I remember when my daughter, Sarah, was pregnant with our grandson, Liam, she asked, “What do you want to be known as? What should Liam call you?” We thought for a minute and decided on “Grammy and Grampy.” We knew there were many possibilities but that’s what we chose.
Then along came “Bitty and Betty!”
There’s a long list of names that people use. I found a few online:
Grandma and Grandpa
Nana and Papa
Mawmaw and Pawpaw
Meme and Pepe
Gramms and Gramps
Lolly and Pop
Gpa and Gma
Momo and Papo
Gam Gam
Nonna and Nonno
Abuela and Abuelo
Babcia and Dziadek
Nowhere could I find Bitty and Betty!
When Liam was first learning his words I guess he couldn’t say “Grammy and Grampy “ so, for whatever reason, he chose “Bitty”and “Betty.” I have to admit, at first I wasn’t thrilled, but we eventually realized it was cute and different. He got everyone else’s name right but not ours. He actually wasn’t saying the Spanish yet but he could name the uncles and aunts. True, he didn’t get the “Uncle“ or “Aunt” part yet but he could say Doug, Marla, Kat, Josh and….”Map” for Matt. We’re hoping their titles come later.
Well…. Wouldn’t you know it… a few weeks ago he started saying “Grammy” and “Grampy.” His mother is ecstatic because she says she could never understand who was who! I thought it was simple enough: I was “Bitty” and Priscilla was “Betty!” We knew it! It worked for us!
I guess it’s better in the long run. It would mean a lot of explaining if this continued but I have to admit, I kind of miss it. The “mature me” (who I rarely let out) knows that it’s better this way, but it was so cute!
We have one member of the family who never did say “grandpa.” He preferred “Jabar!” No one ever figured out why. His great grandmother was “Boop – Dee- Boop!” Hey! Points for creativity!
How about you? Any interesting names or nicknames from your past?
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