I come from a large Italian Catholic family on my mom's side and a large New England WASP family on my dad's side, and I'm one of the younger grandchildren, so my grandparents' names were decided way before I was born. My maternal grandmother is "Nanny", which I've surmised is an anglicization of "Nonna," which is what everyone called her mother, my great-grandmother. My maternal grandfather was "Papa". For my paternal side, they were "Grammie" and "Grampa".
We used Grama or Gram for my favourite grandma, which I'm not sure I've seen anyone else use really. I'm pretty terrible at giving people nicknames, and came up with this one, so maybe this tracks. (I call my father Popadopulous which I make no apologies for. And no, we have no Greek heritage).
On a similar subject, I'm now an aunt to two nephews and would love to be able to have a different title as pretty much everyone that's a friend gets called 'Aunt X' etc. I did suggest Tata or Zia (Aunt in French/Italian) as I've lived in France and Italy, and these names sound so much more fun. But that's fallen by the wayside pretty quickly and it seems precious to insist on titles somehow.
On my father's side, my grandparents were (still are?) Nana and Grampy to me, my siblings, and all my cousins. When my aunt Rose's children (Rose is the oldest) had kids, they referred to my aunt as Nana Rose and their great-grandmother as Nana Ruby (Ruby was her first name). This avoided any confusion. When Ruby passed away in 2012, they all continued to refer to Aunt Rose as Nana Rose. This may have been out of respect or it may have due to familiarity. My other aunts, who didn't become grandparents until after Ruby passed away, go by Nana and Nonna to their grandchildren. We all know that the aunt that goes by Nana was the closest to my Nana, so we're okay with her repurposing Nana's name.
On Mom's side, I never knew my grandparents. To this day, my mother refers to them as "my mother" and "my father." On a rare occasion, I can get a "your grandfather" or "your grandmother" out of her, but it's not often. I once used "Grandpa Alex" in a question, and she said, "don't say that." I only have one cousin on Mom's side and we never discussed grandparents, so I'll probably never know what Grandpa Alex and Grandma Betty liked.
Neither me nor any of my siblings have kids, but my mother has expressed that she really likes "Gigi" but would also go by "G-Ma" if Gigi isn't available. I don't have the heart to tell her that none of her kids are going to have children.
As the firstborn of two firstborns who later divorced and remarried and who now has two tween/teens whose three sets of grandparents are all alive, I've got a lot of experience with this one.
I had a friend growing up who used the "Grandma [last name]" construct, but mine were Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop on my mom's side and, on my dad's side, Grandmom for my grandmother and Granny for my great-grandmother, who was born in 1904 and died in the spring of 2000. I never knew my paternal grandfather growing up, and my great-grandfather died before I was born. I'm pretty sure the latter would have been "Pop," though.
Like my Granny, my Pop-Pop's parents each lived to the age of 95. Their names? Pop-Pop-Pop and Mom-Mom-Mom. No, I did not make that up.
My mom and stepfather are Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop to my kids. They had two grandchildren before my son was born, so no consultation was needed. They were always going to use those titles. My niece has two sets of Mom-Moms and Pop-Pops.
When my dad became a grandparent, he chose the name "Pop" because that's what he called his grandfather. However, my niece mutated "Pop" into "Poppy," and now my children sound like the kind of people who use the word "summer" as a verb. My stepmother is Jewish and her grandkids all call her Bubbie (or "Bubbe"?) because that's what she called her grandmother. Sometimes as a unit they're "Pop and Bub" or vice-versa.
My wife's parents are lifelong Texans, and our son was their first grandchild, so we consulted with them. Father-in-law went with Granddad (or "Grandad" or maybe "Grand-Dad," like the bourbon?), I believe because that's what he called his grandfather, which passed muster with us. Mother-in-law put in a request for "Mimi" (if you wondered why I mentioned where they're from, there ya go), and we swatted that nonsense into the third row like Dikembe. She eventually settled on "Grandmommy," which sorta-kinda brings us back to the Lukas family.
