Friday, July 10, 2009

What's In A Name?

So, we have established the fact that I am going to be a grandmother in November. Yes, I know. I'm too young to be a grandmother. But, somehow it has happened. So, now comes the next task at hand.

What do I want to be called in my new role?

Definitely NOT mawmaw! There's nothing wrong with this, for others. But, my husband's mother was mawmaw, and her mother was mawmaw. It just sounds too old for my tastes, because as I said before, I'm too young to even be a grandmother!

Definitely NOT granny! That's my mother...and she had specifically told my sister (upon finding out that she was expecting her first grandchild) that she did NOT want to be called granny. Well, much to my mother's chagrin, my sister's husband thought it would be funny to start calling her that. So that's what she is to this day. It sounds too old for me, too. My grandmother on my daddy's side was my "granny". My grandmother on my mother's side was my Mam-aw. That's not for me, either.

I want a cool, hip...shall I say 'GROOVY' name. I thought about Nana. But, that just seems like a cop out to me. It's just seems like "the other" grandmother name if you don't want the traditional ones.

I voiced my concern to a co-worker the other day. She told me that I should be GiGi. She said that I looked like a GiGi. This name didn't really make much sense to me until I looked at this site. It could stand for "Groovy Grandma". But, it seems like it would be hard for a baby to start saying GiGi, but I'm sure she would catch on as soon as she could.

I even took the quiz on the site. It said that I was a traditional, "old-fashioned" grandmother and "grandmother" or "grandma" is what I should be called. NO!! I don't think so!

Another co-worker I talked to said that she was simply, "Granna". I just don't know. That sounds too much like "granny" to me.

Please note. I have no intention of offending anyone who has their grand kids call them mawmaw or granny, or any of the others. They just aren't right for me. And, I also know that it absolutely will not matter when this lovely child begins acknowledging me as her grandmother with WHICHEVER name she chooses to call me.

So, please let me know if you have any advice or names that I should consider? This is all still up for debate.

8 comments:

Sande said...

My Grandma was Ema, my mum to my kids is Grama although my favorite quirky one belongs to friends of mine who are only in their early fourty's. Their grandbaby calls them

Marty and Farty.

Anonymous said...

Nana seems to be a very popular name down here in the South. My kids call TMB's mom, Grandma, and they call my mom Grandma B.

When TMB's grandmother was alive, she was GG - so, GiGi just sounds like a great, grandmother. Maybe it's just me.

You can request that you be called something...but we all know that your granddaughter is probably going to call you something completely different..completely cute and enduring.

For example, the woman I work with is called Aunt Bear by her nephew. Cute and enduring, no?

Anonymous said...

Oh and I took the quiz (even though I REALLY AM too old to be a grandma...my oldest is 11) and here are the results:

Nan, Gran, Grandmom, Nina or Mema suit your grandmothering style.

I like Grandmom. My kids call my dad Granddad. It makes sense, to me.

Sue said...

I like GiGi for you... Groovy Grandma TOTALLY fits and I think GiGi will be easy for a little one to say. My goddaughter is 2 and has no trouble calling me auntie susie (of course her soother is called Sue Sue so that helps -lol)

Go GiGi!!! ;-) (Sounds rather exotic and sexy to boot!)

rachel... said...

I vote for GiGi!

Jack said...

Big congrats and best of luck to you and your family. For a little added inspiration, I encourage you to check out this brief video -- ahamoment.com/pg/moments/view/1534 -- it's one woman's "aha moment" experienced when she first became a grandma. Hope you like it.

Thanks,
jack@ahamoment.com

Brandy said...

My mom was GrandJan. Her name was Janice, but most folks called her Jan so it seemed natural to call her GrandJan. Maybe you could be GrandSan or Sanny, a reworking of Nanny using your name.

Just some thoughts. Best of luck!

Lisa said...

Sandra, my cousin's kids have always called their grandmother "Gran". I always kind of liked it. :)