Grandad Alternative

February 13, 2021 10:35 AM

My sister is having a baby, and it will be my parents first grandchild. My dad isn't sure what he wants to be called, but he isn't keen on Grandad/Grandpa, anything that ages him really. He is Scottish but lives in England. I've looked online but I'm hoping for some better suggestions I can give him (he has requested my input). Thanks in advance!
posted by ellieBOA to Writing & Language (64 answers total)

I called my grandpa Pa-Paw.
My uncle's grandkid calls him Pops.
posted by phunniemee at 10:39 AM on February 13, 2021 [1 favorite]

A traditional Scottish word for grandfather is Papa - but pronounced as in the phonetic alphabet, not as in the fresh word for dad
posted by JJZByBffqU at 10:41 AM on February 13, 2021 [1 favorite]

We have an Uppa and a G-Pop in the family.
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 10:42 AM on February 13, 2021 [2 favorites]

I had a Grandpa and a Poppy.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 10:53 AM on February 13, 2021

Friends have E-paw (sp?), Pop-Pop and Gramps.
posted by goodsearch at 10:55 AM on February 13, 2021

My dad let my daughter "name" him--he is "Baba" and grandma is "Bama."
posted by chaiminda at 10:59 AM on February 13, 2021 [3 favorites]

My partner calls their father "Pops" and his grandfather name is "Pop-pops", which started as a joke but stuck.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 11:00 AM on February 13, 2021

My FIL is known as Poppo.
posted by Flexagon at 11:03 AM on February 13, 2021 [2 favorites]

Mine is Grampie
posted by token-ring at 11:12 AM on February 13, 2021

One of my grandparents was called Paba by almost all of his grandchildren (the one holdout couldn't pronounce Paba as a toddler so she called him Poppy).
posted by darkchocolatepyramid at 11:20 AM on February 13, 2021

My dad is Grumps to my nieces.

I did a quick google for some possible Scots-y alternatives and this whole comment is cute as heck:

I come from Scotland and my niece and nephew reffer to there grandad as Papa or Pampa. My welsh girlfriend calls her grand father Bampi. An old Fife scottish term for grandfather is your “Dey”. I wish i knew phonetics better so i could right it phonetically because the word has a unique twang to it.

I don't know how idiosyncratic any of this is (I suspect very) but Bampi and Pampa both whip.
posted by babelfish at 11:24 AM on February 13, 2021 [3 favorites]

My coworker felt too young for the traditional grandfather names, so he is G-Dad. Fits with more contemporary performers' style of names to me.
posted by maxg94 at 11:25 AM on February 13, 2021

Does his name segue nicely into a Grandpa type name?
For instance, I know a family who has a GrandMary.
posted by nouvelle-personne at 11:25 AM on February 13, 2021

We have one Opa. And one grandmother whose grandchildren call her a diminutive of her name that others don’t use. (Think: Mimi or similar). Maybe there’s a special way to use his actual first name.
posted by vunder at 11:27 AM on February 13, 2021 [2 favorites]

my FIL wasn't keen on grandpa either for our kid; the current plan is to call him by his first name, which will be adorably mangled and then using the mangled form as the name. (this is why my wife called my FIL's mom "ninny")

My dad has been Papa to all of his grandchildren.
posted by dismas at 11:27 AM on February 13, 2021

My dad was Pa.
posted by tristeza at 11:29 AM on February 13, 2021

Poppa is what we called my paternal grandfather.
posted by bradbane at 11:30 AM on February 13, 2021

My child’s grandfathers are Pop Pop (paternal) and Papa Bear (maternal).
posted by timestep at 11:34 AM on February 13, 2021

I had a friend who called her grandfather Boom-Pa...
posted by newmoistness at 11:40 AM on February 13, 2021 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: nouvelle-personne, his name is Paul.

Thanks for all the suggestions so far!
posted by ellieBOA at 11:50 AM on February 13, 2021

Then maybe Pa-Paul?
posted by Too-Ticky at 11:51 AM on February 13, 2021

Bampie isn't Bam-pot, but it's close. Can you sell him on it? :-)
posted by k3ninho at 11:57 AM on February 13, 2021 [1 favorite]

Another vote for Papa being something I’ve heard Scottish pals call their grandfather.
posted by penguin pie at 12:05 PM on February 13, 2021

My grandpa was Pap.
posted by kathrynm at 12:18 PM on February 13, 2021

My grandfather was Opie, our diminutive version of Opa/Opap.
posted by quince at 12:23 PM on February 13, 2021

My vote is for Grandpaul, probably mangled into Grample.
posted by kate4914 at 12:25 PM on February 13, 2021 [22 favorites]

I had a grandpop. My cousins called him pop-pop. They also had a grandparent whose name was the equivalent of GrandPaul.
posted by aniola at 1:00 PM on February 13, 2021

paul-paul
posted by aniola at 1:02 PM on February 13, 2021 [4 favorites]

I called my Scottish grand father papa (not in the French way) and my American one pawpaw. My brother's kids (in Scotland) call our dad papa as well.