My grandparents were gone by the time I was born. With my brothers and sister, my parents were Bubbie and Zadie (Yiddish) to their kids. I have an eight-year-old granddaughter. I'm her Zadie (my wife didn't want Bubbie, and she's Tata--don't ask). My granddaughter's friends all call me Zadie. I am very much into it.
One set of my grandparents were the traditional grandma and grandpa while the other set were Frank and grandma as my biological grandfather had passed away before I was born and my grandmother had remarried.
When my kids were born we called our folks Grammy and Papa on both sides for some reason. When our first grandchild was due we were asked what we wanted to be called and I chose "Pops" as I have a close friend who's dad was known as Pops by all he met. My wife was labeled as NeyNey since her name is Renee so score one for enlightenment :D
All four of my grandparents were alive when I was born (although three of them were gone by the time I was 5), and they were just Grandma and Grandpa, as were my and my wife's parents to our kids. My kids, now in their 30s, have always called me Papa, so when our first grandchild came along a year ago, I chose to have her call me Papa as well. Interestingly, her other grandfather also chose Papa for himself.
On my mom's side, it's Grandma and Grandpa, with their first names following when necessary. Apparently, I called my grandma "Minna" when I was very young, although I don't remember it, and no one seems to know where it came from.
On my dad's side, my grandparents were born in the Netherlands, so it's Oma and Opa, again with their first names following when necessary. That's what both of my parents go by with their grandkids, as well.
on my father's side, the only one alive my father's mother. We called her grandma Wald (father last name. On my mother's side, both were alive for a ling time. Memories of birthdays, holidays and such. We called them Nana and Papa. Nana died when I was a teenager. Papa passed a year after I graduated college. I was the youngest grand child. It felt special.
I think think they chose what they wanted to be called. But I don't know.
When my husband and I had our child, both of our moms chose what name they wanted to be called. Hubby's mom, grandma Joanie. My mom, Bubbe and Zadie.
I had a Nana on one side and a Nani on the other too! I thought we were the only ones with combo. My kids have a Nani and a Grampy on one side, and a Grandma and a Pepe (French Canandian) on the other.
Just Gramma and Grandpa, both sides but to distinguish, my paternal grandparents were Gram and Gramp Kitty, since they had a cat when I was young and my maternal grandparents didn’t.
My children call my parents Grammy and Grampy to be consistent with how their cousins refer to them but call my wife’s parents Gaga and Papa, as thats what my daughter called them in the early days of talking
My maternal grandmother (who lived with us and was much loved) was Grandma. My paternal grandparents, who were very formal, were Nana and Grandfather Bob. My other grandfather died before I was born, so I'm not sure why we had to differentiate the surviving one. I never thought much about it until I was in college and saw my grandfather a block away in the city where I lived. I started shouting, "Grandfather Bob! Grandfather Bob!" and was suddenly struck by how strange it sounded.
Growing up, we called our grandparents Grandma LastName and Grandpa LastName. I don't remember what my wife's family called her grandmothers, but her grandfathers were "Grandpa" for one and "Grandfather" for the other.
Our kids call her parents "La La" and "Pop Pop", and call my mom "Grandma". (My father died before they were born, but the kids refer to him as "Grandpa" in conversation).
We are Greek, so in our family, and pretty much every other Greek family I know, we call our grandmothers Yiayia and our grandfathers Papou. When I was a kid, we always used Yiayia and Papou, never grandma and grandpa or anything like that. I didn't even realize Yiayia and Papou were Greek words, they were just normal to me (I am a third generation Greek-American, and unfortunately don't speak Greek, but every Greek knows Yiayia and Papou).
If I was just with one set of grandparents, just saying Yiayia or Papou would suffice, but if they were both there, we would use first names to differentiate (Yiayia Georgia or Yiayia Zoe).
My kids call my parents Yiayia and Papou. My mother in law is also Greek, but my father in law is Italian, so they are Yiayia and Nonno.
In a couple decades when we hopefully have grandchildren, we will also be Yiayia and Papou.
I come from a large Italian Catholic family on my mom's side and a large New England WASP family on my dad's side, and I'm one of the younger grandchildren, so my grandparents' names were decided way before I was born. My maternal grandmother is "Nanny", which I've surmised is an anglicization of "Nonna," which is what everyone called her mother, my great-grandmother. My maternal grandfather was "Papa". For my paternal side, they were "Grammie" and "Grampa".
