went downhill after that...

It's respectful! I always called my mum and dads friends Aunty and uncle, still do. I'm 48. We don't see uncle Keith or Aunty Sandy anymore but still refer to them as Aunty and Uncle in their Christmas/birthday card and email.its how I was brought up.

I'm not fully getting the respect line, to be honest :)

As for when you'd stop, for me personally it was when I met them again as an adult. That's not to say there's anything bad or wrong or horrible in not doing so, but people asked so I am answering :)

I call my real aunts and uncles by their titles followed by their name. They're all in their 90's and it would seem disrespectful to call them anything else now. I also refer to my godmother as auntie Jayne even though she emigrated 40 years ago and I haven't seen her since I was 10.
My son addresses all his aunts,uncles and godparents by their title in addition to their name.

In DH's culture it would be rude not to call them Auntie and Uncle. Handy actually if it's someone you know you know, but name's playing hide n seek in the dark recesses of your brain. "Hi Auntie, how are you" is perfect!!

Wouldn't occur to me to drop these titles. That's their name. I'm in the North.

I see why it happened- to my parents' generation, formality mattered. To have a child call an adult by their first name would have been unthinkable cheek. On the other hand, Mr or Mrs would have been too formal for a family friend, so Aunty or Uncle must have seemed like a good compromise.

mumindoghouse for this reason alone I wish I could call everyone older than be Aunty/Uncle! I can never remember names and frequently don't recognise people that I've known for decades!

i still call my elderly relations ( the ones i have left anyway)

..... i think its worse when tkids these day's call every friend their parents has aunt and uncle and even worse when they call their parents by their first name

I am an Aunty to 14 nephews and nieces ranging in ages from 43 to 10. Most still came me Aunty but 3 or 4 don't. I really don't mind either way. They will always be important to me and when we give them gifs we follow their lead and put love from Aunty X on some and love from x on others depending on how they refer to us. I am just glad when they call in to see me and bring their children. I always called my Aunts and Uncles by their title as I came from a very close family and neither of them had children of their own. It really doesn't matter as long as nobody takes offense.

My best friends children, now in their 20s, call me auntie. One of my actual nephews calls me by my given name and has always done. I like that I'm considered part of my friend's family too,but wouldn't be offended if they dropped the auntie. I think some people feel that it's a term which shows respect. We all have good relationships with each other and the name doesn't really matter. ( so long as it's not old b*tch!)

Same here Lartma" . I have friends in theri late teens and 20s who are not related, but call me Aunty, as indeed do my teen/20s dc call close family friends Aunty/Uncle, so I don't think it is a generational thing.

Its funny because i thought it was mainly a cultural thing. Being Asian, we were told to call anyone older than us Aunty and Uncle out of respect. So I have many Aunty and Uncles. Real ones,people we grew up with their parents and even random people we speak to out of respect. Obviously they all have different levels of fondness in my heart. I would never stop calling them Aunty and Uncle. Would feel as if i dont respect them any more. (Personal feeling) Weirdly though I only call one other couple of another race Aunty and Uncle as i feel they may not like it. Didn't realise that other races also use this for respect.