Finding a Cute Grandparent Name - How to Choose? 50PlusToday

originally posted 12/28/2018
updated 07/11/2021

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Your new name…how to choose a cute grandparent name?

Congratulations if you are expecting a grandchild! What will they call you? Choosing a cute grandparent name is serious as it is a name that will follow you for many years. How to choose?

Do you feel “Grandma” sounds old? If so, you may want to go with something more hip. You can be creative – or, you might prefer to follow the traditions in your family. This decision is not the most important one you will make as a grandparent, but it is a fun one.

Sometimes grandparent names can spark family conflict. Do you want to use the same name as another grandparent? Two adults with the same name might confuse your little one. It may be a good idea to discuss your thoughts about your new name with the parents and the other grandparent(s).

Note: I focus more on names for grandmothers in this article, only because grandfathers usually tell me they don’t have strong feelings about it – though I know this is not the case for all!

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Traditional Grandmother Names

If you had a wonderful relationship with your grandmother, you may want to continue with the same one. If this child is fortunate to have both a grandmother and a great-grandmother in their life, introduce a small variation to differentiate between generations. In my family, we called our grandmother “Grandma” and our Great Grandmother “Gi-Gi” (short for Great Grandmother!).

Gammy or Gamma or Gams
Gram or Grams
Gramma
Grammy or Grammie
Grandma or Grandmaw
Grandmama
Grandmom
Grandmother
Grannie or Granny
Gran or Gran-Gran
Marmee or Marmi
MeMa or Mima

Some grandmother names are especially prevalent in a specific geographical region or ethnic group. For example, the American South is known for its unique names.

These are some grandparent names common in certain groups or parts of the country.

Honey
Lovey
Lolly
Ma or Maw
MawMaw or Mawmaw
Memaw or MeeMaw
Mom-Mom
Queenie
Sassy
Sweetie

Grandmother in Other Languages

Do you want to choose a name that reflects your heritage? We called one of my grandmothers who was from Germany “Omi”, our take on the German name for grandmother, which is “Oma”.

Several different terms for grandmother exist in many countries. Below are some friends shared with me.

Afrikaans: Ouma
Chinese: NaiNai
Filipino: Lola
French: Grandmere
French Canadian: Mémé
German: Oma
Greek: YaYa
Hawaiian: Tutu
Hebrew: Savta
Italian: Nonna
Japanese: Oba-chan
Polish: Babcia
Portuguese: VoVo
Russian: Babushka
Spanish: Abuela
Yiddish: Bubbe

When the Grandbaby has Multiple Grandparents

Some children have 2 sets of grandparents, one from each side of the family. But many children have even more as step families are common in today’s world. In this case, some families choose to add the given name to the grandparent title to give each one their own special title. For example, you might have a Grandma Bonnie and a Grandma Marianne.