A friend's kid calls her grandfather dodo, which is cute too. What about pauley or popo?
posted by sedimentary_deer at 1:14 PM on February 13, 2021

Before my daughter was born, my MIL made a fuss about grandparent names, so I told her to choose one herself or we would raise our kid to call her "Mrs. Murray". She opted for "grandma". Tell your father it's up to him...or else.
posted by briank at 1:27 PM on February 13, 2021 [10 favorites]

My sister's kids pretty much chose what to call our parents- Gampa and my mum's given name is what have stuck. There is something terribly cute about a little kid calling an older person by their first name.
posted by Balthamos at 1:40 PM on February 13, 2021

My dad was also leery of sounding old. But he is old! I’m an old mom, so he is a relatively old grandparent!

He instructed us that he was to be called Pops, which my kid is fine with.
posted by Lawn Beaver at 2:03 PM on February 13, 2021 [1 favorite]

I called my grandpa Papa, and my LO calls my FIl Gepaw (Gee-paw for pronunciation). Not sure where the Gpaw came from, but it's stuck for my nephew and my LO, and my FIl loves it!
posted by snowysoul at 2:30 PM on February 13, 2021

my dad was like this when his first grandchild was born. I'm pretty sure she just called him by his name "Charlie", which he loved. I think she still calls him that now, 23 years later.
posted by supermedusa at 2:32 PM on February 13, 2021 [1 favorite]

My half-Scottish, half-English grandfather was Poppa.
posted by Knowyournuts at 3:02 PM on February 13, 2021

FWIW, I am Grandpop to my only grandson (as in that's what I and parents refer to me as, he doesn't talk yet, except for fish, mom and dad). I picked it because it sounded more energetic than grandad (to me).
posted by forthright at 3:06 PM on February 13, 2021 [1 favorite]

My grandfather was Poppa (mono syllabic nickname), so something like Poppa Paul or Poppa Pow sounds kind of nice to me.
posted by sm1tten at 3:11 PM on February 13, 2021

I had a Grandpa (pronounced Grampa) for whom I felt little, and a "Poppy," whom I adored. And while religiously/culturally, it's likely not apt for your situation, I really like Zayde (is in Bubbe and Zayde) because the unexpected always feels special when everyone else doesn't have the names you use.
posted by The Wrong Kind of Cheese at 3:59 PM on February 13, 2021 [1 favorite]

My Scottish grandfather was Papa, as is my Scottish dad to his grandkids.
posted by loop at 4:11 PM on February 13, 2021 [1 favorite]

My youngest grandchild, age 2, calls me Namay, which is her way of saying Nana Mary. I think Papaul sounds sweet.
posted by mareli at 4:44 PM on February 13, 2021

I keep thinking of a sentence our French diction instructor used to have us say: “Papa Paul ne peut pas partir pour Paris sans parapluie pourpre.”


[Papa Paul can’t leave for Paris without a purple umbrella. Must have been a Penguin impersonator.]
posted by The Underpants Monster at 5:17 PM on February 13, 2021 [1 favorite]

My in-laws side usually just lets the kids come up with what they want to call their grandparents.

They have a "Gogo", and a "Grampa Pizza"
posted by wats at 5:59 PM on February 13, 2021 [2 favorites]

My maternal GF was Pappy. My father as a GF was called Dee-daddy. I selected Pappy for myself when the grandkids came (but I’m a big David Ortiz fan). This may also be a Southern thing.

My GMs were Mammy and Gra-ga. My mother as a GM was Me-Mammy. My wife is Mammy to the grandchildren. The other GM is Granny Annie.
posted by sudogeek at 6:08 PM on February 13, 2021

I know a Pa, an Opa, and a Papi (pronounced like Poppy).
posted by gudrun at 7:27 PM on February 13, 2021

I believe that in Norway, his generic title would be "morfar" (as in, my mother's father), so maybe Morfar.
posted by lakeroon at 8:50 PM on February 13, 2021

I suppose Boomer is out of the question.

