What do Mexican kids call their grandma?
Abuela. As any Spanish-speaking family knows, "abuela" or "abuelita" translates to "grandmother" in Spanish. You can also call grandma by a shorthand version, including "tita," "abbi," and "lita."
Grandmother = Abuela
The term mija is a colloquial contraction of the Spanish words mi (“my”) and hija (“daughter”).
The 10 most common nicknames for grandma in the United States are: Nana. Grammy/Grammie. Granny/Grannie.
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.
Grandfathers are called the formal Abuelo or the informal Abuelito. Grandmothers are called Abuela or Abuelita. Shortened forms such as Lito and Lita or Tito and Tita are common.
Here in Mexico, we call our mother “mamá” or “má” and, our father we call him “papá” or “pá”…. This way of calling our parents are the most common nicknames to them.
- Big Mom or Big Momma.
- Honey.
- Lovey.
- Lolly.
- Ma or Maw.
- MaMaw or Mawmaw.
- Memaw or MeeMaw or Mimaw.
- Mom-Mom.
- Abba.
- Birdy.
- Bunny.
- Gaga.
- Gigi.
- Kitty.
- Mimi.
- Minnie.
Lat Am Spain. feminine noun. 1. (= abuela) grandma (informal) ⧫ granny (informal) see also año.
- Grandma.
- Gran.
- Grandmom.
- Grammy.
- Granny.
- Queenie.
- Nana.
- Glamma.
What do Southern kids call their grandparents?
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.
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.)

Germany: Oma is one of the most popular international names for grandmothers and is often used to address grandmothers with no German heritage.
In Spain, as in most Spanish-speaking countries, grandparents are most often referred to with the formal titles of “abuela” (grandma) and “abuelo” (grandpa).
1. Papi, Papito / Mami, Mamita. Papi (referring to father) and Mami (referring to mother) is a childish, endearing and playful way to refer to your parents.
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”.
Simple, and popular. “Mamá” is the standard word to call your Mom in Spanish. “Mamá, mi hermana me está molestando, ¡por favor dile que pare!” : “Mom, my sister is bothering me, please tell her to stop!”
Tío: uncle. Tía: aunt. Tío abuelo: great-uncle. Tía abuela: great-aunt.
What does mami mean? Mami is a Spanish slang term variously used to refer to a mommy, attractive woman, female romantic partner, or close female friend.
- Baba. This sweet sounding name is often what you will find the matriarch being called in many Slavic cultures where it means granny, grandma or old lady.
- Bella. ...
- Bibi. ...
- Birdy. ...
- Bomma. ...
- Coco. ...
- Gi Gi. ...
- Gaga.
What is a Southern name for Grandma?
Let's start with Southern grandparent names. The most common grandmother names seem to be Grandma and Gramma, sometimes with a "w" attached to create Grandmaw and Grammaw. Another popular choice is Mawmaw or Meemaw, sometimes spelled MawMaw or MeeMaw. You may also hear such colorful variations as Big Mama and Two-Mama.
- Violet.
- Agatha.
- Ida.
- Maude.
- Lottie.
- Edith.
- Charlotte.
- Hazel.
Grandma Bobbe is 87 years old and has over 1 million fans on TikTok. Sassy and Southern, her greatest love is her grandson, Matthew, who captures all her hilarious musings as he drives her around, showers her with affection, and even colors her hair.
Etymology 2. Borrowed from Spanish yaya (“granny”).
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.
Why do I need to know nana? For most British people, the word nana is used to describe a grandmother, but in French it has a very different meaning – as a slang term for girlfriend or just a girl. Very definitely an informal term, but one you will hear frequently from young people chatting, or from watching French TV.
Many French children call their grandmother by the elegant "Grand-mère," which can also be shortened to "Mémé."
Lulu: A goofy yet adorable nickname for your grandmother. Lovey: A sweet and lovey-dovey nickname for your grandmother.
It is derived from the Italian word for grandmother, Nonma. And then changed to Nana in English. The second theory is that it comes from the word Nanny. A nanny is one who takes care of children.
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.”
How do you say Grandma in Old 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.
Over the years, viewers have seen the Kardashian-Jenners' special moments with Kris Jenner's mother, Mary Jo “MJ” Shannon (née Campbell).
Mamie is a colloquial version of grand-mère (grandmother) and papi of grand-père (grandfather).
The most commonly used Greek term for grandmother is yia-yia, sometimes rendered as ya-ya. These may also be spelled as separate words: yia yia and ya ya — or without the hyphen — yiayia and yaya. These are, of course, phonetic or Americanized spelling since the Greek language uses a different alphabet from English.
Traditional Grandparent Names
The most common pairings are Grandma and Grandpa, Nana and Papa, and their variations. A few alternatives for Grandma include Grammy, Gamma, G-Ma, Granny, and Nanna. Grandfather may be shortened to Grampa, Gramps, G-Pa, Poppy or Pops. But tradition isn't for everyone.
In Yiddish, the word Bobe [with a vowel similar to a shortened version of the vowel of caught + beh] means "grandmother" and as a form of address, is often rendered by English speakers as "Bubba" or "Bubbie".
Popo, Chinese New Year 2011. Popo was my mother's mother. She's my 外婆 (wai4 po2) which literally means “outside grandmother” in Chinese.
And if you live in the south, there's a good chance you call your grandmother Mamaw or Mawmaw—the most popular nickname in 7 states mostly in the south and along the Appalachians. Texas is the lone holdout for Mimi while folks in the Northeast prefer Grammie or Nana.
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.
- Nana.
- Grammy or Grammie.
- Granny or Grannie.
- Nanny.
- Mamaw.
- Mawmaw.
- Mimi.
- Grandmother.
What cultures call Grandma YaYa?
Greece: Maybe because it just sounds joyful, the Greek YaYa is a popular grandmother nickname. It's sometimes hyphenated and sometimes rendered as YiaYia.
Our three daughters — since they were wee little ones — have referred to Hedy's mother and father by the accepted Dutch grandparent nomenclature: oma and opa. That's also the convention in Germany and parts of Belgium.
The term 'omma' is an intimate and affectionate word for grandmother (compare to the native word 'onno', attached, which means 'grandparent'), and translates words like 'grandma' or 'granny'.
Sitto. Pronounced “sit-to”, it's apparently a Lebanese word for grandma (though I've heard various other Arabic and Lebanese names for it over the years), and we called my grandpa on my mom's side Jiddo (jid-do).
The most commonly used Filipino word for grandmother is lola. The suffix sa tuhod is added to indicate a great-grandmother: lola sa tuhod. Another frequently used term is inang. Variations include indang, nanang, ingkong and nanay.
Over the years, viewers have seen the Kardashian-Jenners' special moments with Kris Jenner's mother, Mary Jo “MJ” Shannon (née Campbell).
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.
grannie. / (ˈɡrænɪ) / noun plural -nies. informal words for grandmother. informal an irritatingly fussy person.