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From: "Charles S. Mason, Jr." <>
Subject: Re: [APG] Names for grandparents
Date: Sat, 23 Feb 2008 11:20:41 -0500
References: <00c201c875de$478ab000$2101a8c0@CEB>


Carolyn,

I know a couple that are called MeeMaw and PeePaw by their grandchildren.
The are both from South Carolina.

I grew up in Southern NJ and we called both sets of grandparents, grandmom
and grandpop. My parents wanted their grandchildren to call them mom mom
and pop pop. My aunt and uncle from Philadelphia had their granddaughter
call her grammy and him grampop. She called her father's parents grandmom
and grandpop.

You idea to study this topic sound like it could lead to at least a very
interesting article if not a book.

Chuck Mason
Fairfax Co., VA

----- Original Message -----
From: <>
To: <>
Sent: Saturday, February 23, 2008 12:38 AM
Subject: [APG] Names for grandparents


> Recently I came across a couple who were called MeeMaw and PeePaw by their
> grandchildren. (And I hope nobody out there is called this, because I
> think PeePaw is hilarious!)
>
> This started me thinking about all the variations: MawMaw/PawPaw,
> Grandma/Grandpa; Granny/Gramps; Nanny/Pappy; PapPaw; Grandmommy; Big
> Mama/Big Papa; etc. Two of my grandchildren have a grandfather called
> "G.D."--I suppose for Granddad, although other things come to my mind <g>.
>
> So what? you ask.
>
> Well, I was sitting here just a'ponderin' whether or not this was more a
> southern thang or not. Could you please tell me the grandparent nicknames
> used in your families and where your people are from--I'd like to see if
> there is a pattern, and, if so, what it might be. Maybe I'm just having a
> hard time seeing somebody from Rhode Island calling their grandfather
> PeePaw . . . but one never knows, do one?
>
> I think grandparent names are like parent names; that is, they consist of
> sounds that a small child can say. Mama and Dada or Mommy and Daddy are
> easy for toddlers to pronounce; you don't hear many 4-year-olds calling
> their parents "mother" and "father," leastways not where I come from <g>.
>
> By the way, when my first grandchild was born 14 years ago. I was asked
> what I wanted to be called. This child had 21 living grandparents at the
> time of his birth. I was living in Austria at the time (although I came
> home for the event) and I chose to be called "Oma"--the German name for a
> grandmother. So far as I've heard, I'm the only Oma around these here
> parts. (And those of you who know me personally, can probably guess that I
> preferred a unique and rather eccentric nickname!)
>
> I know the Spanish for grandmother is Abuela, but I don't know if
> Hispanics actually use that term familiarly. Do blacks have a pattern of
> grandparent names? Other ethnic groups? Or regions?
>
> Any and all input invited. I'm just curious . . . although if I really
> find a pattern, I might turn the results into a short (and possibly
> humorous) article--with proper attribution of sources, of course. Regards,
> Carolyn
>
>
> Carolyn Earle Billingsley, Ph.D.
> 2100 Pleasant Grove, Alexander, AR 72002-9154
> www.cebillingsley.net
> The central organizing principle in the discipline of
> genealogy is the reconstruction and analysis of kinship.
>
>
>
>
>
> .
>
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