Aging Gen Xers demand to be called Gigi, Mimi or Gaga anything but grandma

When Inna Berman learned last year that her 26-year-old daughter was having a baby.She was thrilled. But would the Gen Xer be called “granny”? As if.“A grandmother is an old gray-haired lady,” Berman, 55, told The Post.

“I’m not a grandmother; I just have a grandchild.”As Generation X approaches 60-years-old — the oldest members were born in 1965 and turn 59 this year — some member are becoming grandparents.But, in typical Gen X fashion, they’re eschewing traditional grandmother labels for playful alternatives such as Gigi, Mimi, Gaga and Yaya. “Nobody wants to be called grandma,” said Jill Hite, a 56-year-old who lives in Fort Wayne, Ind., and has two young grandsons.

“Everyone I know is like, ‘Oh, I don’t want to be called grandma, what’s my grandma name going to be?’ And it kind of becomes who your personality is at some level.”Hite, who owns a women’s boutique and posts over-50 fashion tutorials at @girlsourage on TikTok, decided her grandmother name would be “Nonna” after a trip to Italy.“We had a driver who was giving us a private tour, and he said, ‘I’m going to take you by Nonna Maria’s house,’ meaning his grandmother,” she recalled.

“My kids said, ‘Mom, that’s what your name’s going to be!’ I just wanted something fun.”Berman — who welcomed grandchild Kima Andre in February —  also wanted something with some spunk.The Park Slope resident came up with “Gigi” by repeating the initials for “Grandma Inna.” Initially, her own children teased her.“At first, I think everyone was making fun of it,” Berman said.“Like, ‘Why are you so afraid to be called a grandmother?’ But I’m not afraid — I just don’t look or feel like one.”Her family has come to realize Gigi suits her.

Berman works in the wine industry, still has a teenage kid at home and loves to travel with her husband (who still hasn’t figured out his own grandparent name). Michelle Janning, a sociology...