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Gran or Nan?

(168 Posts)
Cherrytree59 Sat 22-Aug-15 00:50:48

I am a Gran in a long line of Grans. At our local Grandparent/grandchild group I am the only Gran, the others are Nan, Nana or Nanny. Does what DGCs choose to call their grandmothers sometimes down to regional variations? ie I think Nanny is a Midland term .

Nvella Sat 22-Aug-15 01:02:44

Class as well - not many middle/upper class Nannys/Nans. My own mother wanted to be Nan as it was more like a name and less than an ageing title!

Falconbird Sat 22-Aug-15 05:48:13

I started out as Nanna but as the grandchildren became older it changed to Nan.

vampirequeen Sat 22-Aug-15 06:26:06

I'm a Grandma. My mum is a Nana because she thinks it makes her sound younger (she's 80). My aunt is a Nanny which isn't a word we use around here and makes me think of someone who is paid to look after a child/children. Mind you the way they used her when the child was younger maybe it was the correct title except they didn't pay her.

Liz46 Sat 22-Aug-15 06:30:59

When I was a child I had a Nanna but I notice the spelling is more often Nana now. Which is correct? I wonder if Nana is the American version?

absent Sat 22-Aug-15 06:49:34

I am Granna – the name my oldest grandchild decided to call me and all the others have followed suit. Their paternal grandmother is Granny. Absentdaughter's grandmothers chose to call themselves Grandmum and Nanny. I wasn't madly enthusiastic about nanny because I employed nannies until absentdaughter was three and thought it was slightly confusing. My grandmothers were called Granny D… and Granny. As I get older, I rather fancy Grandmama, but I don't think that's going to happen.

Bellasnana Sat 22-Aug-15 06:57:58

I'm Nana as was my maternal grandmother. My own mum became Gan-gan (shortened to Gan when the children grew up) which was my daughter's attempt to say 'granny'. My sister is Gamma.

As to the spelling - most greetings cards spell it 'nana' but I don't think there's a right or wrong way to spell it. In Malta just about every grandmother is 'Nanna' and they pronounce both 'n's' as do the Italians with 'Nonna'. smile

kittylester Sat 22-Aug-15 07:03:29

I'm Ma and DH is Pa.

DD1, the mother of our eldest DGC and therefore the person who had a say, loved her grandpa so much that she wanted her children to have one too! DH is the only male grandparent so he had the title bestowed upon him. Grandpa's wife (ie DMiL!) was grandma, so I had little choice although I would have preferred Granny.

Despite all our machinations, DGS1 decided to call us Ma and Pa and, naturally, so do the subsequent grandchildren. And we love it.

tanith Sat 22-Aug-15 07:14:00

Mine all called me Nanny, then for no reason I could fathom when they got to around 18/19 it changed to Grandma, so the two younger ones still call me Nanny and to the rest it's Grandma.

Gagagran Sat 22-Aug-15 07:17:24

My Mum was Gran and my own Grandmothers, both dead before I was born were Granny G and Granny C.

I am Granny and love that. Even my own DC call me Granny and so does DH in the presence of the DGC. I do feel sometimes that I have lost my own person when he and DC call me Granny though!

TerriBull Sat 22-Aug-15 07:40:02

I'm just plain nana, my grandmothers' were Wimbledon nana and Sussex nana. My mother always referred to her grandmother as grandma which I now quite like.

Greyduster Sat 22-Aug-15 07:51:18

I am Nanny; my counterpart is Nannan, which is the term which is used more often up here for grandmothers. I'm sure when he's a bit older he'll shorten it or call me something else (grumpy old hag, perhaps?).

PRINTMISS Sat 22-Aug-15 07:54:00

I am grandma, never been shortened,and I like that. Would hate to be called nanna or nanny.

nannotgran Sat 22-Aug-15 07:56:59

My eldest grandchildren call me NAN my youngest grandchildren call me NANA and my great grandchildren call me NAN-NAN
and i cant remember half of their names ha ha

Maggiemaybe Sat 22-Aug-15 08:11:45

I'm Nana - little DGS1 always gives me the full title of Nana Maggie smile, even though both my opposite numbers are Grandma, so there's no confusion.

Maggiemaybe Sat 22-Aug-15 08:12:44

Love it, nannotgran grin.

felice Sat 22-Aug-15 08:17:11

I am Grandma, well thats the theory, DGS has a thing about nicknames and I am now Godoon, why, because he goes doon to Grandmas apartment.
I get some very strange looks at times and it was a bit embarrassing in the Church hall last Sunday when he was shouting for me to come and see what he had made that morning. !!!!!!

hildajenniJ Sat 22-Aug-15 08:38:23

I am Granny and DH is Grandpa. This has turned out to be a good choice, since my DD, SiL and family moved to Scotland three years ago. There are lots of Grannies there. I chose to be called Granny in remembrance of my own beloved and missed Granny.

ninathenana Sat 22-Aug-15 08:47:09

When DD was pregnant with her first she asked what I wanted to be called I declared I would be nana. DGS#1 decided when he was about 3 that I was in fact nannie. DGS#2 has speech problems and found nannie easier so that's that grin My own DM when alive was nan to my DC but changed to grannie so the DGC could distinguish between her and I.

Katek Sat 22-Aug-15 08:59:40

I'm Nanna to mine (with 2 n's) and other grandmothers/great grans are/were variously granny, gran and nannie sometimes with first name added.

SloeGinny Sat 22-Aug-15 09:10:33

I decided on Nan as DILs mother was Granny, her mother was Grandma, my mother was Nana, so there wasn't much choice left. I also thought that Nan was a bit less 'ageing'!

ginny Sat 22-Aug-15 09:15:41

I am Nana to my grandson but sometimes Nan now he is getting older. I will be Nana to new grandchild due in February. It's what I called my grandmother's often with their name after. I don't like Granny or Grandma although I don't really know why.

Indinana Sat 22-Aug-15 09:28:52

My Mum was Nana to her grandchildren, as was her Mum. So when my DS was about to become a father he insisted I be Nana, which was the familiar term to him. I wanted to be Nanty (Phonetically Nan + my first initial), but he wouldn't have it, so there it is. I'm happy with it now - I think it was just the initial shock of having any grandmotherly title attributed to me that made me want something different smile. DH became Grandpa, to avoid confusion with the paternal Granddad.
I'm with you ginny in not liking Granny or Grandma. They just sound so old shockgrin

Marmark1 Sat 22-Aug-15 09:30:56

We're Grandma and Grandad,although at the moment she says Ganma and Adad,little man can't say anything yet.(well nothing you can understand)
Don't like Nanny,They're paid people aren't they?

posie Sat 22-Aug-15 09:38:50

With my first DGC I was asked what I wanted to be called & I settled on Grandma as my mother was Nan & when she was alive I'd called my own grandmother Gran.
I'd loved my Gran dearly & couldn't imagine being thought of as much as her. However, after we moved to Scotland where the norm is for all to be called granny, I became a Granny to the new Scottish ones.
But the eldest soon shortened it to Gran & the others copied & I'm chuffed.