Enid was called Granny by her Grandchildren

[Ming]

Maternal grandfathers are called Nanas here, and maternal grandmothers are nanis. Paternal grandfathers and grandmothers are dadas and dadis.

[Darrell71]

Yeah, in Hindi tho. Marathi names seem quite different tho don't they!

[Belly]

I thought it was a class thing in England at any rate. Maggie Smith - Violet in Downton Abbey is definitely known as 'Granny' by the girls. Nan or Nanny or Grandad rather than Grandpa were outlawed by my mother - too common apparently Granny was aspirational or for the posh. In my childhood anyway.

[Darrell71]

Does anyone call their Grandma's Gramma? It seems so AWKWARD to me!

[Fiona1986]

Well, in my accent/dialect we don't put much emphasis on the ND in grandma, so it probably sounds a bit more like Gramma.

[Darrell71]

OH. Sorry if I'm offending anyone, but I think it's rather like grams. I NEVER use that word, even when writing short stories!

[Moonraker]

I think it's rather like grams. I NEVER use that word, even when writing short stories!

I quite agree. It's pounds and ounces for me, every time.

[Darrell71]

Great minds think alike!!

[pwl]

I thought it was a class thing in England at any rate. Maggie Smith - Violet in Downton Abbey is definitely known as 'Granny' by the girls. Nan or Nanny or Grandad rather than Grandpa were outlawed by my mother - too common apparently Granny was aspirational or for the posh. In my childhood anyway.

Unfortunately, although Downtown Abbey appears to portray so called Aristocratic and thus Upper Class life in Britain, the production was British-American and one might therefore understand that the "mix" probably lowered standards as well as the dialogue.

"Granny" is unmistakably Middle Class.

Words like "mum" and "nan" are clearly working class but "Nana / Nanny" tend to be somewhat of a grey area and tending to sometimes be "imported" Upper Middle Class terms and in Britain perhaps considered "unmarked."

Note "Nana" J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan Newfoundland Nurse (Nanny), a dog, employed by the Darling family, an apparent Middle Class, or perhaps aspiring to the Upper Middle Class, family who looks after the children - is she called Nana because she is perceived to be within the framework of the Middle Class 'system' or lower class, since an "employee" would be considered below the Middle Class?

For my part all I really know is that my Upper Middle Class Mother and I referred to my Father's mother, my paternal grandmother (a decidedly working class woman - my dizzy headed Mama was only young when she allowed her head to be turned by the uniform and regretted it soon after), as "come on put your coat on, yes I'm sorry; I know you don't want to go darling but I signed a prenuptial agreement with your Father stating that an annual 3 minute visit would be undertaken by both of us to visit that Dreadful lower class Woman."

Needless to say, I wasn't a signatory to the agreement and often used my veto and stayed with my NANA instead - well heck wouldn't you, my NANA had a Bentley and a chauffeur and she taught me how to spell the word "oik."

ps: And before any sharp working class oiks make the comment: NO my NANA was most definitely NOT a Newfoundland dog!!

[Tony Summerfield]

I thought it was a class thing in England at any rate. Maggie Smith - Violet in Downton Abbey is definitely known as 'Granny' by the girls. Nan or Nanny or Grandad rather than Grandpa were outlawed by my mother - too common apparently Granny was aspirational or for the posh. In my childhood anyway.

Unfortunately, although Downtown Abbey appears to portray so called Aristocratic and thus Upper Class life in Britain, the production was British-American and one might therefore understand that the "mix" probably lowered standards as well as the dialogue.

"Granny" is unmistakably Middle Class.

I think you are barking up the wrong tree here, pwl, as the Queen is called Granny by her grandchildren and I think she would raise an eyebrow at being called middle class by you! The writer of Downton Abbey was Julian Fellowes who I believe had an aristocratic upbringing so he should know what he is talking about.

[zaidi]

Maternal grandfathers are called Nanas here, and maternal grandmothers are nanis. Paternal grandfathers and grandmothers are dadas and dadis.

Yes exactly this is what we call here in Pakistan but often a times people do call granny too.
Its so interesting to read about 19 century where Enid lived, I love to read about the past.

[Katharine]

I'm finding this all very interesting, I always had a vague idea in the back of my mind that Nana was an American term that had found it's way over here, but it would seem not. I've no idea why I had that idea though. I think I probably associate the term Granny with something out of a story book, such as 'Granny, what big eyes you have!'.

One thing that I know is quite common nowadays, but I personally don't like, is if a child has 2 sets of grandparents who have both opted for the same form of address such as Nana, then having their Christian name added. I would find it highly offensive if a grandchild of mine called me 'Grandma Katharine'. My children both have 2 Grandmas and 2 Grandads. To their faces they are just called Grandma or Grandad. If we are talking about them when they are not there, and we need to differentiate between the two sets, we'll add our surnames.

I'm probably alone in that view though, but then I'm quite old fashioned about children using adults first names anyway. I blame it on reading so much Enid Blyton - in her books, adults rarely had first names.

[zaidi]

I think Katharine, Grandma n Grandpa to our mother' s side while Grandfather n Grandmother is for our father' s parents. Isnt it so in Britain and America?

[pwl]

I thought it was a class thing in England at any rate. Maggie Smith - Violet in Downton Abbey is definitely known as 'Granny' by the girls. Nan or Nanny or Grandad rather than Grandpa were outlawed by my mother - too common apparently Granny was aspirational or for the posh. In my childhood anyway.

Unfortunately, although Downtown Abbey appears to portray so called Aristocratic and thus Upper Class life in Britain, the production was British-American and one might therefore understand that the "mix" probably lowered standards as well as the dialogue.

"Granny" is unmistakably Middle Class.

I think you are barking up the wrong tree here, pwl, as the Queen is called Granny by her grandchildren and I think she would raise an eyebrow at being called middle class by you! The writer of Downton Abbey was Julian Fellowes who I believe had an aristocratic upbringing so he should know what he is talking about.

A Baronetcy is not a Peerage, its an hereditary honoury - and Fellowes went to Ampleforth (we called them the 90 percenters), another of my rival schools - and they're terribly middle class there old chum.

The Queen may well be called "Granny" by her grandchildren - sign of the times - but Granny is without a doubt very Middle Class.

[Katharine]

Zaidi, I don't think we have any hard and fast rules here in the UK, from what everyone has posted here, I'd say it's really a matter of personal preference. I think I decided that I would prefer to be called 'Grandma' when I was very young, certainly long before I became a mother myself. A bit silly really, as I maybe never be a grandmother, so not much point me chosing my title now, although if my children have ever played with dolls I've always been 'grandma' to those.