Grandma Names: The Ultimate Guide

Grandma Names: The Ultimate Guide

We're living in the golden age of grandma names. Today, there are hundreds of names for grandmothers to choose from beyond the typical grandma names like Grandma and Granny.

Modern grandma names are creative choices that reflect style, personality, and identity. These days, you'll find grandmas answering to names like Pippa, Gogo, and Sunny!

An increasingly popular option is for grandmas to go by their first names, as celebrity grandmas Martha Stewart, Anna Wintour, and Caitlyn Jenner do with their grandchildren.

Read on for our advice on choosing a grandma name and see our collection of 200+ grandma names below. Be sure to check out our guide to grandpa names, too!

How to Pick a Grandma Name

There's a lot to consider when choosing a grandma name. Would you prefer a traditional grandma name or a modern grandma name — i.e. should it sound like a grandma name or not? What's your grandma personality, and do you want your grandma name to reflect that? Do you want a grandma name with ties to your cultural identity?

Our lists below can help you find a grandma name to suit your style, but keep in mind that the grandma name you choose may not be the grandma name that sticks! Young children have difficulty pronouncing certain sounds — because of this, some grandma names take on lives of their own. A child who can't pronounce Sweetie may end up using Cece instead.

Grandma names that are low-risk for evolving are vowel-heavy and use consonants that develop early, like B, M, P, D, T, N, and G — think Nana, Mimi, Dottie, or Boo. L and R are slower-developing consonants, so names with those letters may be more likely to be mispronounced by your grandchild.

Classic Grandma Names

Classic grandma names are traditional choices that generations of children have called their grandmothers. Grandma, of course, is the most classic grandma name, but millions of grandmothers have gone by names like Nana, Grammy, Granny, and Gram as well.

Here, the most traditional grandma names.

1. Gam Gam

2. Gan Gan

3. Gammie

4. G-ma

5. Grandma

6. Grandmom

7. Grandmother

8. Gram

9. Gram Gram

10. Grammy or Grammie

11. Gran

12. Gran Gran

13. Granny or Grannie

14. Mamaw

15. Memaw or Meemaw

16. Nan

17. Nana

18. Nanny

19. Nonna

Sassy Grandma Names

Sassy grandma names are for the spunky, fun grandmas who want modern grandma names to match their personalities. Glamma or Glam-Ma is a popular choice today, a hybrid of the words "glamorous" and "grandma".

Other sassy grandma names include word names like Queenie, Diva, Sugar, or even Sassy itself. Or try a modern grandma name with repeating sounds, such as Gigi, Mimi, or Zozo.

20. Amba

21. Ammy

22. Barbie

23. Biddy

24. Boo

25. BunBun

26. ChaCha

27. Crumpet

28. Diva

29. Dovie or Dovey

30. Fancy

31. Gamma

32. Gigi

33. Glamma

34. Golly

35. Goofy

36. Granna

37. Gugi or Googi

38. Hopie

39. Jelly

40. Kitten

41. Leelee

42. Lucky

43. Lula

44. Marmee or Marmie

45. Meems

46. Mia

47. Mimi

48. Minnow

49. Missy

50. Momo

51. Moo

52. Mozie or Mozey

53. Nono

54. Mumsy

55. Ona

56. Pippa

57. Queenie

58. Sassy

59. Sugar

60. Taffy

61. Tippi

62. Toffee

63. Zippy

64. Zozo

65. Zuzie

Cute Grandma Names

Cute grandma names have adorable imagery — think Bubbles and Bunny — and may also be terms of endearment, like Darling or Sweetie. Many cute grandma names are also names that mean sweet, such as Honey and Cookie.

Celebrities who use cute grandma names include Kris Jenner, who is known as Lovey to her grandkids, and Susan Sarandon, who goes by Honey.

66. Amma

67. Bambi

68. Birdie or Birdy

69. Bitsy

70. Boo Boo

71. Bubbles

72. Bunny

73. Cookie

74. Darling

75. Dearie or Deary

76. Dolly

77. Giddy

78. Giggles

79. Goldie

80. Gooey

81. Gooma or Guma

82. Gummy or Gummie

83. Gushy

84. Honey

85. Huggy or Huggie

86. Kitty

87. Lilo

88. Lolly or Lollie

89. Lovey or Lovie

90. Lulie

91. Mamie

92. May May or Mae Mae

93. Mushy

94. Nemy

95. Noni or Nonni

96. Ommy

97. Peaches

98. Peppy

99. Pimmy or Pimmie

100. Pinkie or Pinky

101. Poppet

102. Sissy

103. Sundae or Sunday

104. Sweetie

105. Tiny

106. Tootsie

107. Totty

108. Zazie

109. Zuzu

Cool Grandma Names

You're not a regular grandma, you're a cool grandma! And cool grandmas need cool grandma names. You may choose a cool word to be your grandma name, such as Groovy or Peachy, or a hybrid name like Grancy (grandma + fancy) or Glammy (glamorous + grammy).

