There is more variation for Britain’s grans than its grandads
What did you call your grandparents when growing up? It might seem like a basic question, but with multiple options available for both male and female grandparents, it’s not simply the case of everyone having a ‘grandad’ and a ‘grandma’…
For male grandparents, the term ‘grandad’ (including the less common spelling ‘granddad’) is indeed most common, with half of Britons (52%) using it when growing up for at least one male grandparent. This compares to 9% calling at least one grandparent ‘grandpa’ and 3% using variations of ‘pa’, ‘papa’ or ‘pappy’.
There is greater variation when it comes to female grandparents, with no individual term being used by more than a third of Britons. Three in ten (31%) used ‘grandma’ to refer to at least one of their female grandparents, with ‘nan’ being used by 17% of the public, ‘nana’ by 14%, and both ‘granny’ and ‘nanny’ by 12% each.
And not just is there more diversity in the terms used for grandmothers, but individuals are more likely to use multiple terms – e.g. having a nan and a gran – for their female grandparents, with one in six (18%) doing so, compared to just 7% with their male grandparents.
What do people call their grandfathers in different parts of Britain?
‘Grandad’ is the most common term in all parts of Britain, but is used less in Scotland and Wales, where just a third of people (33-34%) used it for at least one male grandparent while growing up, relative to around six in ten in the North of England and the Midlands (59-62%) and 55% in the South outside London.
Within England, ‘grandad’ is least common in London, where just 39% of people used it to refer to a male grandparent while growing up. Instead, non-English language terms like ‘nana’ or ‘dada’ are more popular, being used by 6% and 3% of Londoners respectively to refer to at least one grandparent.
Particularly Scottish alternative terms include variations of ‘papa’, which one in nine Scots (11%) used for at least one male grandparent when growing up, while one in ten Scots (10%) favoured ‘granda’, compared to just 2% of English people.
In Wales, Welsh terms like ‘taid’, ‘tadcu’ and ‘dadcu’ were used growing up by 9% of people, while 8% used some variation of ‘bamps’, a term virtually non-existent outside Wales.
What do people call their grandmothers in different parts of Britain?
As with ‘grandad’, ‘grandma’ is most common in the North of England, where it is used by 42% of people, and in the Midlands, where it is favoured by 36%. While still commonplace in other regions, it is used by just a quarter of those in Wales (26%) and the South of England (25%), as well as by just a fifth of Scots (19%).
Instead, ‘granny’ and ‘gran’ predominate in Scotland, with 30% and 26% of Scots respectively using each term to refer to at least one female grandparent. Usage of ‘granny’ rises no higher than one in eight (13%) in other parts of the country, and only 3-8% using ‘gran’ in other regions.
Having a ‘nana’ is most common in the North and Wales, where 22-23% of people used the term while growing up, compared to 5-13% of people in other regions. ‘Nanny’ is more of a thing in the South of England, with one in five Southerners (19%) having used it growing up, compared to 4-12% elsewhere.
The term ‘nan’ is used most in the Midlands (23%) and the South (20%), while being least popular in Scotland (5%).
One in ten Welsh people (10%) used Welsh-language terms like ‘nain’ or ‘mamgu’ growing up, while other non-English language terms are most common in London, including ‘nani’, ‘dadi’ and ‘nonna’ each being used by around 3-4% of Londoners while growing up.
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Photo: Getty
