This is actually a blog entry that I've been planning to write for months. I just keep not getting around to it.
As a writer, the names I choose for my characters and what my characters call each other is very important to the suspension of disbelief. Have you ever read a book and thought that a name just didn't quite fit? What about what they called the grandparents?
For names themselves, I am not having much trouble. But many of my characters come from families with strong religious backgrounds, so biblical names are an easy choice for first names. For last names, I am relying on historical research into early settlers of the area from which the families come that have that religious background (church and cemetary records usually). In that way, I can ensure that anyone that is familiar with that area and those cultures will not find the names unusual.
But then I have the issue of what my narrator, who is also my protagonist, calls her grandmother. I don't think I can effectively Google what people in that area and with that background called grandparents.
So I myself wondering what the factors are that influence the selection of grandparental nomenclature. Here are some of the things I can think of.
- Education and literacy level of the family.
- Family tradition.
- Cultural background.
- Childhood mispronunciation.
- Grandparental attitudes towards being a grandparent.
- What other children in the family are calling the person.
Here in Denmark, the selection is simple. Are you the mother's mother or the father's mother?
The maternal grandmother is pretty much always called "mormor." The paternal grandmother is "farmor." The maternal grandfather is "morfar." The paternal grandfather is "farfar."
When you get into mixed families with stepgrandparents, "bedstemor" and "bedstefar" are often used. The generic word for grandparents is "bedsteforældre."
What I find impressive is that no one, especially the children, find it confusing that one cousin calls the person one thing and another cousin calls the person something else. That always seemed very complicated to me.
Then we have the factor of distinguishing between the grandparents on both sides. I called both my grandmothers grandmom and both my grandfathers granddaddy. But I know that at least one of my brother's families has insisted that my parents and the child's mother's parents have different nicknames. So which way will my character's family deal with this issue?
The sheer number of options for naming grandparents in English is simply overwhelming.
Grandmother Names
- Grandmother
- Grandmom
- Grandma
- Gramma
- Gran
- Gram
- Mommom
- Nana
- Granny
- Grammy
Grandfather Names
- Grandfather
- Granddad
- Granddaddy
- Grandpa
- Grampa
- Gramps
- Poppop
- Papa
I am sure that there are more I haven't thought of.
In some of these cases, the word may be combined with a first or last name to identify the specific person.
Although this seems like a minor issue when writing a book, it feels important to me. It would help define my character and her background.
For example, if you hear someone calling their parents ma and pa, the thought would usually be that either the family is extremely old-fashioned or it is not that highly educated. My mother always calls her mother "Mother," which throws another wrench into it all.
I tried googling for relevant linguistical research, but found the only, a Washington Times reporter who was contemplating the same thing in his blog. That didn't help much.
Anyone have any ideas?
