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Gran or Nan?

(169 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 .

Jeanniewoz Sun 23-Aug-15 10:52:07

I started as Grandie like my Mum but felt like I was taking her irreplaceable place so changed to Nana very quickly!

sallyc06 Sun 23-Aug-15 10:47:56

I am nana banana!!

BooBoo9 Sun 23-Aug-15 10:46:49

My grandchildren call me Nana Wendy. I don't want to known by a title only, so I think it's great that they use my name as well.

Faraway43 Sun 23-Aug-15 10:41:29

I don't know who decided on nanny for the two nannies but my first grandson decided on Nanny Pippa after my dog.

MammaN Sun 23-Aug-15 10:40:39

I'm Mamma. My own DGM was Mamma but DM was Nana to my children (sounded younger apparently). DH is Grandad or Grumps.

inishowen Sun 23-Aug-15 10:40:15

As a child I had a Nain and Taide. They were welsh and insisted on it. As an irish child this caused some amusement when I said it in front of friends.

chloe1984 Sun 23-Aug-15 09:54:13

The two grandmothers are known as little nana and big nana no guesses as to which one I amhmm

Nandalot Sun 23-Aug-15 09:36:13

I'm Nana ( or Nan or Nanny). It was the first sort of 'word' the GCs made so I thought I'll have that! My grandmother was Gran/Granny but my mum was Nan (partly to distinguish her from Gran, partly because she felt it sounded younger) so no district tradition.
My DH is Grandad though the Twins had trouble with that at first and used to call him Dada. He is balding and grey- haired soI often wondered what people thought. He is sad that the last twin, DGS, now says Grandad.

Katek Sun 23-Aug-15 09:23:21

Two of ours also have an Opa as German great grandad is still alive.

Coolgran65 Sat 22-Aug-15 18:07:11

I am Granny + Christian Name, and dh is Granda + Christian Name. Other grandchildren followed suit. My ds who lives abroad asked me what I wanted to be called....which still followed suit.

One maternal gp was referred to as Nanny and said definitely not.... that's a goat (of course that Granny lives on a farm)

pompa Sat 22-Aug-15 17:22:58

Look back and see what previous grandmothers were called. I'm all for resurrecting old names. This is why I am called Pompa to all my GC, Pompa has been used for at least two generations in our family.

kittylester Sat 22-Aug-15 17:10:02

That was the 70s though granjura!

When my very hippyish niece told her mum that her first DGC was going to call her by her first name. My very mild mannered SiL announced in very strong terms that she had earned the right to be called granny and that was all she was prepared to answer to.

granjura Sat 22-Aug-15 16:47:56

I am a Granny, sometimes Gwanny as a joke, and proud to be.

Always find it strange when grand-parents absolutely refuse to be called anything identifying them as grand-parents. Mind you, in the 70s we had friends who totally forbade their young children from calling them 'mum' and 'dad' - and were clearly instructed to call them by their first name?! Bizarre.

NannyGoat12345 Sat 22-Aug-15 10:47:10

I am known as Nanny Goat, really smile When my son and his partner knew they were expecting, they asked what I wanted to be known as, I said Nanny Goat as a joke and that's what I have become, sometimes my grand-daughter just calls me Goat, which I don't object to, my husband is Grand-dad Dinosaur, so it could be worse! My own mum is known to the grandchildren as Nanny Old grin

Nelliemoser Sat 22-Aug-15 09:54:12

Greyduster I know where you mean. My DD seems to spell Nanan with one N in the middle. Maybe because she is not really "from round these parts".

Ruthyo Sat 22-Aug-15 09:52:21

I wanted to be Nana as I personally don't like Grandma, Nanny, Granny etc!
However my first granddaughter who was an early talker just kept saying "Needa" so that's who I am and I love it!

Anniebach Sat 22-Aug-15 09:49:51

I am Granny but To the youngest I have been Bro since she was seven , now sixteen and I am still her Bro, result of playing Super Mario

Nelliemoser Sat 22-Aug-15 09:46:20

I am Nanan which is a common term where my DGS's live. T'other gran is Grandma.
My mum was called Nanny E* and my MiL Nanny I***. My mother flatly refused to be called Grandma or Granny which to me sounds like someone really ancient. (Sorry Grannies but I don't know why.)
It was Grandad T and Grandpa M for the Grandads.

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.

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?

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

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.

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'!

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.

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.