Anyone else's Grandma....

[me4real]

I happened to see this mentioned somewhere presumably as a joke, but my nan insisted on being called Grandma, as she said nan was a goat etc etc.

I hadn't heard the above reason until my uncle mentioned it a while back. Also presumably she thought it common.

I always thought it was sooo formal - quasi-Victorian, although she will've been born in about 1915 or something. She died in the early 90s. I don't recall ever challenging the status quo.

She wasn't well off financially or anything.

Anyone else?

I’m Grandma. I’m in my early 50s.

thebabessavedme
Nana Crackhead! Thanks kids!!

Mine's a Mamgu
I mean that's in a whole different language
Does that make me super posh

Grandma is the norm in my family.

"Nanny" in my family is someone you pay to look after the kids, rather than a grandparent.

I find Grandma very formal and a bit old fashioned. I much prefer Nan or Nana

My Grandmother's were in service as young women and would not let us call them Nan or Nana as it was too much like Nanny which in their eyes someone employed to look after children.

@AGreenerShadeofKale

I've assumed Nan had derived long ago from Welsh (and some point prior wider British) Nain.

That’s interesting - if it’s ultimately derived from the Welsh/Celtic language it would go way back, to pre Anglo-Saxon times. I wouldn’t be remotely surprised.

Being Welsh mine was Nain

My mother wanted to be Grandma and I will probably opt for the same if/when it happens.

Granny sounds ancient to me.

People round here use Nan or nanny or nanna for their grandmothers. I'm none of those.

In my family people usually use the names their parents used. So my parents are grandma and grandad.

I'll be breaking with tradition, my dads mum was Granny and I like to think I'll be more like her as a grandparent so I want to be a Granny.

Never had nanny in my family but dh's mums (yes he has 2!) are both Nanny. We call his birth mum nanny [name] as she came after the original nanny.

My granny had a goat with the highly original name of "nanny" so I think I'll give that a miss!

Of course I'm sure my grandkids will prob make their own names up anyway. DHs dad is called Poppa even though dmil refers to him as grandpa because my stepdaughter called him "pobba" when she was small. Dbil kids call him grandpa.

All nan's in my family including my great nan, none if them liked grandmother etc so always nan, my children call mine and dh mum , nan as well as again what they both wanted.

Funny how some object to nanny as reminds them of a goat etc but are happy to use totally made up names .
At the end of the day it doesn't matter do
Whats right for your family and what people want to be called , rather than put others down for their choice
Its all just personal preference

@DeepaBeesKit

Grandma is the norm in my family.

"Nanny" in my family is someone you pay to look after the kids, rather than a grandparent.

Agreed, I had two Grandmas. One still here, luckily. I'm pregnant with first baby and my MIL wants to be "nana". I'm not keen, imagine grown children saying that?!

I find Nan, Nanna and Nanny very odd-sounding to me personally. I had a Granny and Grandma, and thats what my DM and DMIL have opted for between them as well.

I’m granny to my 7 adorable grandchildren and wouldn’t want to be called anything else!

My mum is grandma as she loved her grandma so much that's what she wanted to be called. It was very strange in the beginning as both my grandmothers were grannys. Now I like it as it's easier to differentiate between grandparents as they've got a grandma, granny and a great granny.

Saw a very funny article once that pointed out the baby boomer’s first reaction to being told they are to be a grandparent is

“Ooooh, what shall I be called?”

I’m not really into that whole inter generational strife/ rivalry thing, but it did make me laugh.

I had 2 grandmas and my children have grandmas. Granny is old lady and Nan, according to my mum and MIL is “common”. Grandfathers are all Grandpa never ever Grandad.

Pretty much everyone I know had grandma’s, a could of Nana and Papa’s and a few Oma and Opa’s if they have Germanic backgrounds. I’ve never come across anyone having a Nan.

I don't really understand why one word meaning grandmother should be associated with being old and one shouldn't. Surely nan/nanny/nana/granny all mean you are old enough to have a child who is old enough to have a child. Do people really think that calling yourself whichever you think sounds younger will change that?

@GertrudePerkinsPaperyThing

Saw a very funny article once that pointed out the baby boomer’s first reaction to being told they are to be a grandparent is

“Ooooh, what shall I be called?”

I’m not really into that whole inter generational strife/ rivalry thing, but it did make me laugh.

Strangely it wasn't my first thought when I found out a grandchild was on the way, Sons and their wives asked straightaway which I found odd as the baby probably wasn't going to be born for 7 months and wouldn't be talking for a while.

I remember my MIL making a comment that she hated that DH and his siblings were the youngest amongst their cousins, because ‘Nan’ was firmly established by the time they were born and she hated it. We use Grandma and Granddad on one side, and the Welsh grandparents are Nain and Taid (pron ‘nine’ and ‘tide’.).

I’m granny, other is grandma.

My mum wanted to be nanny (she thought granny sounded old)

Quite often, when our children mentioned Nanny to other people, they thought the children were talking about paid staff.

I had a Nain(Welsh) and a Granwolf (Native American had an amazing sepia photograph of her father in his wolf pelt over the mantelpiece and the pelt itself in her trunk)
My mother would only answer to Nanny, my children’s other grandmother was also Nanny.
I am Nanny because that’s what my children were used to. I mind 3 of them every day and sometimes wish they didn’t know my name
Have to say Nanny is the most common where I come from in the depths of the West Country

@Threewheeler1

thebabessavedme Nana Crackhead! Thanks kids!!

Our family once had a 'Gran-Gran Fluffy Head'. But crackhead is awesome!

My Grandma insisted on being called Grandma as in her view (1) Nan/Nanny was a goat, (2) Granny was twee.