When it comes to raising children, we all know that it takes a village. For many of us, key players in that village include aunts and uncles willing to take children under their wing, teach them special skills or pursue shared interests.
With the holidays upon us, many children will have the opportunity to spend time with extended family members. Whether an aunt or uncle is teaching a child how to cook a family recipe, wrap a gift or drive a car, they will be able to look back on these moments when caring adults took an interest in their lives.
To recognise these special relationships, families have many creative, often child-generated, names that they use for aunts and uncles. We asked members of the HuffPost Parents Facebook community to share the unique names they use for these irreplaceable people.
“I’m Aunt Nini, my husband is Uncle Bri-bri. We’re Nikki and Brian, but that’s what [our niece] could pronounce when she began talking, so she named us and we love everything about that!” —Nikki Newlen, Ohio
“My brothers call me Sis. When my nephew couldn’t say Auntie, it came out as Annie. So, they call me Annie Sis. In addition, I have a brother John and my husband is also Jon — two Uncle Johns. So my brother is Uncle John… and my husband Jon is Uncle Beer! Because, well, Pabst is our last name ”— Cori Pabst, Colorado
“I am from New Orleans, Louisiana and we used the term ‘Teedy’ pronounced ‘Tee-D’ for our aunts. This is an affectionate term typically for a niece/nephew to call the favorite aunt or oldest aunt in the family.” — Jessica Cain
“Icky (Auntie), Onion (Aaron)” — Julia Marks, Connecticut
“My sisters’ kids called me Aunt Sissy at my request. They also have an Uncle Jesse. I thought it’d be easier for them when they were little.” — Jessi Cremers, Nebraska
“My girls call one of my sisters Auntie Bean Dip! My sister was raving about a bean dip at a party and one of the girl’s friends couldn’t remember her name and dubbed her ‘the bean dip aunt,’ and it just stuck from there!” — Elizabeth Carlise Brunette, New Hampshire
“My kids call one of their ‘uncles’ (a very close friend), ‘Gogo.’ His name is Gordon and ‘Uncle Gordon’ was too hard to say at a younger age. It was an accident but it stuck!” — Emily Deschenes
“My kids call my brother ‘Funcle’ ”—Anelle Delgado, California
“My family calls me ‘Jame,’ just the first syllable of Jamie. So my niece started calling me Aunt Jame, now they all do. I love it.” — Jamie Barnes
“Our niece and nephew, who are in their 30’s, still call us Unky Monkey and Angel. ” — Mike and Angela Oelschlaeger
“My mom’s great aunt was called Sister Sugarfoot. She called all the little children ‘sugarfoot’ as a term of endearment. She was their grandmother’s sister and the two old ladies called each other ‘sister,’ so the kids put those together. —Michele DeWeese Adler, Florida
“My sister calls me Seester and her girls started calling me Aunt Seester when they were little and there you have it!” — Kim Mecum
“My kids call my sisters ‘Meemo’ and ‘Mindy Meemo,’ which originated from the word aunt in Korean, eemoh. My oldest kept putting an ‘m’ in the beginning of the word and it just stuck.” —Rose Kim
“My Mom’s name was Barbara. When my nephew saw me and my siblings coming he called us ‘The Barbaras’!” —Cathy Sullivan
“My kids call my brother, ‘Uncle brother.’” — Terri Lamb
“Aiwee (Lauren) and Bobo (Rob). Very generous derivations of their names from a very, very young age .” — Lindsey Dortch Brock
“Auntie and Unca. Their godfather, they call Tío (he speaks Spanish) and their God mother is Auntie _____.” — Sharon Seidenberg
“They call their aunt ‘Nonnie’ — Tem TG, Connecticut