Name that celebrity grandparent

As Shakespeare’s Juliet said, "What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet."

Where have all the Davids, Michaels, Barbies, and Janes gone? Times change. Trends change. Names in fashion change as well, and as the Baby Boomers come of grandparenting-age, they are rejecting the old-fashioned sounding, common, curmudgeon-y, stodgy names like Granny, Grandma, Grandfather, Gramps. These names conger up visions of Whistler’s Mother or white haired little old men rocking on the back porch or ladies wearing shawls to protect them from life’s brutalities.

As is often the case, celebrity grandparents are leading the trend in the selection of their grand-monikers to set them apart from not only other celebrities, but other grandparents and step-grandparents within their own families. Still sexy, still talented, still vibrant, still on the big screen and Broadway, still recording and performing at concerts, still making an international name for themselves, still attracting admirers of all ages, these celebrities are still going strong – and better than ever. And now, as they approach middle age, celebrity Baby Boomers are embracing their all-time best starring roles as grandparents.

As our children become parents, the list of baby names is trending towards unique names like IV, Apple, Milo, Atticus, Felix, and Jasper, and their grandparents are right behind them, freestyling their name selections. With apologies to Shakespeare...That which we call a grandparent by any other name would be loved beyond imagination. But it has to be a cool name reflective of our individual personalities. Yet really, by any name and any measure, a grandparent and the name they are called means only one thing -- LOVE.

Play the Top 15 Celebrity Grandparent Name Game

How savvy are you when it comes to knowing the little quirky things about your favorite celebrity grandparents? Take this short quiz and learn more about them than, perhaps, you ever wanted to know.

(The answers are at the bottom – but don’t peek!)

1. Which celebrity wanted to be called Woof because she’s still so hot, but had to settle for Lalo because that’s the name her granddaughter kept calling her?

a. Goldie Hawn

b. Chaka Kahn

c. Blythe Danner

2. Which celebrity became the only active player-grandpa in the NFL?

a. Joe Nameth

b. Brett Favre

c. Jim Brown

3. Which unforgettable celebrity, at age 35, became a grandfather in 2010?

a. Cee Lo Green

b. Ron Howard

c. Tony Danza

4. Which celebrity known as “Grampy”, and by virtue of his step-children having children, made his famous dad, Donald, a great-granddad?

a. Donald Trump, Jr. (Donald Trump)

b. Keifer Sutherland (Donald Sutherland)

c. Donald Frederick O’Connell (Donald O’Connell)

5. Which celebrity insists that his grandchildren call him “Mr. (Surname)"?

a. Donald Trump

b. Tom Hanks

c. Dustin Hoffman

6. Which all-star, sassy, fashion forward celebrity, named by her first grandchild, is called “Glamma”?

a. Goldie Hawn

b. Jane Fonda

c. NeNe Leakes

7. Which celebrity grandma’s daughter announced at the birth of her own daughter that her famous mom would simply be called by her first name?

a. Patty Duke

b. Whoopi Goldberg

c. Martha Stewart

8. Which celebrity already-a-grandmother is expecting a rocking-hot grandchild in 2013?

a. Sharon Osborne

b. Priscilla Presley

c. Kris Jenner

9. Which celebrity grandmother requested the name “Nanny New Face” but settled for “Grammy”?

a. Glenn Close

b. Joan Rivers

c. Sally Fields

10. Which celebrity grandfather is called “Peach” by his grandkids?

a. Martin Sheen

b. Mick Jagger

c. Paul McCartney

11. Which celebrity was told by his daughter that he was too young to be “Grandpa” so he chose the moniker “G-pa”?

a. Jim Carey

b. Lionel Richie

c. Donny Osmond

12. Which celebrity is called “Granny”, but certainly doesn’t look like the one we remember from The Beverly Hillbillies?

a. Sally Fields

b. NeNe Leakes

c. Jane Fonda

13. Match the following three beauties with their grandmother names: Shazza, Zannie, and Mamaw.

a. Suzanne Somers

b. Sharon Osborne

c. Naomi Judd

14. Which celebrity grandma has more than a few little princes and princesses running around who affectionately call her “Nonna”?

a. Priscilla Presley

b. Nancy Pelosi

c. Patty Duke

15. Which celebrity became a mom at the age of 18 and a grandmother at the age of 34?

a. Jane Fonda

b. Whoopi Goldberg

c. Barbara Walters

And the answers are:

1. c. Blythe Danner – mother of Gwyneth Paltrow
2. b. Brett Favre
3. a. Cee Lo Green
4. b. Keifer Sutherland
5. a. Donald Trump – that “Mr. Trump” to his grandkids.
6. a. Goldie Hawn
7. c. Martha Stewart – “Martha” is and will always be just “Martha”.
8. c. Kris Jenner – from daughter Kim Kardashian and beau, Kanye West.
9. b. Joan Rivers – a stitch a minute, and they’re all on her face, but I digress.
10. a. Martin Sheen – might son Charlie’s kids call him Peach Schnapps? Who knows.
11. b. Lionel Richie
12. a. Sally Fields
13. a. Zannie; b. Shazza; c. Mamaw
14. a. Priscilla Presley – once married to Elvis, the King
15. b. Whoopi Goldberg – in the running for great-grandmother status

For a listing of additional possible grandparents’ names you might want to make your own, including multiethnic list of names, you may enjoy the following.

Picking the perfect grandfather name

Picking the perfect grandmother name

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