As I became an adult, I became aware of how many names there are for grandparents!

Meemaw? Huh?

Well, sure!

I had a Nanna and Poppop, and a Babchi and Gadji.

Being called "grandma" is music to my ears.

Bengardening as you prolly know, I am from Germany. My grand mothers were Oma, and Omi. Both mean Granny. My fathers mother was Oma, and my mothers mother was Omi. We kept the same terms for our children.

My mother in law didn't want to be called granny, but after hearing Oma while she was in Germany decided that is what she wanted. Well, she got it from my kids.

Moni

I am the only grandparent that my two grandsons have still living. They call me "Grandma". When my mother was alive, she was "Old Grandma" and I was "Young Grandma". We thought that was cute. My father is called "Old Grandpa".

Whew! This thread is fascinating! My grandmothers were called "Gam" and "Arna", grandchild-given variations of their actual names (Marguerite and Roxanna -- yes, I was named for that one). These names were/are always used, never morphing into grandma. Grandfathers were "Grandad' and "Grandfather". All of them are long gone (I'm 70).

My two kids called their paternal grandmother "Grandmother Hi-ho" as she lived in, you guessed it, Ohio and we saw them only once a year. My mother wanted to be called the (to me) very formal "Grandmother" which she was, tho when referring to her to differentiate from the other one, she was called "Grandmother-House" as she lived nearby and we would go to grandmother's house frequently.

My own grandkids follow the name my oldest grandson first gave me -- "Gheemah" (hard "g"), which I love as it is unique as far as I know! DH is Grandad.

My parents were GaGa and Gamps (or Gampy) to their grandchildren. My brother is Papa or Poppy to his grandkids and my SIL is known as Betty (a family nickname assigned by her daughter's best friend many years ago - her real name is Mary). My sister is Nanny to her clan. My only daughter has no immediate intention of settling down and producing offspring so who knows what I'll be - if I'm even still around - when that happens! Since my name is Pam, I'd guess Grammie Pammie :-)

We're called grandma and papa

Grandma and grandpa here

We are Mimi & Papa.

Our 1st granddaughter was 2 when she came into our lives, and already had a "Grandma." Her parents wanted a different title for me, since they didn't want her confused. She chose "Mimi." I don't care what they call me, as long as they do! LOL

I was blessed to have had 5 great grandmothers living when I was born. One of them lived until I was 27 and passed a month before my son was born.

My kids had 4 greats as well, and were able to meet and spend time with all of them.

My sister-in-law was "Mao-mao" (closest I can come to spelling it like it sounds) to her grandkids when they were small and right up until their teens. Sometimes the the name still slips out when they talk to or about her.

Grandpa Jim and Grandma Karen here. There is another Jim grandfather and he lives less than 20 minutes away from the grandchildren - he is "paw-paw". Maybe that will change sometime, but I doubt it.

Grandmama or Grandmother, according to what mood grandson is in :o)

Grandma and grandpa here. The other grandmothers are Mamaw (first name).

Funny story....my son's first wife had a son from a previous relationship. He called me Granny (which can make your ears bleed when a kid hollers it! :) )....one day he was with he other grandmother and she was giving him candy 5 minutes before supper right after his mom said no.....other grandmother sneaked him to her car and gave him the candy. I came out, saw what was going on and just stood by his side of the car. He saw me, I wagged my finger at him and walked away. Scared the bejeezus out of him. From that day forward (until they split up), I was known as Mean Granny. Wore that badge with pride! LOL!

I am just plain ole Grandma. It is what I called both my grandmothers. But my son-in-law's parents wanted a name that was different from ours and so they are grand dad and grammy. She thought grammy sounded younger--I don't at all!

I called my grandparents grandma /grandpa. When I had kids they called their four grandmas and grandpas using my husbands last name to differentiate his. When my mother became a Great, we just called Grandmother Sarah. Now that I have two baby greats, I am grammy.

I am Nanny with a shortened form of my name attached. I have that name with all of my neices and nephews as well as the grands. Hubby is grampa.

I am Grammy, sometimes shortened to Gram, to both my grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Nana & Papa here. My daughter named the grandparents prior to her first born. The others are Grandma & Grandpa.

We have a very close relationship with our grandchildren. So close that the 4 year old asked his mom if Nana is his other mommy.

Our DS called each of his grandmothers Grandma-(First Name). His DS calls him Papa, thanks to his Polish-American caregiver. His DD calls him Daddy.

My DH and I are Grandma and Grandpa. DIL's parents are Polish-American and are Busia and Jaja. (Not sure of spelling.)

We wish our DS had started his family when we could be more active with children. We were already behind the "new generation every twenty years" when DS arrived. I was 30. DS was nearly 29 when he married, and he was 34 when our DGS was born. By the time they wanted a second child DS was 40. It's a little hard for us to physically keep up with grandchildren when we are old enough to be their great-grandparents.

