I am also Nonna, partly from a fear of being Granny, and partly because of an article I read years ago that described someone's Italian Nonna being warm, loving and an excellent cook! All properties I aspired to...
I had thought about Nonna but that it was nabbed by both my granddaughter's other grandmother and by my brother's wife, so I'm quite glad I didn't now. I love Grandad noise!
I am nana and for several months after the birth my partner was known as "nana's boyfriend" until we decided the joke had gone on for long enough and now he is grandad!
I’m Nana - it’ll probably get shortened to Nan by my oldest as he heads towards adolescence. My mother decided to call me Victoria as I had an expression that looked like Queen Victoria pronouncing that ‘We are not amused!’ - and I was a very solemn looking child (living in my own fantasy world of fairies and tiny invisible rabbits. At school my nickname was Sticky (Sticky Vicky) as I was tall and incredibly skinny and stick-like. My son is called Harry as I’d watched the Jewel in the Crown when pregnant with him and had a bit of a crush on Art Malik who played Hari Kumar. My mother and my mother in law were furious about my choice until price Harry was born 6 months later (when I was furious instead and wanted to get him a tshirt which said ‘I was Harry first!’. Harry named my daughter Annie as he was obsessed with Thomas the Tank Engine and when people asked what was in my tummy he’d say ‘It a baby Annie!’ and if they asked what he would call the baby if it was a boy, he would pronounce ‘It NOT a boy, it a baby Annie!’ Thank heavens he didn’t want me to call her Clarabel. My mother refused to be called Grandma, Granny or anything else that reminded her of aging so she decided that all her grandchildren would call her Momo (which means mother’s mother in Swedish . So Momo she was, to all 9 of her grandchildren.
Don't be sorry, it's really interesting to read. I think all babies look a little bit grumpy and unamused with the world until they learn to smile. I think Annie got off lightly there... Clarabel is definitely a mouthful! I love Momo! It's a great name.
I’m Isobel, deliberately chosen with the Scottish spelling, but after a lifetime of receiving extra 'L's and 'E's and the O replaced with A, the hunt was on for a name for my daughter that (a) everyone could spell (b) everyone could pronounce. You know what we chose in the end! My Welsh step-mum announced quite categorically that she would be Mamgu, but hilariously, my Dad - who could never be told what to do by anyone - was apparently very concerned he’d have to be Tadcu! If he’d lived to see our girl, he’d definitely be Grand-pah as he always signed birthday cards Pah! As in Hmph! My grannies were named by their first names, Granny Frances and Granny Jean. My cousins called Granny Jean 'Nanny' which at the time seemed usual for northeast London/Esssex, which is where they and she lived. My husband's grandparents were places, Granny Worthing and Granny Folkestone, and always Grandpa - but I had Granddads. Oh, and my name now - at school I was always Izzy, when I was older a few people started calling me that before I felt I knew them well, so I said I preferred my full name. The past few years I’ve reverted to Izzy - particularly for my art - feels more me, less grown up! I have an aunt who calls me Bo, for some reason - and that’s also what my sister called me, they’re the only two to ever use Bo. Brother just calls me Iz, and if mum calls me Isobel, I’m in trouble. Phew, that’s an essay! Do you miss me? 🤪
Of course I miss you… who else would send me a message this length in the evening 😉 It made me wonder why we never called my Welsh grandmother Mamgu but she had lived in London since her late teens and was never Welsh speaking so I guess that’s why. I’m surprised you think Nanny was unusual for northeast London/Essex as that seems to be where it is most prevalent… from my very unscientific research!
🥰 aw, thank you. I actually said what you just said - usual, not unusual! Could probably have found a better word, but, it was late 🤭 Anyway, Granny Jean seemed happy either way - Nanny or Granny, but thinking about it, my sister might’ve called her Nanny…🤔
😂 This is what happens when I read stuff in the evening… which I did, although refrained from replying until this morning… I don’t read or take stuff in properly!
My husband is French and I am English, so choosing names for our children was not easy, either because a name was old fashioned in one language and not the other, or the french names were horrible when pronounced by an English speaker. My husband liked the boy's name Corentin, but when spoken with a Manchester accent it sounds terrible!