We used Grama or Gram for my favourite grandma, which I'm not sure I've seen anyone else use really. I'm pretty terrible at giving people nicknames, and came up with this one, so maybe this tracks. (I call my father Popadopulous which I make no apologies for. And no, we have no Greek heritage).
On a similar subject, I'm now an aunt to two nephews and would love to be able to have a different title as pretty much everyone that's a friend gets called 'Aunt X' etc. I did suggest Tata or Zia (Aunt in French/Italian) as I've lived in France and Italy, and these names sound so much more fun. But that's fallen by the wayside pretty quickly and it seems precious to insist on titles somehow.
On my father's side, my grandparents were (still are?) Nana and Grampy to me, my siblings, and all my cousins. When my aunt Rose's children (Rose is the oldest) had kids, they referred to my aunt as Nana Rose and their great-grandmother as Nana Ruby (Ruby was her first name). This avoided any confusion. When Ruby passed away in 2012, they all continued to refer to Aunt Rose as Nana Rose. This may have been out of respect or it may have due to familiarity. My other aunts, who didn't become grandparents until after Ruby passed away, go by Nana and Nonna to their grandchildren. We all know that the aunt that goes by Nana was the closest to my Nana, so we're okay with her repurposing Nana's name.
On Mom's side, I never knew my grandparents. To this day, my mother refers to them as "my mother" and "my father." On a rare occasion, I can get a "your grandfather" or "your grandmother" out of her, but it's not often. I once used "Grandpa Alex" in a question, and she said, "don't say that." I only have one cousin on Mom's side and we never discussed grandparents, so I'll probably never know what Grandpa Alex and Grandma Betty liked.
Neither me nor any of my siblings have kids, but my mother has expressed that she really likes "Gigi" but would also go by "G-Ma" if Gigi isn't available. I don't have the heart to tell her that none of her kids are going to have children.
My mom, their only grandparent, was Oma to our two boys. My wife and I are Grandma and Grandpa to our grandsons.
As the firstborn of two firstborns who later divorced and remarried and who now has two tween/teens whose three sets of grandparents are all alive, I've got a lot of experience with this one.
I had a friend growing up who used the "Grandma [last name]" construct, but mine were Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop on my mom's side and, on my dad's side, Grandmom for my grandmother and Granny for my great-grandmother, who was born in 1904 and died in the spring of 2000. I never knew my paternal grandfather growing up, and my great-grandfather died before I was born. I'm pretty sure the latter would have been "Pop," though.
Like my Granny, my Pop-Pop's parents each lived to the age of 95. Their names? Pop-Pop-Pop and Mom-Mom-Mom. No, I did not make that up.
My mom and stepfather are Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop to my kids. They had two grandchildren before my son was born, so no consultation was needed. They were always going to use those titles. My niece has two sets of Mom-Moms and Pop-Pops.
When my dad became a grandparent, he chose the name "Pop" because that's what he called his grandfather. However, my niece mutated "Pop" into "Poppy," and now my children sound like the kind of people who use the word "summer" as a verb. My stepmother is Jewish and her grandkids all call her Bubbie (or "Bubbe"?) because that's what she called her grandmother. Sometimes as a unit they're "Pop and Bub" or vice-versa.
My wife's parents are lifelong Texans, and our son was their first grandchild, so we consulted with them. Father-in-law went with Granddad (or "Grandad" or maybe "Grand-Dad," like the bourbon?), I believe because that's what he called his grandfather, which passed muster with us. Mother-in-law put in a request for "Mimi" (if you wondered why I mentioned where they're from, there ya go), and we swatted that nonsense into the third row like Dikembe. She eventually settled on "Grandmommy," which sorta-kinda brings us back to the Lukas family.
My grandparents were gone by the time I was born. With my brothers and sister, my parents were Bubbie and Zadie (Yiddish) to their kids. I have an eight-year-old granddaughter. I'm her Zadie (my wife didn't want Bubbie, and she's Tata--don't ask). My granddaughter's friends all call me Zadie. I am very much into it.
