Becoming a grandparent is a big moment in life. It means your family is growing, and you get to see your child become a parent. After years of balancing being firm and loving while raising your own kids, now you can spoil your grandkids with love and fun. One fun part of being a grandparent is choosing what you want your grandkids to call you. Some people know right away, but others aren’t sure because they worry the name might make them feel old, no matter how young they are. But you don’t have to go with the usual names like Grandma or Grandpa. There are lots of different names for grandparents out there, so you can find one that feels right for you. You could even make up your own name, or let your grandkids decide what to call you!
Let’s start with traditional grandparent names. You might want to use the same name as one of your own grandparents, or a version of it. But if both sets of grandparents want the same name, or if there’s a great-grandparent too, you might need to get creative with variations. For example, you could have a Granny and a Gran-Gran, or differentiate with names like Grandma Kelly and Grandma T.
Gammy or Gams
Gram or Grams
Gramma
Grammy
Grandma
Grandmama
Grandmom
Grandmother
Granny
Gran or Gran-Gran
Marmee
Mammy
Mema
Moreover, the same idea applies to traditional names of grandfathers. They can be tailored to specific people, especially if there are other grandfathers or great-grandfathers around.
Grandfather
Grandpa
Grampa
Grandpappy
Gramps
Granddad
Granddaddy
Grandpop
Papa
PawPaw
Peepaw
Papadaddy
Pop
Poppa
Pops
Pop-Pop
Poppy
Bompa
Boppa
Just remember, you don’t have to choose traditional names if they don’t feel right for you. You can pick something unique and less common that suits your personality better. You could even use your real name, like Mama Lily or something similar. But if your name is hard for the child to say, they might change it a bit. For example, Mama Natalie could become Mama Natty or Nally. Here are some other cool names you might like:
Abba
Amma
Bamba or Bama
BeBe
Bella or Belle
Birdy
Bunny
CeeCee
Coco
Gabby
Gadgy
GiGi
GoGo or Gogi
G-Ma or G-Mom
Glamma or Glammy
Grancy
Kitty
LaLa
MayMay
Mia
Mimi
Nina
Pippy or Pippa
Teeny
Some grandfathers aren’t too worried about sounding “old,” but they still want a name that shows who they are. It could reflect their personality, their job, or a hobby they love. Picking a nickname is a chance to have fun and choose something that feels cool or interesting to you.
Ace
Boss
Bubba
Buck
Buddy
Buzzy
Captain
Champ
Chief
Coach
Duke
G or Gee
G-Dad or G-Daddy
G-Dawg or G-Dog
G-Pa
Grady
Granda or Grandy
Grand-dude
Granite
King
Papi
Papadaddy
Papster
Pepe, Pepo, or Peppy
Poppo or PoPo
PopZ
Rocky
Skipper
On the flip side, grandparent names are often picked based on a family’s background or culture. But you don’t have to be from a specific heritage to choose one of these names—you can simply appreciate it. Keep in mind that these names may have different meanings: some are formal, others informal; some are used when talking directly to someone, and others are used to refer to them. If you like how a name sounds, it’s a good idea to do a bit more research to understand how it’s traditionally used.
Afrikaans: Ouma
Albanian: Gjyshja
Chinese: Nainai
Danish: Bedstemor
Filipino: Lola
Flemish: Bomma
French: Grandmère
French-Canadian: Mémé
German: Oma
Greek: Yiayia
Hawaiian: Tutu
Hebrew: Savta
Indonesian: Nenek
Italian: Nonna
Japanese: Oba-chan
Korean: Halmeoni
Lithuanian: Senelė
Maori: Kuia or Te Kuia
Polish: Babcia
Portuguese: Vovó
Russian: Babushka
Somali: Ayeeyo
Spanish: Abuela
Yiddish: Bubbe
The situation is similar for grandfather names in different languages. Some of these names come from alphabets that are different from ours, so they are written phonetically here. It’s important to look up the correct pronunciation to make sure you feel connected to the name.
Chinese: YéYé or YehYeh (paternal); Gōng Gong or Wàigōng (maternal)
Filipino: Lolo, Ingkong, Lelong, Abwelo
Flemish: Bompa, Bompi, Opa, Opi
French: Grand-père, Grand-papa, Pépère, Papi
French Canadian: Pépé, Pépère, Papi
German: Opa
Greek: Pappoús, Pappoo, Papu, Papou
Hawaiian: Tutu kane, Kuku kane
Hebrew: Saba
Italian: Nonno, Nonnuccio, Nonnino, Nonnetto
Irish: Seanathair, Daideó
Japanese: Ojiisan, Sofu, Jiji
Korean: Haraboji, Harabeoji, Halaboji, Halabeoji
Polish: Dziadek, Dziadziu
Portuguese: Avô, Avozinho, Vovô, Vo
Russian: Dedushka, Deda, Dedulya
Spanish: Abuelo, Abuelito, Lito
Yiddish: Zaidy, Zaida
Just like baby names, grandparent names also change with time. Recently, Coventry Direct conducted a survey of 5,000 people across the United States to find out which names were most commonly used in each state. The results showed that Nana was the most popular, being chosen in 32 states. Here are the other names that were popular based on the survey results.
Grammy
Granny
Abuela
Mimi
Mama
Gram/Grams
Mawmaw
Mom-mom
Papa took the top spot in 36 states. But other favorites in other parts of the country included:
Pawpaw
Pop/Pop-pop/Poppy
Papaw or Pawpaw
Grandad
Abuelo/Abuelito
Gramps or Grampy
If you still don’t know what name to choose, your child or grandchild can pick the title. You can also see what kind of grandparent you are and let that become your nickname. But remember, you may pick the perfect nickname only for the grandkids to turn it into something else.