Because I am so old (92) now, I never knew my Grandparents, because they had passed on before I was born. But in my family, which was very large with Aunts and Uncles, all grands were either Mamaw, or Pawpaw. My grands, and greats, still call me Mamaw. My DH passed away many years ago, but he was Pawpaw up until then. I love to hear it when they are around. A couple funnies along that line: A cousin referred to her mother as her little boy's "other mama" so much so that when he starting talking he always called her "other mama." Just yesterday my GSIL was here fixing a problem on my computer. I noticed he told the person he was talking to, (a service guy,) he was on his Mamaw's machine. Makes my heart happy!

When my 18-year-old grandson was born, he called us "old" grandma/pa and SIL's parents "new" grandma/pa , even though we are considerably younger. Turns out in his mind it was all about proximity and we live near him.

As a child I had two Grandpas for awhile. My grandkids call me Grandma- sometimes spelled Gramma. My first grandson, who is celebrating his 15th birthday today, named my husband Bobo. Don't know why. The name stuck, so we are Grandma and Bobo to all the grands. my husband likes his name.

Off topic a bit but Isn't it funny how our forum voices do not reveal our age? We sound nothing like our age. Just goes to show you age is a number.

i called my father's parents- Grandpop and Grandmom. My mom's mother, Nana. My mom's dad passed away before i was born.

i have no grands yet, but my sister's do. they are called Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop. that's what my kids & my nieces and nephews called my mom, Mom-Mom & my dad Pop-Pop....

when & if i have any grands, I want to be called Nonna., italian word for grandmother... I have no idea what DH will want to be called!!!

lots of great stories, i love the ones where the kids made up the names, that's awesome!!!

Happy, I was pleased to learned a few years back that most people here are in their 60's and up.

And, in some of the other forums as well.

OP Here - Thanks for all of the replies!

I am 55, this is my first grandchild and none of my friends have become grandmothers yet so a name other than "grandma" is new for me. DH and I called all of our grandparents and great grandparents "grandma" and "grandpa".

I had a very difficult time having my three children (DS 27 just made me a grandma, DD21 is in college and DD17 is at home in high school) that I still can't believe I have them, let alone now a grandchild!

It's my understanding that today's grandparents don't want to be called "grandma" and "grandpa" because it makes them feel OLD! Instead, I feel very LUCKY to have been blessed with children, hence my nickname here!

I guess I don't understand wanting a different name just so I won't be perceived as OLD! I will still say my grandson is my "grandson" so doesn't that already say I'm older anyway?!

Congratulations on your first grandchild!

As a child, I wanted each grandparent to have a different name, so I had a Grandmother, Nana, Nanny, Granny, Papa and Grandpa. My parents didn't want to be called by the traditional names when they became grandparents and so are addressed as Mimi and Pops.

'Grandma' is like fingernails on a chalkboard to me. I will not answer to it.

We are Mimi and Pop Pop.

I love being a grandmother and for a while there we feared it wasn't going to happen. DD had a rough time too. I couldn't care less what my grand kids call me. It's about the love. I can't imagine refusing to answer to anything they choose to call me. But I am a grandmother and so grandma is what I am.

22 yrs ago when our oldest GS began to talk he could not say grandma or grandpa, it came out as Mammaw and Pappaw and that is the way it is today and the other 6 grandchildren followed suit. DH liked it better than grandpa or grandad (as his father was called). I had a grandma Bill and grandpa Bill and grandma Walker with grandpa Walker.

So I take it? ..... littlebug zone 5 Missouri and Fun2BHere are Mother and DD?? Just how neat is that.

I am Grandma. The other grandparents are Nana and Papa.

DH and I are Nana and Papa as that's what I called my grandparents and he called his Dad Papa. I was a Nana at age 45 and loved the name Nana. Now I have my first great grand child which meant we needed new names. My dh said "I'm sticking with Papa but my daughter and husband wanted Nana and Grandpa so I was left to figure it out. At three months of age I was teaching Dylan sounds of letters and he had mastered the H so he could then say HI. I worked on NINA next but he says EENA and I absolutely melted. Each time he says EENA HI!!!!!! I almost levitate. I love it.

My children had 3 sets of grandparents: Mimi and PopPop, Granny and Moie, Ooma and Oompa. I caked my one set Memo and Granddad. I started out to be Granny but DGS1 said "NO! It's Gram!" So Gram (pronounced Grawm) it is. His two grandfathers were Poppa and Dodo.

i was thrilled to be a grandmother and couldn't have cared less if anyone thought it "aged" me. I was 56 when I became a grandparent. Who was I kidding? I was "old enough"!