That must have been difficult. What I didn't mention was that while Ben and his wife didn't call their son Gary, they named him Sokratis, which sounds fabulous when my daughter in law says it in a Greek accent but it took us a while to learn to pronounce it correctly, which is not Socrates as we thought! Their little girl is called Elektra which is much easier
When my daughter had my first grandchild and asked what I wanted to be called I immediately said Lulu. Why Lulu she said, oh I said when I was studying nursing in Cambridge my boyfriend at the time a university student played jazz and he called me Lulu. after some jazz song. So Lulu stuck and all my grandchildren call me Lulu . I love it. It always takes me back to those halcyon days of my youth😊
yes you should have. I think Gigi is a wonderful name for a grandmother. My grands love calling me Lulu and referring to me as Lulu. I am happy to be Lulu at the grand old age of 88
I so enjoy your writing every Sunday. I am Granny having given my daughter in law's mum the choice when my first grandchild was born. And I too am a granny who loves the zip wire! My husband loved his grandad who he called Pop so he too is Pop to our four.
Thank you so much Susan. I thought about writing this last week as we drove home from Ben's but then I wasn't sure anyone else would be interested so it means a lot that you have enjoyed it. I love the name Pop... that sounds just like the sort of grandad you would want! (And a zip wire riding granny too, of course!)
It's very interesting how our names are chosen and evolve. My children (now in their 50's) are called Thea and Josh because their names would never be shortened.
My grandchildren ( all in their 20's ) named me Granny Apples because I've got apple trees in my garden!
My daughter distinguished between her two Grannies by place. We had Granny Woking for my husband's mother, but my mother lived in Great Dunmow, which was too much of a mouthful, so she became Granny Essex. My mother was already Nanny to my sister's children, but daughter herself rejected that at an early age.
My brother Colin married a widowed lady with 5 children. When grandchildren came along, they all called him grandad - except one, Ryan, who insisted Colin wasn't a grandad, he was a Colin - and told his (Ryan's) siblings and cousins so frequently.
My grandmother was still alive when my children were little so to distinguish between her and my Mum they called them Big Nanny and Little Nanny, because my Nan wasn't very tall. Our step grandchildren on both sides are happy to accept us both equally as grandparents but they are still little so they may yet challenge it!
I am Nonna, which I secretly (and hopefully) decided on when my daughter was learning Italian at school.
My dad is known to my girls as Grandad Noise, as when they were small he was always at our house knocking down walls, drilling and hammering.
I am also Nonna, partly from a fear of being Granny, and partly because of an article I read years ago that described someone's Italian Nonna being warm, loving and an excellent cook! All properties I aspired to...
Yes, Nonna definitely holds the right connotations for a grandmother. We also have a friend who is called 'Grumpy' by his grandchildren!
PS - Hubby is 'Grumpy', not a reference to his disposition, but a corruption of 'Grampy' which is what his father was to our children.
I had thought about Nonna but that it was nabbed by both my granddaughter's other grandmother and by my brother's wife, so I'm quite glad I didn't now. I love Grandad noise!
I am nana and for several months after the birth my partner was known as "nana's boyfriend" until we decided the joke had gone on for long enough and now he is grandad!
I can see why that might seem funny at first but soon wear thin. I'm pleased he's now graduated to grandad.
I’m Nana - it’ll probably get shortened to Nan by my oldest as he heads towards adolescence. My mother decided to call me Victoria as I had an expression that looked like Queen Victoria pronouncing that ‘We are not amused!’ - and I was a very solemn looking child (living in my own fantasy world of fairies and tiny invisible rabbits. At school my nickname was Sticky (Sticky Vicky) as I was tall and incredibly skinny and stick-like. My son is called Harry as I’d watched the Jewel in the Crown when pregnant with him and had a bit of a crush on Art Malik who played Hari Kumar. My mother and my mother in law were furious about my choice until price Harry was born 6 months later (when I was furious instead and wanted to get him a tshirt which said ‘I was Harry first!’. Harry named my daughter Annie as he was obsessed with Thomas the Tank Engine and when people asked what was in my tummy he’d say ‘It a baby Annie!’ and if they asked what he would call the baby if it was a boy, he would pronounce ‘It NOT a boy, it a baby Annie!’ Thank heavens he didn’t want me to call her Clarabel. My mother refused to be called Grandma, Granny or anything else that reminded her of aging so she decided that all her grandchildren would call her Momo (which means mother’s mother in Swedish . So Momo she was, to all 9 of her grandchildren.
Sorry - verbal diarrhoea!!
Don't be sorry, it's really interesting to read. I think all babies look a little bit grumpy and unamused with the world until they learn to smile. I think Annie got off lightly there... Clarabel is definitely a mouthful! I love Momo! It's a great name.