I'm 59 now and if I had a grandchild I'd laugh like a drain every time they called me that.
posted by flabdablet at 8:55 PM on February 13, 2021 [3 favorites]

Was there ever a cool nickname he wished he had? This is the time to live out those childhood dreams of being called The Moose, Romeo, Buttercup, Darth, or whatever else. The more fun the name, the more fun the name!
posted by defreckled at 8:56 PM on February 13, 2021 [2 favorites]

Just say "I'm your grandpa" and then however she tries to say it, run with that.
posted by bleep at 10:15 PM on February 13, 2021

We did what @bleep suggested above: My dad goes by "Gigi" to my kid because that's how my kid pronounced the Japanese word for grandpa.
posted by saltypup at 10:24 PM on February 13, 2021

Many moons ago my friend adopted a 2 and 4 year old. Mom decided on Nana. The grandkids asked his dad what to call him, and he said "Ba-nana" as a joke.

Dear readers, he is Banana to this day.
posted by ananci at 10:40 PM on February 13, 2021 [16 favorites]

My paternal grandfather was called Gramp.
posted by essexjan at 12:06 AM on February 14, 2021

Response by poster: These are fantastic! Thank you all so much.
posted by ellieBOA at 1:53 AM on February 14, 2021

Response by poster: I will 100% come back later in the year and update with what was chosen!
posted by ellieBOA at 2:02 AM on February 14, 2021 [10 favorites]

The grandkids in our family call their Scottish grandfather “Pops”, as his request.
posted by like_neon at 3:33 AM on February 14, 2021

The one I haven't seen in the list, that my family uses, is "Big Daddy".
posted by Ms Vegetable at 7:11 AM on February 14, 2021 [2 favorites]

If the ou'feller hails from the West coast, the Scots Gaelic is Seanair a contraction of Sean athair [old father]. Living in Ireland I elected to be Seanathair for my English living g.kids. This was confused with Seanachie [story-teller], corrupted to Shonky. I answer to Shonks, too .
posted by BobTheScientist at 9:24 AM on February 14, 2021 [1 favorite]

Another vote for letting the grandchild decide. My baby sister came up with “Ho-ho”, which stuck.
posted by bonobothegreat at 10:58 AM on February 14, 2021

We have a puppa and a granddave. And a gramma and a mommom.
posted by dpx.mfx at 9:04 PM on February 14, 2021

Big Paul and Li'l (grandmother's first name).
posted by TrishaU at 11:33 PM on February 14, 2021

Snark: try suggesting ancestor or geezer. That might make grandpa more appealing. Letting the kid decide might work; my kid calls me a nickname she made up. Mom never stuck.

After my kid had their first child, I met the other grandma at the hospital. After introductions, her first words to me were, “I don’t feel old enough to be a grandparent. Do you?” Honey, that doesn’t really matter; it’s not about us.
posted by Bella Donna at 2:21 AM on February 15, 2021 [3 favorites]

Kinda depends on the ancestry. I am ethnically Asian, but with a mix of several provinces (and languages), so we don't follow traditions of one province or another exclusively. So when I told others what I called my paternal grandpa and grandma, some people keep telling me that's wrong. I politely told them to buzz off. :D
posted by kschang at 10:28 AM on February 15, 2021 [2 favorites]

My maternal grandparents both had names that came from their names, no "grand" anything--Mac (for Maxine) and Kokkie (for Joffre). They were both kids' garbled pronunciations of their names. My stepdad is called GrandBob, which has a "grand" in it but in a non-traditional way. There's also the Southern Pawpaw or Papaw.
posted by Mavri at 6:33 PM on February 16, 2021

Not quite related, but my nickname for my younger uncle (younger brother to my dad) had always been "babu" for as long as I remember, which is in no way related to the word "uncle". Officially he's "San-Su"三叔 (third younger-uncle, as he's 3rd oldest brother, and my dad's 2nd oldest)

From what I've been told (it could be apocryphal), my uncle got that nickname because when I was VERY young (probably 4-6) my uncle used to buy me ice cream cone from a mobile street vendor every time he comes, so I associated my uncle with the street ice cream vendor's "horn" making the ba-bu ba-bu sound. :)
posted by kschang at 4:00 AM on February 17, 2021 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Hi everyone, my niece Maya was born on June 12th, and my dad picked GP as the nickname yesterday! (For Grandpa Paul). My family loved this very varied list of choices.
posted by ellieBOA at 12:08 AM on June 23, 2021 [6 favorites]