To wish people wouldn't use the word "nana"

[IDoughnutKnow]

Unless you are a toddler and are talking about bananas.

People never used it back in the good old days of MN.

Nanny here! I'm a southerner and feel privileged to have grandchildren who can call me nanny. My children called their grandmother Nan as did both my husband and I .
OP clearly has too much time on her hands. The important message for her to consider is how fortunate we grandparents are to have grandchildren whatever name of affection they use for us.

Nanna (sound like nan-nah) is a grandmother in North east.

The “Suzi Quattro’s fat nan” thread has ensured my mental image of a “nan” is basically Pat Butcher in a black vinyl jumpsuit. Cannot get the association out of my head 🤣

I don’t have the same mental image of a Nanna. I just imagine an old lady. We use Gran in our house, I’m sure OP would hate that too.

One grandmother I know insisted on Nonna even though there is no Italian connection at all. Everything else sounded too old.

A friend's grandchildren called her Baggy!

So it's a class thing in the UK? Quelle surprise.

It's from Celtic and/or Indo European. Both a child speaking of a grandmother. I had 2 of them back in the 60s

Step down off your high horse. You are sneering at cultural references you don't understand

I’m a Grandma descended from a long line of Grandmas, and never really thought about it. My DC had a grandma, so did I and so did my parents so it didn’t occur to me to be anything else.

A lot of posters seem to be frothing at the mouth; I never expected this to be such an emotive subject. I read the OP’s posts as tongue-in-cheek.
I’ve been around long enough to remember the days when Mumsnet was a place of tolerance and good humour.

I had one nana and one granny. I think that as a child I kind of imagined that nana meant mother's mother and granny meant father's mother.

Language is endlessly fascinating, as this thread demonstrates. If you're less interested in it, then just scroll on to one of the eleventy billion female friendship/wedding/MIL/shit husband threads.

You’re really interested in language yet so ill informed that, until you read this thread, you thought everyone in real life used "Granny" and it was only on MN that people use Nan or Nana-pronounced-Nanna

And how can it be a snobbery thing when there are no class links in play here? Variations are largely regional. I’m afraid you’re still working towards having the class you need to be a snob.

It is funny, I always think that Granny or Grandma sounds really old to me, I instantly picture a tight grey bun and shawl, rocking chair by a fire with a blanket over their legs type of scene. Where as I feel like Nanny, Nan or Nana seems more fun and... energetic or young I guess.

My kids are very lucky to have a Nanny, Nanny, Gran and Grandma so maybe my association just come from our own experiences in our family where the Nans are the playful, active ones and the grans are the more old fashioned types.

My maternal grandmother was Nana and my mum is Nana too. It doesn't bother me at all.

That explained it better than I could.

Thank you

@PollyThePixie <waves>. I had no idea it was something I needed to be concerned about until this evening 🤣🤣

ODFOD

It's tedious and boring.

And it's not as light-hearted as you think

A person who thinks like this ^^ for example, could be considered a raging snob.

lolol. I've got enough money and a postgrad degree and I will ABSOLUTELY INSIST on being called nana by any children my DS might have.

I'm Nanna, best word in the world.

Tell me you've never left your village without telling me you've never left your village 🙄

(2 weeks in the Maldives ever January and St. Moritz for Easter with all the same tiny-minded people you mix with at home doesn't count).

Wow a wind up surely 🤣

I had Nana's as I was born up north.

We moved south. People didn't say Nana. I felt looked down on in the South.

I've got no idea what I shall use.

I quite fancy MsMouskouri.

When my grandson was born I told everyone not to give me any title and he would decide what he wanted to call me. He decided upon Amah, which I love. So I am now Amah. He calls my husband my his first name :) we are cool with that as well. Children should be allowed to decided what to call people. We don’t decree to adults what Mamés they should use.