A Guide to Picking Your Grandparent Name
- If you’re a first-time grandparent, deciding on what name you want your grandchild to call you can be one of the most fun parts of the journey. We surveyed fans of our Grandparent Adventures to hear what their grandchildren call them!
- The results fell into several different categories, including popular names like “Grandpa” and “Nana,” as well as names that came from the family’s native language or ancestry.
- Then there were the names that the grandchildren gave their grandparents — sometimes, names were decided on based on how the children could pronounce them, like Gram, Bubba or Poppy.
Do you have your first grandchild on the way? Congratulations! One of the fun things about being a new grandparent is deciding (or discovering) what your grandchildren will call you. Will you choose from a list of popular grandparent names? Choose something traditional? Or get creative?
We polled fans of our Grandparent Adventures to find out what names for grandparents they recommended. More than 750 grandparents shared their unique grandparent names with us, and we’ve put together a few suggestions based on the results to help you decide what you’d like to be called. Choose wisely — and most importantly, have fun!
1. Pick From What’s Popular
The list of most popular names for grandmas and grandpas combine a mix of more traditional and more creative names. We’ll let the numbers from our survey speak for themselves here:
- Nana (11%)
- Grandma (10%)
- Grammy (7%)
- Mimi (6%)
- Gigi (6%)
- Grandpa (15%)
- Pop (9%)
- ZaZa (7%)
2. Borrow from Your Grandparents
Some people can’t separate the idea of being a grandparent with the name that they called their own grandparent. When you hear your grandmother or grandfather’s name, are you filled with a comforting warmth or nostalgia? Then maybe the right choice for you is to keep it in the family — whatever that name may be.
3. Go Traditional
Among the nicknames for grandparents in English, two of the most traditional grandparent pairings are “Grandma and Grandpa” (often followed by your first name) and “Nana and Papa.” The names are classic, universally understood and carry a sense of tradition. But maybe you want something more unique and creative. Then read on.
4. Pick a Nickname
Around 30% of grandmothers and grandfathers go by a different version of these traditional names. Some of the most popular shortenings for “grandma” and “nana” include: Gram, Grammy, G-Ma, Granny and Nan. Grandpa or Papa are often shortened to Gramps, Pop, Pap, G-Pa, Poppy or Grandaddy.
5. Let Your Grandkid Choose
In many cases, even if you try to choose your grandparent name yourself, your grandchild will come up with something on their own. Maybe they call you “Ahma” because they couldn’t say “grandma” when they were little, or maybe they call you “Gimme” because they associated you with giving them whatever they want. Or perhaps they’ve come up with something creative completely on their own. Some baby-created nicknames we came across? Boop, Bubba, GamGam, Gaga, Googoo, Gram, Rah-Rah.
6. Be Formal
One grandmother told us how she and her husband had their grandchildren call them “Mimere” and “Sir” in order to help develop their language skills. If you like the refined sound of a more formal grandparent name, Grandmother, Grandfather, Mrs., Sir, Lady and Duke are some ideas from Road Scholars.
7. Go Back to Your Roots
About 10% of the grandparents we surveyed chose their grandparent names based on their native or regional language or the language of their ancestors. In many cases, these names were passed down through the generations. And in some cases, grandparents used shortened versions as a unique nickname. Some of the most common among Road Scholars include: YiaYia/Pappoús (Greek), Oma/Opa (German), Nonna/Nonno (Italian), Mémère/Mémé and Pépère/Papi (French), Babcia/Dziadzia (Polish), Abuelo/Abuela (Spanish), Lola/Lolo (Filipino), Mawmaw/Pawpaw (Southern U.S.) and Kapuna (Hawaiian).
8. Choose Something Silly
One of the best parts of being a grandparent is reconnecting with your silly self. Whether you choose a silly grandparent name to be unique, or your grandchild chooses it for you, we heard some funny grandparent names from our participants. They included Sugar, Sweetie Pie, Sassy, Queenie, Lovie, Lolly, Honey, Cookie, Cuckoo, Coco, Minnie and Banana for grandmothers and Zimmy, Grumpy, Captain, Dude, Bubba, Peanut, Popsicle or Willie for grandpops.
When it comes down to it, it doesn’t really matter which name you pick or which name your grandchild chooses for you. Whatever grandparent name you land on, it’s bound to be your favorite name.
Want to be the coolest Gigi or Pop Pop in town? Take your grandkid on a Grandparent Learning Adventure with Road Scholar!
