-Scottish: In Scottish Gaelic, the word for grandma is “Seanmhair,” which means good mother. But other commonly used Scottish grandmother names include “Nana,” “Nanna,” “Mhamó” and “Mamó.” -Spanish: In Spanish, grandmothers are known as “Abuela” or “Abuelita.”
In comparison Granny is the most adored name for Scottish grandmothers with 45% of people in Edinburgh using it and 31% in Glasgow. Less than 10% of Scots use the name Nanny. For grandfathers the most popular name nationwide by far is Grandad (68%) - with over two thirds using this name.
That may be one reason why grandparents in this lovely country have such loving connections to their grandkids. In Gaelic, grandmothers are called “maimeó” (pronounced mam-o), and grandfathers, “daideó “(pronounced dah-jo).
Few people know that the Irish or Gaelic word for grandmother is seanmháthair ((shan a WAW her), literally meaning "old mother." Alternate spellings include seanmhair, seanmathair and sean mathair.
GADGIE n. a boy, a man.
MITHER, MIDDER n mother.
Forget Mum or Mom, in northern England they usually like calling their mothers Mam. The pronunciation, of course, will vary for Mam whether you're a Northumbrian or Geordie. This term of endearment for mother is also very common in Scotland and Northern Ireland. In Ireland Ma is also frequently used instead of Mam.
In the Swedish language, the maternal grandparents are "mormor" for grandmother and "morfar" for grandfather. Paternal grandparents are "farmor" for grandmother, and "farfar," for grandfather.
Origins of the Word Grandmother in English
In Old English, the word was ealdemodor, which sounds a lot like “old mother,” and likely has roots in Old Norse. It was replaced by grandame, literally meaning “old lady,” due to the French influence over English.
Ireland (Gaelic)
While maimeó anddaideó are the words used to address a grandmother or grandfather, there are a few different words for grandparents in Irish. For example, there are máthair chríona, which translates to “wise mother,” and athair críonna which translates to “wise father.”
For grandfathers the most popular name nationwide by far is Grandad (68%) - only one in five Brits opts to use Grandpa (22%). Unique names for this generation are twice as likely to be used for grandfathers than for grandmothers. Some of the names cited for grandmothers include Boo, Mimi and Nanan.
I like Amma, which is Old Norse for grandmother and fits my deep Scandinavian roots.
Spellings such as mam gu or mamgu may also be encountered. The usual word for grandmother in the Welsh of North Wales is nain.
Children in France may call their grandmothers Gra-mere, Mémé, and Mamé. Quebec: Mémé and Mamie are most often used by French Canadians. Germany: Oma is one of the most popular international names for grandmothers and is often used to address grandmothers with no German heritage.
-Scottish: In Scottish Gaelic, the word for grandpa is “Seanair,” but other commonly used Scottish grandfather names include “Grandad” and “Grandpa.” -Spanish: In Spanish, grandfathers are most commonly called “Abuelo” but can also be called “Abuelito” or “Tito.”
Another popular subset of unique names are those that are derived from the (most often) grandmother's first name. So Gabby McCree is Gigi. “It's an abbreviation for 'Grandma Gabby' and also my initials growing up,” she says.
Glamma. Whenever people ask about this unusual nickname, tell them "Glamma" is short for "glamorous grandma." Along the same lines, grandma can also go by "Glammy."
Scottish Word: Geggie.
Laddie is the word for boy in Scottish English.