My now 14 yo granddaughter came up with the name Baba for me. Where she got that from we have no idea. But then again, this is the kid who insisted, when her mom was pregnant with number 2, that this baby was going to be a boy and his name will be Jason. Jason is now 11 ;-)

I would have LOVED to be called "Grandma" but I didn't want to be Grandma Martha and unfortunately my SIL's brother had children before he and his mom became "Grandma" to his brothers kids and then his kids. So because I didn't want to be Grandma "Martha", I decided to become Nana. And my heart melts when they call me Nana. DH became "Poppy" and "Grandpa" (SIL's dad) upon the birth of his 5th grandchild (six years after the birth of the first) decided that he didn't want to be Grandpa but rather Papa which to me sounds too much like "Poppy" but what are you going to do. So it's Poppy and Nana and Papa and Grandma.

Nana is popular in California.

Shirl36...lol, no, I'm not related to Littlebug except as GW friends.

My grandson has three grandmothers and two grandfathers. Both grandfathers are "grandpa" to him. His other two grandmothers are "grandma". To avoid more confusion to him, I am "Oma". It's what I have always wanted to be called. My sisters kids now say they wish they had their kids call my sister Oma as well. It keeps the kids from asking, "which grandma" when stories are being told.

Congratulations! I am adamant that we should do our best to call people what they want to be called. So when we had kids, I asked. Dh's parents requested Nana Sue and Pop Pop. My parents requested Nana Jane and Grandpa. So that's what my kids call them. It's a little funny because my brother had kids first and they call my dad Pop Pop because they didn't ask. Dad has never liked it and so when I asked he was pleased.

I'm called Oma. I believe it's grandmother in German and Dutch. Back in high school I had a Dutch girlfriend who's grandmother lived with them . She was Oma . This was like my second home during those years and spent many hours with the family .

I wanted something easy and Oma was the first thing came to mind.

Congrats on your first grandchild! We're grandparents through our DD so far. The only grandparents she knew were 'Grandma' who was my mother and 'G.P.' (short for Grandpa) who is DH's father. Those are the names she wanted DH and me to be called. But when her eldest began talking, DH easily became 'G.P.' (making my father in law now 'G.G.P.') But he couldn't say 'Grandma' so I became 'MumMum.'

Now that his pronunciation is much better, DD asked if he'd like to start calling me 'Grandma.' But he declared that I will still be 'MumMum.' His explanation made sense to us. He calls DD 'Mummy' and hearing her always call me 'Mum,' he'd become aware that I am her mother. So he insists I still be called 'MumMum' because I'm his 'Mummy's Mum.' I guess 'MumMum' is a good way to shorten it and the word 'Grandma' just doesn't mean anything to him, lol!

Tobey's grands all call me Grandma, and call him Papa. My grands call me mama. My friends grands and great grands call her Meemaw Retta to distinguish her from their other Meemaws, and when her hub was alive, called him Papaw Moo.

I love to hear the wee ones call me those names along with hugs and sloppy kisses.

I am Grandma, but my son and wife are Nana and Papa to their grandkids. I had one call me Grammy for awhile and was sorry to have him change back to Grandma.

Funny that this topic came up today. DD (our only child) and SIL are expecting their first in less than 3 months and over brunch with them today, we were discussing our grandparent names. DH and I are both 61 and real,y ready for a grandchild. We decided to see what he comes up with and if we don t like it, we can nudge a bit, I called my paternal grepandmother, Grandmother, and my maternal grandmother Ganny, I only had one grandfather living when I was born and he died when I was a bit over two, but I called him Granddaddy. DD called my Mom, My, and her paternal grandmother by her first name (but respectfully and at her request. Both grandfathers died before she was born. HpDH s when he was 11 and mine when I was 20.

(Like Amicas) the name we called our grandparents as kids was the Danish equivalent of mum's mum MorMor and mum's dad, MorFar. So paternal grandparents obviously were FarMor and FarFar. I want that if my two ever have kids. DD might not like it, but I'd love it.

We called both grandfathers grandpa . At some point, ,my dad's father became Grampa Blue Car . Lasted about as long as he had that car .

all 9 call grandma...they do call dh papa-bear...(he's 6'4")

I am GIGI, for Grandma Gina and my husband is Big Daddy. For some reason our daughter wanted that name for him. The grandkids love it. LOL

Currently it's "mom mee" before that it was Ma. She's almost 2. We've tried to correct her and say Grandma. But she insists on "mom mee".

She calls the big guy Pawpaw. She draws out papa.

My mom is GG for Great Grandma. Or most days she calls her Geeege.

Her other grand parents speak Spanish. I don't know what she calls them. She calls her mom by her first name. But she calls her dad, Daddy.

She is bilingual, so her prononciations are a bit off right now.