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Names for Grandparents: Nan, Gran, Grandad and 40 More

By 20 March 20268 min read
A grandmother cuddles her smiling grandson at a kitchen table beside a vase of sunflowers

Names for grandparents in Britain: what families really call a grandma or grandad, plus Welsh, Irish, Punjabi, Polish and Chinese names, and who picks.

The most common names for grandparents in Britain are Grandma, Nan, Nana, Granny, Nanny and Gran for a grandmother, and Grandad, by a long way, for a grandfather. Beyond those, families use Nain and Taid in Wales, Granda and Papa in Scotland, Dadi and Nana in Punjabi and Urdu homes, and dozens more from the many languages spoken in British homes.

Below are 43 of them, numbered, with where each comes from and who it means. The figures come from a YouGov survey of what Britons called their grandparents, published on 28 March 2025, so nothing here is a guess about which name is most popular.

What do British children call their grandma?

There's no single answer. There are six common names, and none of them reaches a third of the country.

YouGov found 31 per cent of Britons used Grandma for at least one grandmother when growing up, 17 per cent Nan, 14 per cent Nana, and 12 per cent each Granny and Nanny. Grandmothers also collect more than one name: 18 per cent of people used more than one name for theirs, against 7 per cent for grandfathers. That's the family with a Nan on one side and a Gran on the other.

Where you grew up makes a big difference.

  • 1, Name: Grandma; Who uses it most, according to YouGov: The North of England (42 per cent) and the Midlands (36 per cent)
  • 2, Name: Nan; Who uses it most, according to YouGov: The Midlands (23 per cent) and the South (20 per cent); only 5 per cent in Scotland
  • 3, Name: Nana; Who uses it most, according to YouGov: The North and Wales, at 22 to 23 per cent
  • 4, Name: Nanny; Who uses it most, according to YouGov: The South of England, where 19 per cent used it
  • 5, Name: Granny; Who uses it most, according to YouGov: Scotland, where 30 per cent used it; no more than 13 per cent anywhere else
  • 6, Name: Gran; Who uses it most, according to YouGov: Scotland again, at 26 per cent, and 3 to 8 per cent elsewhere
  • 7, Name: Grandmother; Who uses it most, according to YouGov: The formal version. Cambridge marks it formal or old-fashioned when you say it to her face

Nan, incidentally, is a child's word in the dictionary's eyes. Cambridge defines nan as a "child's word for a grandmother", which is exactly how most grandmothers get it.

What do British children call their grandad?

Grandad. YouGov found 52 per cent of Britons used it for at least one grandfather, against 9 per cent for Grandpa and 3 per cent for Pa, Papa or Pappy. Grandfathers have far less variety, and the variety they have is mostly regional.

  • 8, Name: Grandad; Where you'll hear it: Everywhere. Around six in ten in the North of England and the Midlands, but only a third in Scotland and Wales and 39 per cent in London
  • 9, Name: Grandpa; Where you'll hear it: Across Britain, a distant second
  • 10, Name: Gramps; Where you'll hear it: An informal grandad, according to Cambridge
  • 11, Name: Papa; Where you'll hear it: Scotland especially: 11 per cent of Scots used a version of Papa
  • 12, Name: Granda; Where you'll hear it: Scotland, used by 10 per cent of Scots and just 2 per cent of English people
  • 13, Name: Bamps; Where you'll hear it: Wales, where 8 per cent used a version of it. YouGov calls it "virtually non-existent outside Wales"

What are grandparents called in Welsh, Irish and Scottish Gaelic?

In Welsh, the name depends on which end of the country the family comes from. YouGov found 10 per cent of Welsh people used a Welsh-language name for a grandmother and 9 per cent for a grandfather.

  • 14, Name: Nain; Language: Welsh, North Wales; Who it means: Grandmother
  • 15, Name: Taid; Language: Welsh, North Wales; Who it means: Grandfather
  • 16, Name: Mamgu; Language: Welsh, South Wales; Who it means: Grandmother, also written mam-gu
  • 17, Name: Tadcu; Language: Welsh, South Wales; Who it means: Grandfather, also written tad-cu
  • 18, Name: Dadcu; Language: Welsh, South Wales; Who it means: Grandfather; YouGov lists it alongside Tadcu
  • 19, Name: Mamó; Language: Irish; Who it means: Granny, in the standard Irish dictionary
  • 20, Name: Daideo; Language: Irish; Who it means: Grand-dad, in the same dictionary
  • 21, Name: Seanmhair; Language: Scottish Gaelic; Who it means: Grandmother
  • 22, Name: Seanair; Language: Scottish Gaelic; Who it means: Grandfather

Dadi, Nani, Dada, Nana: which side is which?

In Urdu, Hindi and Punjabi, the name tells you which side of the family a grandparent belongs to. English needs "on my dad's side". These languages don't.

That last one causes a gentle muddle in mixed families and in nursery. Nana is a grandmother in English and a grandfather in Urdu and Punjabi. YouGov's London figures show it: Nana and Dada were used for a grandfather by 6 and 3 per cent of Londoners, and Nani and Dadi for a grandmother by around 3 to 4 per cent. If a child at nursery says Nana is picking them up, it may well be their grandfather.

