David and I have been talking about this lately and I’m curious to hear what other people do.
What do you call your mother? What do you call your grandmother? What do you have your children call you?
Whenever I talk to Peanut, I always refer to myself as “mama”. I’m not sure why since I did not grow up with this terminology. I have noticed among my southern blogging friends that using the term “mama” is very common, even for adult children.
When I was growing up, we called our grandmothers by their last names such as Grandma Smith or Grandma Brown. I don’t know, but that seems kind of formal to me now that I think about Peanut calling her grandmothers and grandfathers by those names.
So, I’m curious to hear what other people do and how it probably varies regionally and culturally. I’m looking for inspiration! 🙂
I grew up (first 9 years) in the south, but always called my parents Mommy and Daddy. When I got older, I went to variations from Mother to Mom to Father (VERY OCCASIONALLY) to Dad. But when my husband and I had children, for whatever reason, we chose to have them call us Mama and Papa. The older ones still do. The little ones do, but when feeling affectionate, they also tend to say Mommy and Daddy. Go figure. 🙂
I grew up calling my grandmother Grandmother. I only had one. I had one grandfather (different branch) till I was six, but I can’t remember what I called him. Probably Grandfather. My mother had said Mother and Daddy, and my father had only a mother most of his childhood, and called her, I believe, Mother. SOOO…who knows where the formality came from?
We just had our children say Grandma and Grandma, and Grandpa and Grandpa. No differentiation, unless we were identifying them to each other, in which case, we would add surnames.
So not very creative.
In Jesus, Susan
Hi Sallie,
Good question! I’m 29 years old but still shamelessly call my mom “Mama” (or even “Mommy” if the situation calls for it, like I’m ill or something and I just want my Mommy’s TLC) and my dad “Daddy.” Being from Indianapolis, I don’t think it counts as “the South” but my family has lots of Southern roots and we still observe many Southern traditions (I’d consider this one of them). My mom and dad are grandparents now to 4 little ones, and the grand-kiddos refer to them as “Nanna” and “Pa-Pa.” My parents ADORE this terminology.
You know what, though? Kids often come up with their own naming conventions for people. For example, I am “Aunt Becky” but my nieces and nephews call me “B.” Which I love! More personal and downright cute coming from little people who shout “Hi B!!!” upon spotting me.
Just my thoughts, hope they help!
Becky
I think it’s neat when kids come up with their own names for grandparents. I’ve heard some unique ones.
I think I’ve always called my mom just “Mom” and my Dad “Dad” (sometimes “Daddy).
My kids call me Mom, though it was Mommy when they were little.
Unfortunately we didn’t live close enough to grandparents for them to come up with their own names. We always referred to them as Grandma and Grandpa ______ (with the last name). But when we’ve visited with each other they’ve just called them Grandma and Grandpa.
My grandmother on my Dad’s side was “Nannie.” (My grandfather on my Dad’s side passed away before I was born.) My grandparents on my Mom’s side were Papaw and Mamaw when I was little. I didn’t really like that as I got older; somewhere along the way it just became Grandpa (my grandmother died when I was about 4).
My mom and step-dad were Nana and Papaw to my nephew who lived near them.
When I have grandkids, hopefully in the next 10 years or so, I don’t care what they call me, as liong as I can see them often. 🙂
Hi Sallie,
I am a Southern Girl (lol) and growing up, I called my my grandparents Grandma and Papa. My great grandmother was “Grandma Bessie”. My husband’s grandparent’s were “Mama Ruth and Papa Charles” and “Grandma Vera and Papa”.
My children call me Momma (but I really like mommy) and my husband is called Daddy. This is what I called my parents growing up too.
My children have different names for their grandparents: My parents (as grandparents) are Nana and Papa and my husband’s parents (as grandparents) are Grannie and Gumpy. Originally, Gumpy was supposed to Gramps but my daughter, who was the only living grandchild for the first 6 years of her life, just started calling him Gumpy. (It’s quite different but it’s cute!).
Have a blessed day, Dana
Hi! I call my parents Mom and Dad, and occasionally Mummy and Daddy. My kids call each set of grandparents different names. My husband’s grandparents are Ma-ma and Pa-pa to everyone, including my kids. His parents are Grandma and Grandpa (literally pronounced “Wee-ma” and “Wee-pa”). My parents are “My mommy” and “My daddy”, I guess because that’s how I refer to them 🙂 My sister’s kids call my parents Sava and Savta (Hebrew for Grandma and Grandpa). We’re kinda all mixed up 🙂
My parents are still “Mama” and “Daddy”. Although, one of my sisters writes “Momma” instead of “Mama”. I am from the South. My husband’s family is from the Midwest, and he and his bro refer to his folks as “Mom” and “Dad”.
As for g’parents’ names, here’s what we did. Nothing.
