Nana with Max
When we were considering names for our daughters, I deliberated at length for something distinctive and memorable, one that would offset the mundanity of the last name "Jones." Alexa was a perfect name by which to call our first-born: the heart of her name was "lex" meaning "word," and the symmetry of the two A's was appealing to this English teacher. Of course, she began to call herself "Ayucca" thus rendering my efforts futile. Later, when Alexa was in third grade, she came home from school and announced that she wanted to be called "Crystal." Never let a ten-year old choose her own name.
Likewise, we had many reasons for naming our second-born daughter "Natalie." She was born in the Christmas season; Natalie Woods had just died tragically the previous summer, thus that name was often in the news; and, an elderly baba at church, Natalia, had also just passed away. Yet again, the beautiful name of Natalie was reduced to "Nanny" and sometimes even "Nanny-goat." Or, we substituted "Bratalie" reflecting her temperament, at times.
In trying to practice what I preach by conducting some prewriting, I came across a website devoted entirely to grandmother names: http://grandparents.about.com/od/advicefornewgrandparents/a/grannynames.htm But, even the name of this site appalls me. One name I DO not want is "granny." I recoil from that name as much as I recoil from being called "Vic." I have considered names from other countries. I like the Italian name of "nonna" and the German "oma." But, I am only a fraction Germanic and have no Italian heritage. In fact, my German grandmother had us call her "grossmutter," trying to err on the side of propriety, I guess. However, we secretly called her "Godzilla," a variation on her given name of "Gisella" and a commentary on her temperament. Many at my church are "babas," most recently my friend, Baba Connie. But, I'm not remotely Russian. The same problem exists with the charming "yaya" from Greek. I'm intrigued with the Yiddish "Bubbe," but I'll discard without trying on for size the Spanish "Abuela."
Natalie, the mother of my two grandsons, insists that the child should choose the grandparents' names, but I prefer to be more proactive. I've been trying "Nana" on for size with Max. "Nana" seems comfortable yet a bit sophisticated, just exactly the type of grandmother I hope to be. But, whenever I try my mad teaching skills of reinforcement: "Hi, Max! It's Nana," Natalie interjects with "Wino." I am not amused. I shudder to think about my grandsons calling me "Wino." In public. Yes, I enjoy a glass of wine as much as the next person (as much as my parents do), but a wino? I don't think so. Ben, my son-in-law, suggested "V-lo" which is his nickname for me after my obsessive wedding planning efforts. I'm still sticking by "Nana." I know from experience that a "V" sound is very difficult for non-English speakers and babies; I was called "Wicki" for a month in Turkey when I was in college. Not funny.
I fully realize, though, that at some point my inventive and gifted (of course) grandchildren will alter a traditional name into something unique only to our family. After all, Alexa, the first grandchild, has the distinction of the grandparent names for my own parents: Mum and Bop. Alexa did have her own language for her first two or three years, so consider the source. But, we speculate that "Mum" is a variation of my calling her "Mom." It's particularly fitting, since she is rather a Queen Mum in demeanor. We figure that Alexa started calling my father "Bop" when she was watching him play tennis. Dad has a mean left-handed serve, and whenever he would drive one home, he'd yell out "Bop." I like the name because Dad is a be-bop sort of jazzer. So, I can only hope that Bill and I will have names as fun and fitting.
Mum and Bop with baby Max, Father's Day 2010
For all of my grandmother friends out there, how did you come by your name? And, out of curiosity, what is your grandmother name - the one in practice, not the one you had hoped for. After all, there is a story behind every name. But for now, you can call me "Nana."
Nana Vicki with Luke
We must be incredibly unimaginative individuals as we call our grandparents "Grandma/Grandpa Garrett" and "Grandma/Grandpa Reed". However, my cousins referred to my Grandpa Reed as Papaw so there is a nice "Kentucky Hick" version for you. My suggestion, therefore, is "Mamaw". :)
ReplyDelete1. a comment on-topic: i had hand-me-down names for my grandparents and it never bothered me that i didn't choose what to call them. grandma and grandpa (properly pronounced 'gramma' and 'grampa') and mimi and papa (properly pronounced 'meems' and 'papa', obviously) worked for me because someone else said they worked. so, you can tell natalie that i side with your desire to name yourself.
ReplyDelete2. a comment slightly off-topic: my oldest cousin called my mom 'bapper' when she couldn't say 'pam', and now all the great-nieces and -nephews use 'auntie bap'. i somehow doubt the grandchildren, which i expect my sister to provide, will follow suit, but i think there's something special about such specific nicknames.
My mother chose her own name, on accident, but nonetheless it is possible as a grandmother to choose your own name. She too was concerned about what sort of legacy she would have with the name she would be given by her grandchildren, so when she heard something fairly attractive come out of my nieces mouth, it stuck. My niece was running around the house with a picture of my mother calling out "Gigi" (jeejee), so she decided it was what she was destined to be called. I really have no idea how my dad's name came about, but he is Papa. It is also interesting that I also call my parents Gigi and Papa. I still refer to them as mom and dad, but I've also picked up on Gigi and Papa even though I have no offspring to whom I should be teaching these names.
ReplyDeleteI also live in Southern Louisiana, so we have lots of Mawmaws, Maamas, Mmahmas, etc. I have no idea how you spell any of them, although I suspect they are all spelled the same. However all of my youth group kids insist that they are pronouncing them differently and it must be my darned "yankee" accent that cannot pronounce the difference properly.