Plenty of other South Asian languages have their own names, and they vary by region and by family. If you're new to a family, ask rather than guess.

Names from other languages spoken in British homes

YouGov found Nonna among the names used in London. Here are 17 names from languages you'll hear in British homes, Nonna included. Several of them, like Dadi and Nani, change with the side of the family.

  • 27, Name: Babcia; Language: Polish; Who it means: Grandmother
  • 28, Name: Dziadek; Language: Polish; Who it means: Grandfather
  • 29, Name: Nonna; Language: Italian; Who it means: Grandmother
  • 30, Name: Nonno; Language: Italian; Who it means: Grandfather
  • 31, Name: Yiayia; Language: Greek; Who it means: Grandmother
  • 32, Name: Pappou; Language: Greek; Who it means: Grandfather, the form you use when calling him
  • 33, Name: Babaanne; Language: Turkish; Who it means: Your father's mother
  • 34, Name: Anneanne; Language: Turkish; Who it means: Your mother's mother
  • 35, Name: Dede; Language: Turkish; Who it means: Grandfather, on either side
  • 36, Name: Nainai; Language: Mandarin; Who it means: Your father's mother
  • 37, Name: Yeye; Language: Mandarin; Who it means: Your father's father
  • 38, Name: Waipo; Language: Mandarin; Who it means: Your mother's mother; Laolao in parts of northern China
  • 39, Name: Waigong; Language: Mandarin; Who it means: Your mother's father
  • 40, Name: Mah Mah; Language: Cantonese; Who it means: Your father's mother
  • 41, Name: Yeh Yeh; Language: Cantonese; Who it means: Your father's father, the same written word as Yeye, said the Cantonese way
  • 42, Name: Por Por; Language: Cantonese; Who it means: Your mother's mother
  • 43, Name: Gung Gung; Language: Cantonese; Who it means: Your mother's father

Spellings in English letters vary a lot for the Chinese and Greek names. Por Por is also written Po Po, and Yiayia sometimes Yaya. Use whatever the family writes on the birthday card.

Who actually chooses a grandparent's name?

In theory, the grandparent. In practice, quite often the first grandchild, by accident.

Say a grandmother planned on Grandma, then met an 18-month-old who said "Gaga". Gaga she stays, for the next forty years, including to grandchildren who could say Grandma perfectly well. If you have strong feelings, say the name you want clearly and often from the start, and accept that you're making a suggestion, not a ruling.

Three things are worth sorting out early.

  1. Two grandmothers who both want Nan. Add something. Nan Pat and Nan Jean works. So does a place, like Nanny Leeds. Or one side takes a name from the table above.
  2. A name from a family language. If one set of grandparents speaks Welsh, Punjabi or Polish at home, their name in that language is often the one that sticks, and it gives a small child a word from that side of the family to own.
  3. Not feeling like a Granny yet. Some grandparents choose a first name, a made-up name or an initial instead. It's your name. Nobody else gets to mind.

A name lands faster when a child hears it in a real voice, often. If you live far away, the games to play on FaceTime are a good excuse to say it every week, and our guide to bonding with grandchildren has more on staying close from a distance.

Frequently asked questions

What is a British grandma's nickname?

Grandma is the most common, followed by Nan, Nana, Granny and Nanny. YouGov found 31 per cent of Britons used Grandma for at least one grandmother, 17 per cent Nan and 14 per cent Nana. It varies by region: Grandma is strongest in the North and the Midlands, Nanny in the South, and Granny and Gran in Scotland.

What do Welsh children call their grandparents?

Many use the same names as the rest of Britain, such as Grandma, Nana and Grandad. In Welsh, a grandmother is Nain in the north and Mamgu in the south, and a grandfather is Taid in the north and Tadcu or Dadcu in the south. YouGov also found Bamps for a grandfather, a name almost unheard of outside Wales.

What is the difference between Nani and Dadi?

Which side of the family she's on. In Urdu, Hindi and Punjabi, Dadi is your father's mother and Nani is your mother's mother. The grandfathers follow the same pattern: Dada is your father's father and Nana is your mother's father. So a child with both sets of grandparents nearby can say exactly who they mean in one word.

What should I ask my grandchildren to call me?

Pick a name you'd be happy to hear shouted across a supermarket, and check it doesn't clash with the other grandparents. Then say it often, in the same way, so the baby hears it. Be ready for the first grandchild to change it anyway: a toddler who can't manage the name you chose often gives you a new one.

What are some traditional names for grandparents?

In English, Grandma, Granny, Gran and Nan for a grandmother, and Grandad and Grandpa for a grandfather. Grandmother and Grandfather are the formal versions, and Cambridge marks Grandmother as formal or old-fashioned when you say it to her. Many families also keep the traditional names from another language, such as Nain and Taid, Babcia and Dziadek, or Nonna and Nonno.

Whatever they end up calling you

The name matters less than what happens when they say it. Sign their next card with it, as our birthday wishes for grandchildren suggest, and when they come round, our guide to things to do with grandchildren has plenty for a new Nan or Taid to try on the living room floor. Some of them involve a mat, and if you'd like one that stays at your house, ours are on the kids' yoga mats page.

Sources

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