Call me queenie instead of grandma, short for queen mama!

Yep. I called both grandmas that. Grandpas were papa and pop pops. I never knew the latter was at all common until now! Never heard anyone else say that.

My mom called her grandma Baba. She was a slavic immigrant.

We called great grandmas Nana.

My kids call their grandmas nana and grandma. They called their great grandmas on my side grammie and grandma last name. Granddad are grandpa “foot” (he was always grabbing their feet as babies and saying FOOT so the name stuck. And then Paw Paw.

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Wow! Tough crowd! I am not a grandparent, but Queenie is the name I would choose if I am ever a grandparent and am allowed to choose. I dubbed myself, “Queen First Name,” decades ago after reading the Sweet Potato Queens Book of Love. I call my friends Queen so-and-so and refer to my closest friends as my sister-queens. I know of one Queenie in use as a grandmother name.

If we are ever grandparents, my dh would like to be called, “Big Daddy.” That’s about as Southern as it gets.

My parents were deceased before I was married, but my in-laws had already chosen, “Big First Name,” for grandpa and “Grand First Name,” for grandma when their first grandchild was born (my ds’s cousin). I know many on here use first names in their grandparent names, but I have never personally cared for that. I have known Grandma and Grandpa to be used with surnames, but I find that too formal.

To my friends’ grandchildren whom we see often, I am called by a doubling of the first syllable of my first name. I’m not super crazy about it, but it did come about organically, and I don’t mind it.

I have a friend named, Lori who goes by, “LaLa.” Her social media posts with her grandchildren always reference her living in, “LaLa Land.” I think it’s cute.

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What is pretentious about, “Mimi”?? I have known of that usage in several cases.

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My grandparents were Grammy Last Name and Grandpa Last Name. When my maternal grandmother became a great-grandma, she changed it to GiGi, which was also the name of her poodle.

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My mother was Momo (long o both syllables) and my dad was Papa. The names were decided by my nephews, the oldest grandchildren.

I suspect that I’ll be called Bibi if I ever get grandkids as that was my nickname when my siblings couldn’t pronounce my name. I’ve threatened to change my first name several times over the years because I hate my old lady name, but my kids and DH said I should just go by Bibi or Beebs. I absolutely don’t want to go by those names, but I think it’s my destiny as a grandmother.

Everyone I know, basically–Northeast. My Grands were Grandma and Grandpa. So we my H’s (well, Grandma and Granddad). I never knew anyone who thought that was unusual before. Very interesting.

Edit: Now I’m curious–does anyone else think the use of Grandma and Grandpa is weird? Because I’m sort of flummoxed by that.

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Ask them :slight_smile:

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I know 2 Mimi’s, both born in Cuba.

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I think that’s cute too. It sounds like she has a history with “LaLa” as you do with “Queenie”. Wear it proudly!

I would not be a fan of the use of “Big” and my name in any reference or form :grin:

My grandfather on my dad’s side was always “Padoo” to me because my dad and my uncle always referred to him when growing up as “The Great Pa-Do”

I love the idea of organic nicknames!

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I called my one grandmother “Grandmother last name”. The other was "Grandma last name’. My kids called all theirs “Grandma first name” and “Grandpa first name” until my mother decided she didn’t like the way it sounded like “Graamma” from one child and demanded “Grandmother”. So formal.

I’m a Nana. I have a close friend with older grandchildren who is a Nana and I loved the way it sounded. Plus, two of the grandchildren have another grandmother whose first name is very similar to mine so “Grandma first name” would have been very confusing. My husband is Papa because it goes with Nana.

My oldest grand very emphatically told me the other day that your mother’s parents are Nana and Papa and your dad’s are Grandma and Grandpa. When I suggested that families have different names and that wasn’t a rule she was quite offended.

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My wife is thinking she would like to be called Lolli, and then I could be Pop.

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Yep. My extended family and in-laws here in the PNW use Grandma and Grandpa, adding the first or last name (or Owl) as needed for clarity. We used Nana and Papa for the great-grandparents, when that need arose, but I still kept slipping and calling them Grandma and Grandpa.

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I’m Jeepie.

Grandma+[my first name which begins with P] —>G.P. —> Jeepie :heart:

My husband is Papa.

Our names go for all our grandsons (no granddaughters!). My daughter’s inlaws are Grandma and Grandpa. My son’s inlaws are Grandma and Papa, which is a little confusing but GS is only 8 months so not a worry yet.

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My friend and her husband are Nana and Papa. His dad had been Papa. Now that he is a great grandfather, his dad is Big Papa.

That’s adorable.

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If Oma is Chinese then you it is not the right name for you. You have a daughter, so her kids would call you Apo. Only son’s kids would call grandma Oma.
My granddaughter calls me PoPo. My nephew’s daughter calls my sister Ama.

That’s my wife …

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My Oma was a Jewish Hitler refugee.

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Ahhh. Maybe you will be an Apo too.

I’m with you -though I’ve heard all kinds of names for grandparents, that is what most people I know use for grandparents.

Dh is from California. MIL is “grandma” to all of our nieces and nephews on the west coast (their choice, not influenced by us here on the east coast). I know one set of nieces calls their other grandma “mormor” which is Swedish for grandma (she lives in Sweden). FIL never had a “name” b/c he died b/f most of his grandchildren were born (two of my kids were alive but too young to call him anything).