Many southerners in seven states, including Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana, and West Virginia, opt to call their grandmothers familiar names that you might expect. The most popular southern grandmother names are Mamaw, Mawmaw, Memaw, Nana, and Mimi.
gookomis your grandmother (2s-3s)
But not everyone calls their grandmother by the same name, and that is especially true if you live in the south. We have our own special names for our beloved Nana, Honey, Granny, or at my house, Nina. Southern Living has come up with a list of the most popular southern grandmother names, and we love them!
Southern Nicknames
In the South, it is common to refer to children as Sister or Sissy, and Brother or Bubba. These are used as substitutes for given names, as in, "Tell Brother to come in for supper." Grandfathers also seem to have the duty of giving nicknames to their grandsons.
Southerners are more likely to use Papaw or Pawpaw and those in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, and Delaware tend to go for Pop or Pop Pop. Other favorites include Abuelo or Abuelito, Gramps, Grampy, Poppy, and Grandad.
Lolli: For the whimsical grandma who is extra sweet, this contemporary grandmother name is just about the cutest. Memaw: Typically used by Southern US families, it's a charming and cozy grandma name to embrace.
Ireland (Gaelic)
While maimeó anddaideó are the words used to address a grandmother or grandfather, there are a few different words for grandparents in Irish. For example, there are máthair chríona, which translates to “wise mother,” and athair críonna which translates to “wise father.”
Another popular subset of unique names are those that are derived from the (most often) grandmother's first name. So Gabby McCree is Gigi. “It's an abbreviation for 'Grandma Gabby' and also my initials growing up,” she says. (Her husband, Don, went with Pop Pop.)
It is far more common, however, for African-Americans to use the English terms and their variants, such as Grandmother, Grandma, Granny and MawMaw for grandmothers.
-Afrikaans: In Afrikaans, one of South Africa's official languages, the word for grandmother is “Ouma.” In the Zulu dialect it's “Ugogo” or “Gogo.”
A new survey shows that the most popular terms for grandparents in Britain are 'Nan' and 'Grandad' Published: October 31, 2022 at 2:00 pm.
In Old English, the word was ealdemodor, which sounds a lot like “old mother,” and likely has roots in Old Norse. It was replaced by grandame, literally meaning “old lady,” due to the French influence over English.
Most Common Grandma Nicknames
Nana is the most common nickname for a Grandma in thirty-two states. But if someone doesn't call their grandmother Nana, odds are they do call her Grammy or Gram, as these are relatively popular alternatives to Grandma, as well.
Grandmother: tipuna wahine/tupuna wahine, kuia, karanimā/karanimāmā, perekōu, tāua, ruruhi, ruahine, kui, kuikuia, ngoingoi.
Memere & Pepere
These are very popular French Cajun nicknames for grandma and grandpa !
Oma is the name for a German grandmother.
Mimi – If you want to call your grandma “Mama”, then why not shorten it even further and use Mimi! Nan – Another classic name for grandma is Nan. Used in both Scotland and Ireland, it comes from the Gaelic “Nain”.
Meaning:earth worker. Gigi is a baby girl name of French origin. This baby name has a few strong branches with its French root Georgine and its Greek roots Georgina and George. Meaning “earth-worker,” you might recognize this name in the fields, growing crops, planting trees, and taking care of nature's finest.
Mimi is a word French people use to say that something is (really) adorable. To be mimi is to be more than cute, it's small-fluffy-kitten cute.
Origin Of Double Names
It seems likely that the South's double-naming tradition started thanks to a European influence, with Scottish, Irish, and French families making their way to the South in the 19th century and bringing the double-naming tradition with them.