I have recently found out that I am going to be a Grandmother for the first time. A new adventure opening up on the horizon with a new person coming into the world. I have not got my head around the idea just yet. My daughter in law had asked me what I wanted to be called, for Grandmother. I told her I wasn’t sure. I am not sure I will have a choice either because I think the grandchild can be the one who picks the name.

I called my maternal Grandmother and my husband’s Grandmother, Nana. I do not like the name Nana so much. I am not crazy about Grandma either.  I was inspired by a website by the Norwegian photographer Karoline Hjorth called Mormor Chronicles. Mormor is the Norwegian name for Grandmother. On the home page it says: ” Wise Words and Waffles from Nanas of Norway.” She photographed and interviewed several older women for the website. She wanted to give a voice to older women and show that Mormors don’t always match the stereotypes of Grandmother.

I know that Grandmothers in America today are not like the stereotypes of those in the past either. Some young women may say, when describing themselves, ” I am such a Grandma,” meaning the sterotype image of staying at home, knitting, and baking cookies. While I might appreciate these activities in others it does not describe me. I like to eat cookies but do not bake.

I did a little research with Google Translate to see what Grandmother is in a few other languages. I found there are several Pinterest boards and other websites that cover grandparent names. It’s kind of like those baby name sites.

A few names from the long list:

• Amma (Icelandic)
• Oma (German)
• Babushka (Russian)
• Nonna ( Italian)
• Yiayiá (Greek)
• Mèmè (French)

I am leaning toward the last one. Kinda sweet, don’t you think? What did/do you call your Grandmother?

Featured Image is “Lady with the Veil” ( the artist’s wife) by Alexander Roslin on Wikipedia.