In a since-deleted post, a mom-to-be named Courtney opened up a conversation on TikTok after sharing her experience telling her mom that she was pregnant. She touched on her mom’s request to not be referred to as “grandma,” which isn’t an unreasonable ask in itself, but it caused a lot of people to discuss how their mothers ditched the term “grandma” in favor of something a little more unique.
As with all things, grandparent names reflect the times, and if baby names are trending away from traditional, why not grandma names as well? More importantly, we’re all aging better nowadays, and for many women, being called Grandma or Grammy just feels, for lack of a better term, old. Since research shows that the aging population is more active than they’ve ever been, why not jump on the bandwagon and embrace the trend? Katie Couric chose “Gogo,” as her grandma name, so the sky’s the limit!
A Gen X grandma named Gia shared a video on the topic, and thousands of grandparents weighed in on their unique names. Some names were chosen, and others were picked by the kids themselves. One in particular that Gia really loved was a grandma who went by “Honey.”
One commenter on Gia’s video shared, “My grandbabies are so blessed to have so many Grandma’s I wanted something unique.” The name she chose? “Oma.” Another simply shared, “Lolo for Lori.”
What seems to surround the theme isn’t so much that it comes close to a traditional grandma nickname, but rather that the name reflects the individual rather than just the title. One mom told The Bump, “My husband called his mom ‘moo’ growing up because of a tongue tie. So now she’s ‘grandmoo.’”
: Grandmother Responds To Concerns About The Rise Of Nontraditional Names For Grandparents
In Filipino, for example, the word for grandma is “Lola,” a name that is swiftly gaining in popularity among hip grannies. “Nonna” in Italian has been modernized into everything from “Noni” to “Nini” and in some cases even “Nina.”
According to GoodHousekeeping, Demi Moore goes by “Yaya” with her grandkids, and that seems to be adapted from the Greek word for grandma, “Yiayia.”
There are plenty of instances where the grandkids, despite their parents’ and grandparents’ best efforts, do the naming themselves. As one commenter noted on TikTok, “We were calling my mom Grammy, but at 1, my son decided she was ‘Baked Bean’ and now 2 years later she is still ‘Baked Bean.’” Another commenter on Gia’s video siimply shared, “My grandma name is George because my kids are weird.”
One Reddit Grandma dropped a truth bomb, however. She wrote, “You can pick a Grandma name, but be aware that the only person who gets to truly pick your name is the child in question. We tried Grandma and it came out ‘Rara,’ so Grandma is now Rara. I have a friend whose child couldn’t say Grandma and is now called Grambo (she loves it tbh, lots of Rambo themed gifts). Lots of Nanas get called Nini, Grammys get Mimi’s.” She went on to say, “It’s a badge of honor to get your own unique name from your first grandkid!”
: Woman Asks People To Send Birthday Cards To Her Grandma Who Calls Over 100 People Each Year To Sing Happy Birthday To Them
George Rudy | Shutterstock
Women today look a whole lot different than the grandmothers of yesteryear. Sure, your brain might conjure a cardigan-clad, grey-haired woman baking cookies to while away the hours until she can spoil her grandkids, but the Nene Leakes and Goldie Hawn grandmas of today aren’t falling for it. Dana Points, the editor in chief of Parents magazine, told the New York Times, “Today’s grandparents don’t feel like they look or act like the grandparents of a generation ago, so there can be a weird disconnect with the official term.”
If you feel more like a “GlamMa” instead of a “Grandma,” embrace it! There’s literally nothing wrong with choosing an appellation that feels right to you. Just be prepared that you might end up a “Baked Bean” regardless of your choice.
But in all seriousness, Points made another really good observation: as families evolve, grandparent names need to keep up as well. In many instances, kids don’t have just two sets of grandparents anymore, and that means names must be more unique.
As long as you love your grandkids and spoil them in all the ways their parents would never allow at home, what they call you really doesn’t matter.
: Man Creates Portable ‘Grandma Stand’ To Honor His Late Grandmother And Offer Advice To Anyone Who Needs It
Alexandra Blogier, MFA, is a writer who covers psychology, social issues, relationships, self-help topics, and human interest stories.
