My mom (59F) is plenty old enough to be a grandma, but she doesn’t like being called grandma because she thinks that it makes her sound old. For context I’m 23F (I got pregnant when I was 21) and I don’t think that she expected me to have kids this early. She loves my son but we’re unsure of what to have him refer to her as, does anyone know any other names to call a grandma that sound less old? Would it be weird to have my son call her by her first name?
What to call a grandma who doesn’t want to be called grandma?
r/Advice
Comments
Totally get it — lots of grandmas want something less “old sounding.” Some fun options: Gigi, Mimi, Nana, Lulu, or even something cute like Lovey. First name isn’t weird either, especially if you add a twist like “Mama [Name]” or “G-Ma [Name].” Whatever she picks will feel natural once your son starts saying it!
Nanna, nonna, nans, or any other foreign word that feels comfortable
Nana / Nanna, or Nonna are fairly common.
Oma is German, and Babushka is Russian. Bibi is Swahili. Lola is Tagalog.
First name, in my opinion, would certainly be inappropriate.
PS: I’m in my mid 60s, and my son and his wife are planning a family, and to be perfectly honest, I’m not sure about how I feel about being called “grandpa.” 🙂
Ask her what she prefers?
How about “Glam-Ma”? It’s like grandma, but with a little extra sparkle.
Lady
You should have her watch the sketch ‘Choosing your grandma name is serious business’ by It’s a Southern Thing. My mom and mil also struggled but in the end, both just went with Grandma. I know some Mimi’s though.
I go by Mimi. I became a grandmother at 36 and I wasn’t about to be called Granny.
Mema
Her name?
I think she should pick!
> Would it be weird to have my son call her by her first name?
Nah, plenty of ppl do it. Or how about Nana, Gigi, or Oma? Let her choose what she likes best
If you got pregnant at 21 and are 23, presumably your son is 1 or older and going to start using words soon, if he has not already. If your mom doesn’t pick a name she wants he is pretty soon going to make one up for her and then she’s stuck with it.
He’ll come up with something, my grandparents both have strange names which came naturally.
If the first name has a nickname might work my partners 4 year old calls my mum T as a nickname
My grandma was like this too so I just grew to calling her by her first name. I don’t think it’s weird, personally
Sometimes it works to use a name from your family’s ancestry…. like where your mom’s grandparents are from. Example: from Germany, grandma = Oma
Big G
Queen
Mama then their first name
G-dawg
Some friends use Nona or Nonnie (Italian heritage).
Gigi or Geegee. Gramma. G-Ma. Gram. G-Unit.
Meemaw if you’re Appalachian.
I don’t see the harm in using her first name if she’s cool with it.
Her name? Lol. My friend calls her grandma by her name. I find it odd but if it works for them 🤷🏻♀️
My friend had their grand babies call them Lolli and Pop. Then when they want to go to their house they say we want to go to Lollipops house!
Call her Gumta.
Her first name or, if you’re in a ma’am/sir part of the country, Mrs/Ms last name. Or, to be cute, if your name is Kathy, “Kathy’s mom.” TBH, asking ppl to not call you grandma is like dying your hair: roots always show. Everyone knows anyway and it just makes a person look older.
I did the same thing. I’m now Gigi.
Tell her the grandkids get to pick her name if shes not gonna be grandma. Ask if she like “poopoo” or “nemo” better
Gigi (with soft Gs) and Mimi come to mind. If you have a cultural/ancestral background to a place, you can use a name in a different language.
The child may come up with his own name, anyway.
My mom’s mom was “Nana”, but my mom didn’t wanna be associated with that, so she got her grandkids calling her “Yaya”
We use nana in our house cause my mom felt the same! Mimi was the other grandma cause she also felt the same haha
On my mom’s side I called my great grandmother Oma. I called my grandmother. Mom-mom. On my dads side my grandmother was Granny, which I doubt your mom would like
Old Ma
My mom went by Baba – and now the grandkids are all teenagers and sometimes shorten it to Bubs 😆
Gigi or memaw, maybe nana
I’m called Mamar
It doesn’t matter what she wants, the kids will call her whatever they want.
My ex mil wanted to be called Nana Maggie. My kids called Grandma Manny, or just Manny, until she passed when they were in HS. She tried to get them to call her all kinds of alternatives but, that’s what stuck.
She’d be super pissed to find out that now they just refer to her by Maggie, never as grandma, because the name wasn’t the only thing she felt she needed to control and make demands over.
I called my favorite grandma, “Grandma fluffy” (not real name) after my dog who lived with her. Other family members started to refer to her that way too. She was still called that 20 years after the dog passed.
Kids are weird and creative. Let them be.
Has your mother always been so oddly insecure, and do you want your child exposed to someone like that?
Once your son is old enough to be learning words, ask him to say Grandma. Whatever comes out is it. In the beginning my son called his grandma GG. It stuck and he still uses it at 30 🤷🏻♀️
Presumably your Mom has a first name. Have the kid call her that. It’s fine if she doesn’t want a traditional title. But don’t humor her fantasy that she’s not old enough to be a grandmother by calling her some cutesy made up bullshit name.
Mimi
You can ask her what she wants to be called. But also like age gracefully? “She thinks it makes her sound old” like she is tho? It’s not some terrible thing it’s a fact of life she needs to get over it honestly bc I’m sure this insecurity translates to many other things in your/her life.
Don’t get why people are so scared to admit that they age like… Y’know… Normal human beings?
We call my mom Grammy
I had my first at 20. I’m 40 now and my mum still thinks she’s young to be my younger brothers kids grandma lol just hard pill to shallow I think lol she started as grandma then changed it tk nana bevause it sounded like the baby said it so she claimed jt
Glamma=glamorous gramma
I was 40 when my son and his wife had my grandson. My grandson has a lot of grandmas. Therefore, I am simply called, “Grandma (my first name).” Coolest name I’ve ever been called. He’s now 11. 😀
What is her name? I know a lot of people who play off that! I had a friend who had a “JuJu” (Julie)
OG.
I know lots of Honeys and Lollis
Well she better pick something or the child may pick something she doesn’t like and it will stick.
My kids called my mom “Trisha,” a shortened version of Patricia.
Ask your mom. Tell her it’s “grandma” unless she offers something different.