Looking for an alternative nickname for grandma? Look no further.
I am not sure about everyone else’s mother (or mother-in-law), but mine really didn’t want to be called “Grandma”. There is nothing wrong with the name “Grandma” – heck both my grandmother’s were “Grandma” and loved it. But for some new Grandmothers the name feels off for a variety of reasons. I realized this wasn’t unique to my mom (maybe it’s a baby boomer thing) in talking to other families. My own family is now full of non-grandmas! My aunt is called Mooney, my mom is called Ama, and my mother-in-law is called Gammy.
With this in mind, I began asking other people what they called their Grandmothers or what their children call their grandmothers and this is the non-horrible list I came out with in the end!
- Granny
- Grammy
- Gammy
- Gams
- Gamma
- Grams
- Mahma
- Ama
- Marmey
- Ami
- Oma
- Mema
- Nana
- Nanny
- Nani
- Honey
- Babi
- MawMaw
- Mamie
- Buba
- Babu
- Teta
- Tutu
- Lolly
- Lulu
- Looloo
- Lovie
- Shimmy
- Rue
- Rooney
- Wammie
Whether these names were intentional by the adults in the room, or unintentional by the children’s developing speech – they are mostly pretty cute. Have something to add? I’d love to hear it!
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