What do (or did) you call your grandmother?

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SUMMARY

This discussion centers on the various names individuals use for their grandmothers, showcasing a rich tapestry of cultural and familial influences. Participants share personal anecdotes, revealing that names like "MooMoo," "Nana," and "Granny" are common, while others highlight unique cultural terms such as "Daadi" and "Naani" from Indian traditions. The conversation also touches on the emotional connections tied to these names, with some participants recounting fond memories and contrasting relationships with their grandmothers.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of familial terminology across different cultures
  • Familiarity with personal anecdotes and storytelling
  • Knowledge of cultural naming conventions, particularly in relation to grandparents
  • Awareness of the emotional significance of names in family dynamics
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the significance of grandparent names in various cultures
  • Explore the impact of familial relationships on personal identity
  • Investigate the role of storytelling in preserving family history
  • Learn about the linguistic variations in addressing relatives across different languages
USEFUL FOR

This discussion is beneficial for anthropologists, linguists, and anyone interested in family dynamics, cultural studies, or the emotional significance of names within familial relationships.

Math Is Hard
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Mine is MooMoo. My sister was about two when she named her that. It just stuck. MooMoo wasn't thrilled about it at first, but now, years later, she is fine with it. :smile:
 
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tea tea! :biggrin:

Not all the time though, but she's fine with it...Too! :biggrin:
 
drizzle said:
tea tea! :biggrin:

Not all the time though, but she's fine with it.

As in "bring me tea, Grandmother!" ?
 
Math Is Hard said:
As in "bring me tea, Grandmother!" ?

Hahaaa! No, but I think it's common for people from... Turkey I think to call their Grany with that short phrase, and I liked the sound of it. :smile:
 
If I had ever called my materual grandma anything like moomoo, I wouldn't be alive to post this. Right up to the end (aged just short of 100) she had flaming red hair, and a flaming temper to go with it!

My paternal grandma died before I was born, and my paternal step-grandma was written out of the family history after making off with all the money from that side of the family (legally, if not honestly, so there wasn't anything to be done about it).

I guess 0 out of 3 counts as a fail in "grandmother studies".
 
Grandma, when I was growing up a moo-moo was a cow!
 
I called (and still call her) baba
 
Grandmom.
 
Both grandmas I called grandma.

One was very old by the time I came along, could barely see or hear. But she had such a sweet disposition and seemed to enjoy having lots of kids sitting on her kitchen floor as she sat peeling potatoes (my only memory of her :smile:).

The other grandma...whew, she was a piece of work. She really didn't like kids at all. She didn't bother calling her grandkids by name (did she even know our names, I wonder?) and instead called us all "George", even the girls. She was mean and had a temper. When she got mad, she would chase us around with a nasty fly swatter :eek:.
 
  • #10
Both Grandma's were Grandma unless they were together, then we had to add the last names.
On my mothers side both my mom and aunt called Grandma and Grandpa Mommy and Daddy till they passed away. I call my mom that and my daughter calls me all the time... and it's "Hey! waz up? So...blah, blah,blah." So what if I had a toe into the shower or the building was on fire. :smile:
 
  • #11
lisab said:
When she got mad, she would chase us around with a nasty fly swatter :eek:.

:smile:


My maternal grandmom was nice but I never lived with my dad's mom because my parents jobs were near my mom parent's hometown.

Nonetheless, there was a bit of friction between my mom and my dad's mom
 
  • #12
My maternal granmother was Nana (which went with Pa), and my paternal grandmother was Grandma (which went with Grandpa).
 
  • #13
My maternal grandmother was Granny, while the paternal grandmother was, Farmor-mamma.
 
  • #14
by her first name
 
  • #15
Both Grandma. My parents were both born in the US. My mother's parents were born in Europe and had European ways about them. They were very plain in all things. My father's parents were born in the US and had American ways about them. They were very elegant in all things. As a small child I couldn't understand the reason why they were so different from each other.
 
  • #16
I was raised by my maternal grandparents, yet I still don't call them nicknames--just "grandpa" and "grandma". Unfortunately, in China it's almost unheard of to call older relatives by their nicknames.
 
  • #17
We had Granny and Grandma. Grandma died when I was pretty young, but Granny [mom's mom] lived long enough to see Tsu and I get married... by about three days. She died while we were on our honeymoon.

Granny was a very funny lady. She had a great sense of humor and loved teasing us kids. Whenever we went over for dinner, she always announced that we would be eating brains and eggplant, which I think she actually liked, though I never saw her eat it.
 
  • #18
I call them oma and opa...
 
  • #19
Maternal was Grandmother and paternal is Nana.
 
  • #20
Me an Indian.In India there are specific names for each kind of relative.

Father - Pitaji/Baba/Papa/Daddy.
Mother - Maa/aai / Ammi / Mom / Mommy/ Mummy.
Paternal Grandmother - Daadi
Paternal Grandfather - Daadaa.
Maternal Grandmother - Naani
Maternal Grandfather - Naana.
Uncle who is father's brother - Chaacha
Aunt who is father's brother's wife - Chaachi
Uncle who is mother's brother - Maama.
Aunt who is mother's brother's wife - Maami.

Aunt who is father's sister - Bua.
Uncle who is father's sister's husband - Foofa.

Aunt who is mom's sister - Mausi.
Uncle who is mom's sister's husband - Mausa (not sure if this one is right terminology).

Brother - Bhaiyya
His wife - Bhaabhi

Sister - Didi
Her husband - Jeeja.Funnily , we call any of our dad's friends as uncle.

I have restricted here to mostly Hindi terminology. There are 17 other languages which I believe have their own terminology.
 
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  • #21
micromass said:
I call them oma and opa...
Si élégant.. Oma.. Opa, nice :)
 
  • #22
drizzle said:
Si élégant.. Oma.. Opa, nice :)

It's not french :biggrin: French would be grand-mère or mamie...
 
  • #23
Hahaa, I know but I feel French language express' anything elegant best and better than any other language ;)
 
  • #24
Aha, je comprend ça completement :cool:
 
  • #25
I called my paternal grandmother grammy. I never knew my maternal grandmother, who died when my mother was a kid. I'm sure that I would have called her meme, though since my mother's family is French-Canadian.
 
  • #26
philipsteele said:
i just call sweeety...

That's what you call your grandmother?

Surely that's more of an affectionate thing for your SO?
 
  • #27
gramm
 
  • #28
I called my maternal grandmother "mormor" (translation: mother-mother); I called my paternal grandmother "farmor" (translation: father-mother).

Not very creative, but in line with Norwegian traditions.
(Another very common designation for either of them is "Bestemor" ("best mother"))

Quiz:

What do you think Norwegians call their paternal&maternal grandfathers? :smile:
 
Last edited:
  • #29
arildno said:
I called my maternal grandmother "mormor" (translation: mother-mother); I called my paternal grandmother "farmor" (translation: father-mother).

Not very creative, but in line with Norwegian traditions.

Quiz:

What do you think Norwegians call their paternal&maternal grandfathers? :smile:

Wow, that sounds complicated if you do the same thing for the next generations? You'll have a morfarmor, farmormor, mormorfar,...
I do like it...
 
  • #30
micromass said:
Wow, that sounds complicated if you do the same thing for the next generations? You'll have a morfarmor, farmormor, mormorfar,...
I do like it...
No, we stop there.

Great-grandmother is "oldemor", whereas
Great-great-grandmother is "tipp-oldemor".
And then we go:
Tipptipp-oldemor
Tipptipptipp-oldemor, and so on..
 

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