Actually, we let the g’parents decide what they wanted to be called. My Midwestern in-laws wanted to be “Gramma” and “Granpa” (hard for me with my long, southern drawl to say). They say it quickly. . .
My own Southern parents decided they wanted the grandkids to decide. I had the first grandchild, and my son heard me call my mother “Mama” so many times that he started referring to her as “Mama-Ma”. And then came “Papa-Pa”! It’s kind of special that we let the kids decide, I think. My Southern mother kind of thought it was silly that so many Baby-Boomer women wanted all these names that had nothing to do with “Grandma” or “Mawmaw”,etc.
You know, you don’t have to make up a name for them. Let your Peanut make it up! Imagine how delighted the grandparents will be with that!
Hey Sallie.
We are from Texas- and I still call my mom and dad “mom” and “dad”. My grandparents (I only had one set still living as I was growing up) were called “grandma” and “grandpa”.
My kids call us “mommy” and “daddy” but our oldest one is starting to transition to “mom” and “dad”. They call my parents “Nana and Papa” and my husband’s mom & step dad opted for “Granpere” (french, they’re into this french-wanna-be thing) and “GranBren” (because the french word for grandma is GranMere and she didn’t think Mere sounded very nice and so her name’s Brenda, so she made it GranBren…). Yeah. The kids have a hard time saying that, but oh well.
Different friends’ parents go by Mimi, Nanny, Granny, Nina, but by far the most creative I’ve ever heard of was “Nick-nack” and “Paddy-whack”. Wow. So that should give you some, um, options. 🙂
Jess
I call my parents Mom and Dad or Mama and Daddy. Usually. My daughter calls me Mama, Mom, and Mommy. And “Zebra King.” (I have no idea)
We asked her grandparents what they wanted to be called, so we have a Papaw, a Grandma, a Nana and a Grandaddy. Growing up, I had a Granny and Grandaddy and a Mammaw and Pappaw, and I really liked not having to specify which grandparent all the time–having unique names for each grandparent seems more personal to me.
I always called my parents Mummy and Daddy. I suppose that sounds a bit sad for a 27 year old! I refer to them as ‘mum’ or ‘dad’ and sometimes call my mum ‘mum’. But it just seems strange calling my daddy ‘dad’.Thinking about it, all my siblings call my parents mummy and daddy.
My dad called his parents Pater and Flakes….although I don’t know why! Sometimes we call our parents Moomin muma and Moomin Papa…..but not in public 🙂
We are ‘mummy and Daddy’ to Daniel.
I had a Nanna and a Grandpa, and a Grandma. DH’s parents are referred to as Nanny and Grandad, and my parents Grandma and Grandpa. I never wanted my mum to be ‘Grandma’…but she is! I like ‘Popa’ for a grandfather. That is sweer.
This is rambling isn’t it?! Strangely enough my husband calls his parents mum and dad. I wonder if what we call people has to do with expressed levels of affections within our families.
And that should read ‘sweet’. My nephews call their grandparents ‘mamgi and tadkey’….or somethings like that!It is the Welsh for grandparents….(I wait for someone to correct me 🙂
When I was younger, I called my Mom’s mother Grammy, but she secretly hated it so over time it has become Grandma. We always called my Mom’s dad Grandpa… and in writing they are G’pa and G’ma (maybe it stems from having 6 cool Southern grandchildren currently between the ages of 25-17 ;-))
My Dad’s parents were Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop. They hailed from Maryland. My cousins are older (and still live up there) so they got to “name” them before I came along. I haven’t ever heard these names given in Southern families.
The most unique I have heard is Gay-Gay Doc and Momma Lib- my friends’ nicknames for their medically-educated grandparents.
I am glad you brought this up, I have always wondered what my parent’s will be called someday… Especially now that my Dad has remarried- Step-Grandma sounds so strange!
Whatever you decide upon as names for grandparents, I recommend you think about how it will be for Peanut using those names when she herself is grown. “Pop-pop” sounds cute coming from a little girl, but once she is grown, it will sound kind of silly. Though not what we used, I like the idea of Grandma ______ (first name) and Grandpa or Grandad ______ (first name). These work well at all ages and also helps the children to realize that both sets of grandparents are “equivalent” relationships.
Well, we are NOT from the south! My children call us mom and dad, and they call their grandparents mimi and papa, and their great grandparents nana and grampa.
I will say that they call my parents that because my parents want it.
My paternal grandma is called gigi by some cousins, and my aunt is called Nona which is Italian for grandma. Now ALL the children call her Nona whether it’s their grandma or not!
I want my grandson to call me Grandma Judy.
My children call their grandparents Grandma and Grandpa. I call them that now also.
I cannot wait to hear what he chooses to call me! Right now (at 8 months) he points at me and says ‘GEE’.
I LOVE it!
Heya!
I called my mother “Mom” or “Ma” (its the Sicilian in me). My father was always “Dad” or “Daddy”.
