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What's in a name

(52 Posts)
Llamedos13 Wed 07-Dec-16 12:54:01

My sil finds it impossible to call me by my name, we get along great and I have asked him often to use my name but he says he simply cannot call me by name, possibly due to his upbringing where he was always made to call adults Mr or Mrs.Now that I am a granny to my dd and his grandson he calls me granny.Just wondering if any of you out there have the same issue.

Marmight Tue 20-Dec-16 20:21:21

I'm not called by my given name which is just as well as I hate it. I never called my PiLs anything. I just couldn't manage it but obviously they became Grandpa and Grandma after the children arrived which was a relief. DH called my parents Mother and Father which they and I found hilarious. My sons in law call me by my Christian name (not the horrible one!) and the girls do the same to their PiLs. I object strongly when some whippersnapper on the phone trying to sell me something I don't want, says, 'I may call you '****y' can't I'. . I always say no you may not!

tinaf1 Tue 20-Dec-16 19:35:54

My name is Georgina but always called Tina since baby don't know why confused

harrigran Tue 20-Dec-16 13:03:15

I had an uncle called Jim, when my sister cleared my cousin's home she found uncle's death certificate and his name was really Ivor. Grandmother and aunt were called Jenny but they were both Margarets.

Yorkshiregel Tue 20-Dec-16 12:17:51

Slightly going off in another direction, but have you noticed how people are called something other than their given name? My Father was always called Pete even by my Mother. When my OH did the family tree it turned out his name was Joseph! Now where did Pete come from? Other family members did that too, changed their name to something else. My Uncle always thought he was Christened Cecil, turned out his name was Christopher! An Aunt was always called Rose, turned out her name was Roseina. Very strange. I bet there are other examples in your family.

Nanof10 Mon 19-Dec-16 21:46:42

I call my MIL Ma, My Mum is Mum, FIL is Pops and I am Madre by 3 daughters and Mother by my son. All kids partners call me by my name but that may change if they marry which none appear to be in any rush lol.

annodomini Wed 14-Dec-16 14:12:38

My two DiLs call me by my given name. I met them before they became DiLs and each one lived with me (not at the same time) when they all came back from working abroad and they took temporary work locally while My DSs went south for jobs. It was lovely having another woman in the house and we have been friends ever since.

Aslemma Wed 14-Dec-16 13:01:46

My SIL and one DIL always call me Mum, as as did my ex DIL. My youngest son's wife calls me by my name (probably because she had a difficult relationship with her own mother) as does my second son's partner, as she was turned 40 when she came into the family. I hate it when my children call me Granny unless they are talking to their own children. I also hate it when people I don't know personally use my first name, particularly cold-callers. I have even been known to ask who gave them permission to address me that way.

cornergran Sat 10-Dec-16 20:38:25

Our daughters in law call us by our first names, it sounds natural and we are very happy with it. Mr C called my parents Mum and Dad, to my shame I was a paid up member of the ' err ' club with my mother in law. Wish now I had been braver and asked her how to address her. She seemed very formal to me, we lived a long way from each other, it was difficult to know her well. Thinking about it when I wrote to her (remember the days of letters?) I called her Mam, it was easier in a letter.

Charleygirl Sat 10-Dec-16 12:49:03

I ended up having 3 mother in laws but the first one was very straight laced. I asked her what she wanted to be called and she said mum. I could not and would not call her that so I ended up calling her nothing.

wishIwas40 Sat 10-Dec-16 12:36:00

Called my mother-in-law eeerr, eg would you like a cup of tea eeerr! She never suggested I call her by her christian name. If I'd have had to call her anything, I'd have called her Mrs ... When my son bought his first wife to meet us, I heard her eeerr me, I immediately told her my name was ...... and that's what she should call me.

phizz Fri 09-Dec-16 21:45:35

My son has been with his lady for well over 20 years. I've only just realised she's never called me anything.
Perhaps 'Dumbo' might be a good idea.

mrshat Thu 08-Dec-16 20:48:17

I called my MiL 'Gran' once the children were born. Before then, I avoided having to call her anything! My SiL (both of them) call us by our first names. We are fine with that.

grannybuy Thu 08-Dec-16 18:58:29

My 2 SILs call us by our Christian names, which is fine. My DD's als call their IL' s by their Christian names. I was in the not calling my IL's anything club.

dirgni Thu 08-Dec-16 18:55:34

Ds, dil and dgc all call me granny. Feels a bit strange when we are out but I really don't mind at all!

Swanny Thu 08-Dec-16 17:55:50

I don't care what you call me, as long as it's not late for dinner grin

callgirl1 Thu 08-Dec-16 17:23:45

I called my in-laws Mam and Dad, would never have dreamt of using their first names, it just didn`t seem right. But my sons and daughters in law all call me by my first name, which these days doesn`t seem wrong at all, although one DIL`s mother will insist on calling me Mrs....., even though I`ve asked her loads of times to call me by my name.

Ana Thu 08-Dec-16 17:12:45

I'e never understood why anyone would call their MIL 'Mum'. She's not your mum, she's your husband's mum...

I could never bring myself to call either of mine by their first name, so it was always an indirect 'your mum' when talking about them to DH or SILs.

Rinouchka Thu 08-Dec-16 17:05:43

My husband called my parents "mamma & papa" as I did. His parents suggested I call them by their first name, which I found awkward because they were titled and I was in awe in the first years of our marriage. Once the children came along, I relaxed more and it began to feel natural being more familiar and low key.
DiL and 3 Sils call us by our first names. I would hate to be referred to as granny by them as I am not their grandmother!!

I also hate it when health professionals etc. address older people by their first names.

chrissyh Thu 08-Dec-16 16:49:03

My DH always called my mum 'mum' but his mum asked me to call her by her first name, which I found difficult to do. Mind you, this was 48 years ago and, at that time, we all called older friends and neighbours either aunt/uncle or Mr/Mrs. These days it is nearly all first names as with our DDiL to us and our DS to his in-laws.

sillup Thu 08-Dec-16 16:03:34

By our names. I wish my MIL, now deceased, had suggested I called her by her own name as I found calling her mum difficult. I had already had a mom and didn't need another.

grannyactivist Thu 08-Dec-16 14:58:54

My sons and daughter in law all call me by my first name. I have known my daughter in law since she was seven and I used to work at her school, so it wasn't until she was a teenager and a regular visitor to our home that she felt comfortable using my given name. Her brother (who was actually in my class) still finds it almost impossible to use my name, even though he's now a seasoned police officer.

My parents in law are known by their Christian names not only by me, but, at their request, also by their grandchildren. Even in discussions about them with my husband he usually refers to them by name rather than as mum and dad.

Yorkshiregel Thu 08-Dec-16 14:41:32

I told my dil x 3 that I had no intention of trying to be their second Mother, so they had a choice, call me by my first Christian name, or call me Mum. They chose my first name, which suits me fine.

Yorkshiregel Thu 08-Dec-16 14:35:42

All of my in-Laws, ie dil, sil and their parents call me by my first name, and I call them by their first name.

Not a problem.

Gaggi3 Thu 08-Dec-16 13:30:12

My sister's husband called my parents Belle Mere and Beau Pere, to the astonishment of my very down-to-earth brothers and uncles. I was very young and thought it most exotic.

sarahellenwhitney Thu 08-Dec-16 13:11:10

I know what I would have liked to have called them.
I was never ever good enough for their son.
Any one else have or had this problem.?