By Christine Crosby
I was speaking to a new granddad the other day and I asked him what was his grandparent name. He said they (the parents) wanted to call him “Grampi” but he told me, I put a stop to that “S—” right away. Today’s youngish granddads (under 50) don’t want the old fashioned names of yesteryear. They want something hip that fits their self image.
Cools names are not just for the GRANDmoms. Today’s grandfathers are jumping on the bandwagon with their own unique grandparent nicknames. Below are just a few, but this list is getting longer every day. Or, you could go for the good old fashioned grandparent nicknames like “GRANDdaddy” – that’s what John Wayne preferred to be called.
Ace, Buddy, Buzzy, Captain, Champ, Chief, Coach, Duke, G or Gee, G-Dad or G-Daddy, G-Dawg or G-Dog, G-Pa, Grady, Granda or Grandy, Grand-dude, Granite Papi, Papadaddy, Papster, Pepe, Pepo or Peppy, Poppo or PoPo, PopZ, Rocky, Skipper
Accordiong to grandparent expert, Susan Adcox, “One disadvantage that grandfathers have is that their names are easily modified into something less than flattering. Gramps, for example, has been known to morph into Grumps, whereas Poppy and Poopy are a little too close for comfort. When spoken by an adoring grandchild, however, even such names have their charms.”
Just like lots of grandmoms, like me, we can choose the ethnic word for grandparent – grandmother or grandfather. I preferred to be called Grandmere because my first grandchild had a French name.
The following are some ethnic grandparent nicknames for consideration. And remember, it doesn’t matter so much what your grandkids calls you as much as they call you at all.
- Chinese: YeYe
- Filipino: Lolo
- Flemish: Bompa
- French: Grandpere
- French Canadian: Pépé
- German: Opa
- Greek: Papu
- Hawaiian: Tutu kane
- Hebrew: Saba
- Italian: Nonno
- Irish: Seanathair
- Japanese: Ojiisan
- Korean: Haraboji
- Polish: Dziadek
- Portuguese: Avo
- Russian: Dedushka
- Spanish: Abuelo
- Yiddish: Zayde
Modifications by Grandchildren
One disadvantage that grandfathers have is that their names are easily modified into something less than flattering. Gramps, for example, has been known to morph into Grumps, whereas Poppy and Poopy are a little too close for comfort. When spoken by an adoring grandchild, however, even such names have their charms.
In my experience, grandfathers don’t spend as much time as grandmothers pondering their grandfather names. Later, therefore, they may wish that they had opted for a different choice. There’s nothing wrong with changing a grandfather name in mid-stream, so to speak. But grandfathers who decide to do so should be prepared if family members have trouble making the change.