110. Audie

111. Bebe or Bibi

112. Belle

113. Candy

114. Coco

115. Dottie or Dotty

116. Fifi

117. Gabby or Gabbie

118. Gidget

119. Glammy or Glammie

120. Gogi

121. Goma

122. Grancy or Granci

123. Groovy

124. Gumma

125. Happy

126. Juju

127. Lala

128. Lita

129. Lolo

130. Lulu

131. Lunie

132. Mamoo

133. Mellow

134. Merry

135. Mimzy

136. Moa

137. Mom-Mom

138. Nim

139. Noonoo or Nunu

140. Peachy

141. Peppa

142. Pippi or Pippy

143. Soma

144. Sunny

145. Tetty

146. Tibby

147. Two-Mom

148. Zeldy or Zeldie

149. Zeze

Badass Grandma Names

Badass grandma names are rock-and-roll choices that sound like anything but grandma names. Why be Grandma when you could be called Chili, Gaga, or Pink?

150. Babs

151. Beanie

152. Blondie

153. Busy or Bizzie

154. Cece or Cici

155. Chili

156. Dede or Didi

157. Dot

158. Foxy

159. Gaga

160. Gila

161. Gogo

162. Grandmama

163. Immy

164. Jazzy or Jazzie

165. Kiki

166. Lalo

167. Lela

168. Lil

169. Lillemor

170. Lopa

171. Luna

172. Madonna

173. Mame

174. Maxi or Maxie

175. Minnie

176. Momsy or Momsie

177. MooMoo

178. Moxie

179. Mumza

180. Nuni

181. Pepita

182. Pink

183. Pipsa

184. Pixie

185. Queen

186. Sparkle

187. Sukie or Suki

188. Teeny

189. TeeTee

190. Tita

191. Vogue

192. Zaza or ZsaZsa

193. Zusa

Grandma in Other Languages

Other names for grandma come from international languages. Learn the Spanish name for grandma, the Irish name for grandma, and more in our collection of international grandma names.

Afrikaans: Ouma

Arabic: Jadati

Armenian: Medzmama or Tatik

Basque: Amona

Bulgarian and Crotian: Baba

Cantonese Chinese: Popo (maternal) or MaaMaa (paternal)

Catalan: Ávia 

Danish and Swedish: Mormor (maternal) or Farmor (paternal)

Dutch and German: Oma

Filipino: Lola

Finnish: Mummo

Flemish: Bomma

French: Grandmère

French-Canadian: Mémé

Greek: Yiayia or Yaya

Hawaiian: Tutu or Kuku

Hebrew: Savta or Safta

Hindi: Daadee

Icelandic: Amma

Irish: Mamó or Móraí

Italian: Nonna, Nonnina, or Nonni

Japanese: Oba-chan or Sobo

Korean: Halmeoni

Lithuanian: Senelė

Malagasy: Bebe

Malay and Indonesian: Nenek

Mandarin Chinese: Lao lao (maternal) or Nǎinai (paternal)

Māori: Kuia

Mongolian: Emee

Norwegian: Bestemor

Polish: Babcia

Portuguese: Avó or Vovó

Russian: Babushka

Samoan: Tinamatua

Serbian: Baka

Shona: Ambuya

Slovak: Babka

Slovenian: Babica

Somali: Ayeeyo

Spanish: Abuela or Abuelita

Sudanese: Nini

Swahili: Bibi

Ukrainian: Babusya 

Vietnamese:

Welsh: Nain

Yiddish: Bubbe  

Zulu: Ugogo or Gogo

About the Author

Sophie Kihm

Sophie Kihm

Sophie Kihm has been writing for Nameberry since 2015. She has contributed stories on the top 2020s names, Gen Z names, and cottagecore baby names. Sophie is Nameberry’s resident Name Guru to the Stars, where she suggests names for celebrity babies. She also manages the Nameberry Instagram and Pinterest.

Sophie Kihm's articles on names have run on People, Today, The Huffington Post, and more. She has been quoted as a name expert by The Washington Post, People, The Huffington Post, and more. You can follow her personally on Instagram or Pinterest, or contact her at sophie@nameberry.com. Sophie lives in Chicago.