My maternal grandmother was always “Gamma Bevie.” One of us gran’kids missed the r, and it quickly became Gamma…
My fraternal grandparents are Sicilian and German, respectively, so my grandmother is “Nana” (Nah-Nah), and Granpa (said quickly)…
My husband’s mother and father refer to themselves as “Mama” and “Papa” to the grandkids, but personally, that’s confusing! They’ll be Gamma and Granpa, becuase Lord knows the childrens’ mother is confused enough…she doesn’t need her kids to be too!
I call my parents mother and daddy. My grandparents were Grandma and Poppa. My mom requested that my kids call her Grams, so they do, and my oldest started calling my dad Poppy when she was small and it has stuck. Her other grandma is Grandma Ellis.
Cathy
I am from the midwest and I call my parents Momma and Daddy. I dont think girls are very to grown up to stop calling their Dad’s Daddy.
As for Grandparents we always refered to them as Grandma ____. My paternal Grandma wanted to be called Memaw but my mother would not let her call herself that because it was to close to Momma. She said that she had waited a long time to be a mother to have somebody steal the name from her. As we got older we came up with nicknames for them. Paternal Grandma was from upstate NY and became “Grama”. Maternal Grandma we wanted to call Granny but she did not like that so I combined the two and called her Grammy.
Hi, Sallie! We’re originally from the South, although we live in Canada now. We are Mama and Daddy to our children (teenagers!), although our oldest tends to call us Mom and Dad more often now, which is fine with us. My dad is still Daddy to me, and if my mother were alive she would still be Mama. My stepmom is Mother.
My grandmothers were Granny and Grandma; my grandfathers both died before I could remember them. My stepmom’s parents were MaMa and PaPa. My parents are Grandmama and Papa to our children, and my husband’s parents are Grandma and Grandpa.
I call my mother “mama” mostly. On rare occasions I call her “Mom”. I think it’s left-over from my teenage days of thinking it was somehow “cooler” than “Mama”.
I only had one set of grandparents growing up, so I called them “Grandma” and “Grandpa”. But my kids have more grandparents that legally allowed (or should be). They have “Nana” and “PawPaw”, “Grandma Lisa” and “Grandpa Pat”, “Nanny” and “PawPaw”, “Nana Pam” and “PawPaw Bill”, “MeeMaw” and “PeePaw” (which I really don’t like but they do), “Grandpa” (my grandpa)and “Grandpa Ken” and “Grandma Mary”.
My mother wanted to be called “Nana” because she thought it sounded younger. The others….well, some are great-grandparents and they just had names added to grandma and grandpa for clarification. I have no idea where some of the names came from…..
It is a blessing to have so many grandparents (and all locally!) It just gets confusing getting them all named! 😀
Good luck deciding!
Mommy & Daddy until we were grown, then Mom & Dad. Sometimes I still call Mom “Mommie” when I’m sick, or tired, or just to be silly on the phone with her – she loves it! We always called our grandparents Grandma & Grandpa unless we were away from them – in which case it was Grandma Klem or Grandma Stack, surnames. My husband called his parents Mom & Dad all their lives. My Mom’s family are from the deep south going back to the 1700’s. Dad’s family were immigrants (from the old country as he would say).
I am 25 years old and I call my mother- mom and my father dad or daddy. We have always called our grandparents Grandma + First Name and Grandpa + First Name when describing them, but ususally just Grandma or Grandpa when talking to them, however sometimes we call them by the full Grandma Millie, Grandpa George, etc. names if we are so inclined. My best friend calls one set of grandparents Gran (the grandfather) and Gram (the grandmother) and her other grandmother Grammie. Her grandfather loves being a “Gran” so much that he had his license plate personalized to read as such. On a side note, I’ve always love the Hebrew words for mother and father- Ima and Abba.
I call my parents Mom and Dad, although it was Mommy and Daddy when I was younger. Occasionally I call them Mummy or Mumsie and Daddy.
I refer to my husband and myself as Mommy and Daddy.
She will call her grandparents on my side Nanna and Pop Pop. On my husband’s side its Grandma and Pop!
I called my grandmom “Grammyâ€
I have always called Mom, “Mom” but what is funny is I call Dad “daddy”. I am close to both, it just worked out that way =) Blessings.
I am Mommy to all of my kids — though the seven year old will probably out grow this fairly soon.
My mother — has always been momma to me — My MIL has always been Mom to all of her kids (us outlaws too LOL)
My grandmothers were Grandmother Txxxx and Grandmother Cxxxx
My mother is Grandmommie to my kids and Grammy to my niece — My MIL is Grandma Sxxxx to all her grandkids
with my father it is Daddy to me and Grandaddy or Gandie to my kids and niece.
My older kids call us Mom and Dad, though they said Mommy and Daddy when they were littler. The two grandmothers are Mimi and Gego, and the grandfather is Pop.