I grew up using:
- Grandma [Last name]
- Grandpa [Last name]
My kids are growing up using:
- Grandma [Last name]
- Grandpa [Last name]
I like doing this the traditional straightforward way.
I'm still trying to get my kids' friends to call me, "Mr. Maldre" and not "Mr. Matt"
One set of my grandparents were the traditional grandma and grandpa while the other set were Frank and grandma as my biological grandfather had passed away before I was born and my grandmother had remarried.
When my kids were born we called our folks Grammy and Papa on both sides for some reason. When our first grandchild was due we were asked what we wanted to be called and I chose "Pops" as I have a close friend who's dad was known as Pops by all he met. My wife was labeled as NeyNey since her name is Renee so score one for enlightenment :D
All four of my grandparents were alive when I was born (although three of them were gone by the time I was 5), and they were just Grandma and Grandpa, as were my and my wife's parents to our kids. My kids, now in their 30s, have always called me Papa, so when our first grandchild came along a year ago, I chose to have her call me Papa as well. Interestingly, her other grandfather also chose Papa for himself.
On my mom's side, it's Grandma and Grandpa, with their first names following when necessary. Apparently, I called my grandma "Minna" when I was very young, although I don't remember it, and no one seems to know where it came from.
On my dad's side, my grandparents were born in the Netherlands, so it's Oma and Opa, again with their first names following when necessary. That's what both of my parents go by with their grandkids, as well.
on my father's side, the only one alive my father's mother. We called her grandma Wald (father last name. On my mother's side, both were alive for a ling time. Memories of birthdays, holidays and such. We called them Nana and Papa. Nana died when I was a teenager. Papa passed a year after I graduated college. I was the youngest grand child. It felt special.
I think think they chose what they wanted to be called. But I don't know.
When my husband and I had our child, both of our moms chose what name they wanted to be called. Hubby's mom, grandma Joanie. My mom, Bubbe and Zadie.
I had a Nana on one side and a Nani on the other too! I thought we were the only ones with combo. My kids have a Nani and a Grampy on one side, and a Grandma and a Pepe (French Canandian) on the other.
Just Gramma and Grandpa, both sides but to distinguish, my paternal grandparents were Gram and Gramp Kitty, since they had a cat when I was young and my maternal grandparents didn’t.
My children call my parents Grammy and Grampy to be consistent with how their cousins refer to them but call my wife’s parents Gaga and Papa, as thats what my daughter called them in the early days of talking
My maternal grandmother (who lived with us and was much loved) was Grandma. My paternal grandparents, who were very formal, were Nana and Grandfather Bob. My other grandfather died before I was born, so I'm not sure why we had to differentiate the surviving one. I never thought much about it until I was in college and saw my grandfather a block away in the city where I lived. I started shouting, "Grandfather Bob! Grandfather Bob!" and was suddenly struck by how strange it sounded.
Growing up, we called our grandparents Grandma LastName and Grandpa LastName. I don't remember what my wife's family called her grandmothers, but her grandfathers were "Grandpa" for one and "Grandfather" for the other.
Our kids call her parents "La La" and "Pop Pop", and call my mom "Grandma". (My father died before they were born, but the kids refer to him as "Grandpa" in conversation).
We are Greek, so in our family, and pretty much every other Greek family I know, we call our grandmothers Yiayia and our grandfathers Papou. When I was a kid, we always used Yiayia and Papou, never grandma and grandpa or anything like that. I didn't even realize Yiayia and Papou were Greek words, they were just normal to me (I am a third generation Greek-American, and unfortunately don't speak Greek, but every Greek knows Yiayia and Papou).
If I was just with one set of grandparents, just saying Yiayia or Papou would suffice, but if they were both there, we would use first names to differentiate (Yiayia Georgia or Yiayia Zoe).
My kids call my parents Yiayia and Papou. My mother in law is also Greek, but my father in law is Italian, so they are Yiayia and Nonno.
In a couple decades when we hopefully have grandchildren, we will also be Yiayia and Papou.