Right now this is the most important issue in my life. Somehow “Grandma” doesn’t do it for me. And I don’t want any of the boring aged-sounding ones like Granny. And Grammy sounds like an award.
I found out east-coast Italian-American grandmothers are being called Me-Me, the French Canadians spell it Meme (pronounced with a long ‘e’). That has a certain elan to it. I’ve also heard southern grandmothers called that. Italian grandmothers are also called Nona. Oma and Opa is of German descent. Baba and Lala has Eastern European roots. Yaya is Greek. Mummers sounds oh, so British.
I’ve heard one little boy couldn’t pronounce ‘grandma’ and the family wound up with ‘Mega.’ I’ve also heard toddlers can spit it out as ‘Mawa’ or any way they want.
Then there’s Nonnie, Nonny, or Nandy.
GRANDMAS STILL WANNA KICK UP THEIR HEELS AND MIX IT UP A BIT…
I think Mumzie is cute. Though I don’t think I could be Mumzie. Could I? Maybe. It’s cute.
I’ve heard there’s a trend toward words: Happy, Huggy, Lovey, Peaches, Punky, and the like. Things they are a changing. At one time I might’ve been called ‘funky’. It had a whole different meaning waaay back then. It meant ‘cool’ or ‘admirable’. Trust me. It did. Could I be called ‘Punky’? That makes me think of Punk Rock. There’s a problem when words mean different things to the different generations.
Where would a list be without a few celebrity grandma names. Debby Reynolds: Aba Daba. Joan Rivers: Nana New Face (speaks for itself). Goldie Hawn: Glam-ma. I’ve heard Glamma (glamorous grandma) is popular in Hollywood.
Then there’s GG for “grace-filled grandma” or “groovy grandma” (my age is showing again) or”genius grandma” or “greatest grandma” or “gorgeous grandma” or “generous grandma”. That last one is what the grandchild will most likely say it stands for. I also like GG.
The grand girls call me Grandma and their other Grandmother Nana. Congratulations, (fill in the blank here) Grandkids are wonderful! 🙂
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Marla, it’s a lot of joy and plain old fun.
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How about Mimi? Different spelling than you have above. My mother was called Grammy, and I’m called Gramma. 🙂 But I’m old.
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Peg, I like MiMi. I’ve heard some southern women called that.
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My younger grandchildren call me Nanny, and the older ones have now call me Nan.
Whatever they call you is a wonderful feeling.
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Cherly, Marley is too young to call me anything at this point. We’ll have to see what she comes up with. Hope it’s not a doosey. LOL
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Sweet, fun post! I enjoyed running across your blog! Gift from God…..! We have seven grand-kiddo’s under the age of seven. {{{The best job ever.}}} The oldest just naturally began calling me Nana…. which I love. One of the other grandmas asks to be called ‘Crazy Nana!.’ She is the fun one obviously!
Mimi is possibly my favorite name of all.
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Rhonda, Always nice to have a ‘Crazy Nana’ around. More fun that way.
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My son was deployed in Iraq when his first child came into the world. I sent him an email saying I wasn’t sure if I was ready to be a grandmomma yet, except I typed “grandmooma” – I have this thing about double consonants. So while I struggled with what to call myself, Sadie suggested, “Why not Mooma?” Indeed! I am Mooma, hear me roar!
Well done, Sister, whatever name you pick will be pure Nike, I’m sure! In the meantime, hug that stuffin’ out of that sweet baboo!
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Brenda, Often a Grandma is “named” or “called” by a mistake the grandchild made because he/she couldn’t pronounce words correctly. This is the first I’ve heard of the grandma blowing the wording. LOL
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Love thinking about this. My first grandbaby will be coming home from China later this year. I have been told by my daughter that Grandma in Mandarin is Lao Lao (pronounced like, How, Low). I will keep you posted.
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Jeanne, Congrats on the new baby coming. How exciting.
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I’m Pat to all the grandkids. Started out that way with step-grandchildren calling me that and just kept it that way. lol
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Pat, That’s easy enough.I usually address you as P.T. 🙂
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I’m Grandma to all! This time is the best!
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Diane, Grandma is great. No doubt about it.
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I like G-ma (gee ma), but I never could get the kids to call me that.
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Janet, I have my daughter on my side. She likes GG (gracious grandma, grace-filled grandma, good grandma, generous grandma). So, I’ve got the mom on my side. But, then the grandchild might have other ideas when she starts to talk. LOL
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