Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Name change

Traditionally, it falls to the first grandchild to name the grandparents. Tom, the first grandchild of his mother's parents, named his grandparents Gamy and Gampa. Our Margaret is the first grandchild of Tom's mother, who wanted to be called Nana. When little Margaret said it, it came out ‘Nina.' The whole family calls her Nina now, and that's where Hazel's middle name comes from.

Since our grandchildren have been born, we've called ourselves Grammy and Grampy. Now that Hazel Nina has begun talking, she loves naming everyone (and everything) but she couldn’t say those words. Tom and I tried to come up with easier alternatives. Nana seemed the obvious choice for me! Tom's mother called his grandfather ‘Pop' and he liked the name. Hazel repeated Pop and Nana perfectly the first time she heard them. So we are now and forever Pop and Nana! We love our new names.

46 comments:

  1. You are going to love being "Nana." I was "Nay" for a while when Teddy first starting attaching names to people, but now it's a full blown Nana, and there's nothing like it to warm the heart and bring on a smile.

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  2. Aw, my kids have a Nana (my mother) and a Pop (my husband's father).
    I love all your Hazel stories, because it reminds me of my kids growing up. I still remember my slow to start talking son trying to call my father Grampy, which he wanted to be called (and is still called). Poor Jack was trying to say Grampy and then finally burst out with a Bampy. He was so happy to have a name for him. (it eventually changed to Grampy.)
    My middle girl was such a good talker - when we tell these funny speaking stories about her siblings, she always wants one about her - but she spoke so well, we don't have any good ones!

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    1. Thank you so much for telling me your stories. I loved reading them.

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    2. Growing up, my dad's mom was called Nanny by all us cousins. As we grew up (and still had her around, thankfully) we all shortened it, and she became Nan, and then Great Nan to all our kids.
      That lovely name of yours being the same as my Nan, along with Windy Poplars, gave me such a connection to you immediately!

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    3. In so many British books and tv shows, the grandmother is called 'Nan.' I almost chose that, but it is so much fun to hear Hazel Nina say 'Nana.' :<) I do so love the Windy Poplars book. It has been fun over the years of the blog to see who knew where it came from! Years ago, there used to be a Kindred Spirits website or list for those who love the Anne books.

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  3. You know, that is such an individual thing for kids and grandparents. My mother wanted to be 'Grandmother' and never 'Grandma'. So, she got 'Grandma' (my girl) and 'Grannie' (all the others). LOL

    And I have more friends now who are 'Mimi' and 'Gigi' and 'Nana' and 'Glammy' and 'Nonna' and, and, and....

    My grandmothers were Nannie and Candymama (how's that for my creativity?). Candymama was my mother's mother and she used to send me a cherry lifesaver in her letters. I still like those. I think Nana and Pop will be perfect. :-)

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    1. I loved reading all these names! I wonder if 'mother' and 'grandmother' are Texas things. My cousins always called their mother and grandmother those names.

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  4. I love your new names. When our children were small they had four grandparents and seven living great-grandparents all living in our same small community. We ran out of names! Our oldest was the first grandchild on both sides and the first great-grand for two sets. It got complicated.

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    1. That is a lot of grands!! Lucky for all of them.

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  5. I am sure love rings in your ears every time Hazel pronounces your names. Great!

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  6. I love your names! :) I had a Nana (my dad's mom), but no Pop. My grandfather was Grandpipe (named by my oldest brother - yes, Grandpipe smoked a pipe!). My mom's parents were Grandmommy and Granddaddy, although my cousins called him Granddad. My mom is Nana to her grandchildren and my stepdad was Papa. When we were thinking of what we wanted our granddaughter to call us, we came up with Nanny and Grandpa. They stuck and I think they suit us quite well. Aren't names fun? :)

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    1. I loved reading all the names, esp. Grandpipe! Perfect. I never see pipes anymore. Sad. I used to love the smell of cherry tobacco.

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    2. Rod has started smoking a pipe again, but only when the weather's nice since he smokes out on the porch. Probably once a week on a weekend afternoon. I love the smell, too.

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  7. Nan, this is so funny as I'm Grammy and H is Grampy. They also have Grandma and Grandpa and a Gram and Pepe LOL Confusing for kids.

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  8. My mom always said no one could call her granny (a popular name for grandma in TN where her folks were from) until she hit 100! She hated it so the boys called her grandma. I think granny is endearing. When my first was born there were so many grandma's with divorces and still living great grandparents that I had them call me Maimo (mam-o) which is Irish for grandma. If anyone referred to me as Isa's grandma she corrected them and told them thats Maimo! Of course my son had to be silly and call me shamu for the first couple weeks. The grandpa's are all grandpa, the kids just add the first name if they need you to know which one they are talking about. It is fun seeing all the names we grandparents acquire! I do think some names seem to be more popular in different regions.

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    1. Delightful reading this! My Irish friend is called Grandda. When I was a girl both my Grandmothers were Grammy and my one grandfather was Grampy, but the second part of the name was their last name not their first. I think all my friends did that. Of course those were the days of Mrs. too. I much prefer first names!

