For British grandmothers the top five names in order of popularity at a national level are Nan (33%), Grandma (32%), Nana (24%), Nanny (22%) and Granny (14%). Only one-in-ten use the term Gran. The name Nan is by far the most popular for a grandmother in the English seaside cities of Liverpool (65%) and Brighton (51%).
Origins of the Word Grandmother in English
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.
-Scottish: In Scottish Gaelic, the word for grandma is “Seanmhair,” which means good mother. But other commonly used Scottish grandmother names include “Nana,” “Nanna,” “Mhamó” and “Mamó.” -Spanish: In Spanish, grandmothers are known as “Abuela” or “Abuelita.”
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.”
The word nan for grandma is a shortening of the word nana. Both of these words probably are child pronunciations of the word nanny.
In Britain, Ireland, United States, Australia, New Zealand and, particularly prevalent in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Nan, Nana, Nanna, Nanny, Gran and Granny and other variations are often used for grandmother in both writing and speech.
In British English, nana is the more popular spelling. In American English, nanna is the more popular spelling.
Oma and Opa
In Germany, you say oma and opa for grandma and grandpa.
The most common translations in dictionaries for grandparents are the literal translations of 'grandmother' and 'grandfather'. In French, these terms are, respectively: grand-mère and grand-père, or grand-maman and grand-papa. These terms are also commonly used in speech and writing.
In the Swedish language, the maternal grandparents are “mormor” for grandmother and “morfar” for grandfather. Paternal grandparents are “farmor” for grandmother, and “farfar,” for grandfather. If you want to get up close and personal with all things Swedish, no need to have a mormor of your own.
Usage notes. Spellings such as mam gu or mamgu may also be encountered. The usual word for grandmother in the Welsh of North Wales is nain.
China: Popular Chinese names for grandmothers include NaiNai, Ma Ma, Po Po, and Wai Po, but the exact name chosen depends upon the region, the language and whether a grandmother is on the maternal or paternal side.
Gram. "Gram" and "Grams" are common nicknames for a grandmother. They're based off the traditional terms, but they're more casual and laid-back.
These include nanna (Calabria), granda (Piemonte), nona (Veneto and Emilia-Romagna), ajaja (Sardegna) and ava (Sicilia). In America and Canada, many second and third generation Italians refer to their grandma as nona pronounced with a long 'o' sound. The word nonnina is the diminutive form of nonna.
Grandma: Nani (maternal), Nana (paternal) Grandpa: Dadi (maternal), Dada (paternal) "In our Indian culture, 'nani' is maternal grandmother, and 'dadi' is maternal grandfather.
Africa. The African continent also gives us some of the sweetest names for our grandparents. Afrikaans call their grandmothers Ouma and their grandfathers Oupa. Moroccan Arabic uses Jiddah and Jadd respectively.
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.
ˈna-nə plural nanas. informal. : the mother of one's father or mother : grandmother.
It is derived from the Italian word for grandmother, Nonma. And then changed to Nana in English.
Nanna is an Old Norse name of Germanic origin.