I’m Isobel, deliberately chosen with the Scottish spelling, but after a lifetime of receiving extra 'L's and 'E's and the O replaced with A, the hunt was on for a name for my daughter that (a) everyone could spell (b) everyone could pronounce. You know what we chose in the end! My Welsh step-mum announced quite categorically that she would be Mamgu, but hilariously, my Dad - who could never be told what to do by anyone - was apparently very concerned he’d have to be Tadcu! If he’d lived to see our girl, he’d definitely be Grand-pah as he always signed birthday cards Pah! As in Hmph! My grannies were named by their first names, Granny Frances and Granny Jean. My cousins called Granny Jean 'Nanny' which at the time seemed usual for northeast London/Esssex, which is where they and she lived. My husband's grandparents were places, Granny Worthing and Granny Folkestone, and always Grandpa - but I had Granddads. Oh, and my name now - at school I was always Izzy, when I was older a few people started calling me that before I felt I knew them well, so I said I preferred my full name. The past few years I’ve reverted to Izzy - particularly for my art - feels more me, less grown up! I have an aunt who calls me Bo, for some reason - and that’s also what my sister called me, they’re the only two to ever use Bo. Brother just calls me Iz, and if mum calls me Isobel, I’m in trouble. Phew, that’s an essay! Do you miss me? 🤪
Of course I miss you… who else would send me a message this length in the evening 😉 It made me wonder why we never called my Welsh grandmother Mamgu but she had lived in London since her late teens and was never Welsh speaking so I guess that’s why. I’m surprised you think Nanny was unusual for northeast London/Essex as that seems to be where it is most prevalent… from my very unscientific research!
🥰 aw, thank you. I actually said what you just said - usual, not unusual! Could probably have found a better word, but, it was late 🤭 Anyway, Granny Jean seemed happy either way - Nanny or Granny, but thinking about it, my sister might’ve called her Nanny…🤔
😂 This is what happens when I read stuff in the evening… which I did, although refrained from replying until this morning… I don’t read or take stuff in properly!
I am Nana.
Nana is a good choice! 😁
My husband is French and I am English, so choosing names for our children was not easy, either because a name was old fashioned in one language and not the other, or the french names were horrible when pronounced by an English speaker. My husband liked the boy's name Corentin, but when spoken with a Manchester accent it sounds terrible!
That must have been difficult. What I didn't mention was that while Ben and his wife didn't call their son Gary, they named him Sokratis, which sounds fabulous when my daughter in law says it in a Greek accent but it took us a while to learn to pronounce it correctly, which is not Socrates as we thought! Their little girl is called Elektra which is much easier
When my daughter had my first grandchild and asked what I wanted to be called I immediately said Lulu. Why Lulu she said, oh I said when I was studying nursing in Cambridge my boyfriend at the time a university student played jazz and he called me Lulu. after some jazz song. So Lulu stuck and all my grandchildren call me Lulu . I love it. It always takes me back to those halcyon days of my youth😊
I love it... what fun to be called Lulu. Maybe I should have persevered with Gigi!
yes you should have. I think Gigi is a wonderful name for a grandmother. My grands love calling me Lulu and referring to me as Lulu. I am happy to be Lulu at the grand old age of 88
I so enjoy your writing every Sunday. I am Granny having given my daughter in law's mum the choice when my first grandchild was born. And I too am a granny who loves the zip wire! My husband loved his grandad who he called Pop so he too is Pop to our four.
Thank you so much Susan. I thought about writing this last week as we drove home from Ben's but then I wasn't sure anyone else would be interested so it means a lot that you have enjoyed it. I love the name Pop... that sounds just like the sort of grandad you would want! (And a zip wire riding granny too, of course!)
It's very interesting how our names are chosen and evolve. My children (now in their 50's) are called Thea and Josh because their names would never be shortened.
My grandchildren ( all in their 20's ) named me Granny Apples because I've got apple trees in my garden!
I love the name Thea, it's so pretty. I think Granny Apples is a brilliant name!
My daughter distinguished between her two Grannies by place. We had Granny Woking for my husband's mother, but my mother lived in Great Dunmow, which was too much of a mouthful, so she became Granny Essex. My mother was already Nanny to my sister's children, but daughter herself rejected that at an early age.
My brother Colin married a widowed lady with 5 children. When grandchildren came along, they all called him grandad - except one, Ryan, who insisted Colin wasn't a grandad, he was a Colin - and told his (Ryan's) siblings and cousins so frequently.
My grandmother was still alive when my children were little so to distinguish between her and my Mum they called them Big Nanny and Little Nanny, because my Nan wasn't very tall. Our step grandchildren on both sides are happy to accept us both equally as grandparents but they are still little so they may yet challenge it!