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    2. My sister's children called their paternal grandparents, Oma and Opa, because Oma is grandmother in German and their grandmother was a German war bride. I'm finding in the Deep South that Sugar is a name for grandmothers. In SW Va mountains where I'm from originally, it's mostly Granny and Mammaw. Names for grandparents would be an interesting study.

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    3. It really would be an interesting study, which could begin in these comments! What a wide variety of names I've read!! Such fun.

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  9. I loved reading this, Nan, and how your names have evolved.
    I had a Grandma (on my Mom's side) and a Yia Yia (on my Dad's side). Yia Yia is grandmother in Greek. When our Kezzie came along, I was asked what I would like and said Yia Yia. To my utter delight, it was the first thing she said. Tom is Papa. When Ezra came along, he picked up on Papa right away. Then started calling me Papa. :) I think he finally has it figured out.

    By-the-way, it is nice to see Nan up on your banner again.

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    1. Is it proounced Yee-a or yee? I love it that your name was the first thing she said!!!!!! Sometimes Hazel will say Pop and look at Tom and then look at me, and Tom will say that I am Nana. How I love little ones. I marvel at the thinking process their heads go through.

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    2. It is pronounced Yi Yah (long i, short a). Kezzie is funny. Yia Yia was really pretty easy, and Papa came pretty fast too, but, when she refers to both of us, we become YaPaPa. She comes to YaPaPa's house to see Yia Yia and Papa.
      It is such fun being a grandparent.

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    3. thank you for coming back to tell me. YaPaPa is really funny! The purest of delights- grandparenting!

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  10. Pop and Nana, that is perfect!
    I love it when the children come up with their own names themselves for their grandparents!

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    1. It was just clear that she could not say Grammy and Grampy and when we mentioned Pop and Nana the words flew right out of her mouth! Meant to be.

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  11. Here in Germany, most grandparents are called Oma and Opa, and that is how my sister and I addressed ours. When we talked about them and needed to differentiate, we used their surnames in addition to Oma and Opa. It would have never occurred to me as a kid to call my grandparents (or my parents) by their first names.
    Until I was six, one of my great-grandmothers was still alive. Her correct title would have been Ur-Oma, or Ur-Großmutter. But she did not want the "Ur-" to be used; she said it made her feel too old :-) So she was Großmutter, although that was, strictly speaking, not correct, as it is the proper German word for grandmother, not great-grandmother.

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  12. PS: Forgot to say thank you for putting up my favourite header :-)

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  13. I had no maternal grandparents (late baby), but my own paternal grandparents were Nana and Pop, so you are v. good company!!

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  14. I am waiting for my name to emerge. We refer to ourselves as Grandma and Grandad, but I would like her to come up with her own name for us. My mother named herself Mop Mop for our two children. It stuck but I was sorry they hadn't chosen it themselves.

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    1. In our case it was a matter of realizing that Hazel couldn't say what we thought of being called so we found some words that she took to immediately and we all love them.

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  15. I am Nana, with both "A"s long as in father...Some are Nana with the vowels like "A"s in the end of Banana....Which are you?

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  16. We never know who we will become do we? I thought it funny on Downton Abbey when Robert was horrified when his grandchild started calling him "Donk"
    Ann

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  17. What a fun thread to read all the replies to your post and what a delight when your grandchild starts to call you something. We've been trying (3 times now) to go by Grammy and Grandpa. My first granddaughter was mostly nonverbal, but occasionally would manage "Ga" for me. She would always call her mother by her first name!! With grandchild number two, my daughter insisted on calling me by my first name and sure enough her son called her mom....sometimes mimi. He called me by my first name. Those two have both passed away but grandchild number three is almost 14 months old and comes out with "Bampa" or sometimes dada(!!) for her grandpa and for me we're starting to hear something close to "Grammy." I love hearing how Hazel got her middle name! Enjoy!

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    1. I'm always so sorry about those babies. So thankful there is a third child. I like Bampa!

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  18. Just realise than none of my six grandchildren, products of three of my children, have grandfathers now. I am Granny as my mother was before me.
    Glad you don't watch Downton Nan, not one of our best exports!!
    Thought you might enjoy this interview with Alexander McCall Smith, he is a delight and I know you enjoy his books as much as I do. xx
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAXEXu2uzug&index=21&list=WL

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    1. Sad about the no grandfathers.
      I think I am the only person in the US who doesn't watch it. :<)
      I'll go to the link - thanks! He is indeed a delight. And what energy!

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  19. I enjoyed this post. My son called my mom "Nae Nae" (nay nay) - a name I hadn't heard... until I watched Whale Rider years later. Other grandchildren came along and managed to change her name to Meema. Papa was always Papa. Now the teen has switched to "Gram" and Papa. My mother has loved every name, as will you, no doubt.

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    1. Yet another little coincidence between us - over Christmas Hazel called her older cousin Kayla - Nay Nay, and it came so easily to her that this is part of what prompted me to go with Nana.
      I loved all these name changes. It is just so interesting.

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