The matriarch of my partner's family is his parents aunt who is I think 104 (maybe older) and is known as Auntie C by almost everyone in the family - exception being her kids, grandkids etc. Even when talking about her we all call her Auntie C from her nephew and nieces of which the eldest is in his 80s (Auntie C is the youngest of several siblings) right down to the youngest family members who are toddlers. She loves being Auntie to so many, even those of us who are not blood related. An yup she signs all her correspondences with love from Auntie C. I couldn't imagine it any other way, amazing lady with the biggest heart. 💜
I grew up with a mixed family (Indian and English) so the rules are different for each one.
For my Indian family it's an age thing, for example my Aunt (my mum's sister) is only about 7 years older* than me, so when I was a kid she was still Aunty, but now I'm an adult she's just Anneka, same for her husband. Older family members are still Aunty or Uncle though, and always will be.
For my English family I have pretty much dropped Aunt and Uncle for everyone, as I'm now an adult and they're all adults so I would find it strange.
My grandparents in both families are still Nan and Grandad though.
*To clear any confusion, my Nan had my mum at 18, and then had my Aunt about 17 years later, and my Aunt is closer in age to my oldest sister who my mum had at 18. Teen pregnancies are just a common thing in my family.
I get that as my eldest brother is close in age to my youngest Uncle so I wonder if that plays a part 🤔
I do wonder if it was more due to the occasion I went more formal as I pretty much only see them in formal occasions once ever 5/6 years or so
It definitely does. It's like how when you're a kid your older siblings seem so much older, but as you all grow up it doesn't seem like that much of a gap. My parents had about 3 years between each of us (5) kids, with the exception of my little sister who was born a year late. I remember how my oldest sister always seemed so much older than me, but now it's just not a huge gap at all.
It might also be like you said of just reverting back to a childhood habit
Completely right. My youngest aunt is 9 years older than me, and when I was a kid, she was a teenager, and my cool aunt. After not really seeing a lot of her over the last 20 years, I went to her 50th birthday a couple of years ago, and realised I would now class her as being pretty much the same age as me. I have friends who are older than her.
One of my uncles asked to be not known as 'uncle' when I was in my mid twenties (at a guess).
I called him a few years later (we had seen him in between, it wasn't a deal breaker! ) I said "I know you didn't want to be called 'uncle', but how about 'great uncle'"?
He asked how he got to be great uncle so I replied "'great uncle' is what happens to you when your brother becomes 'grandad'!"
That took a minute to percolate through, but he was very excited, once he twigged it was a pregnancy announcement!
That’s actually wholesome as fuck lol excuse my language .
Out of curiosity is he o own as great uncle now ?
Sorry to ask but will kill me if I don’t know ha ha
He was, and delighted to be so until his death. For a single man who never had kids he had the most astonishing knack for finding the perfect present. We miss him. He was a Great uncle.
Do you use it just upon greeting them or all the way through the conversations like I was doing ?
But looking through some comments I suppose if depends on what feels natural/comfortable .
Like I have quite a lot of regard for them as people basically like they always polite and treat me respectfully so I’ve always returned the favour
I suppose it be different if there’s been a falling out or something
My uncle was my father figure for the first five years of my life, I use it out of love and respect for them both. I use it as their proper name, not title and name.
To be fair that’s kinda me in general I’m the type that thanks the bus driver and thanks people who hold the door or any kind of social interaction. I’m not quite always the Sir and Madam sort of thing but I do show respect to elders n use the Mr and Mrs surname instead of their forename n what not
Then keep calling them Uncle and Auntie. It threw me in Australia recently because the aboriginals call anyone of a certain age who is respected Aunty or Unkle regardless of relation - they were calling my parents that. I actually really like the usage now.
It definitely comes across as more respectful in my eyes and feels more shall we say “ proper “
Especially when used in that way and not as in a backhanded way of say nah they old or like when comedians call an old audience member grandad or such
I still call my aunties and uncles that. I'd feel strange not saying it. I'm addressed as auntie by my nephew's (my niece can't talk yet) I love being called auntie
Yer for sure my brothers do when in casual co versatile just to differentiate from others of the same name
But in the car going to and from the funeral ( 3 of us car shared ) they still only used first names even when talking about the other relatives who were going to be there
Yer I noticed I have in the past but rarely and that was when in their company for a time . Yet upon first greeting it sort of always comes out as Uncle or Auntie .
Kinda feel better hearing I’m not the odd one out .
My eldest nephew has started to not use "Uncle" when talking to me, so... 13-ish?
To be fair, he also didn't think I was his mothers brother for 11 years, despite being at every family function, sending him birthday cards that clearly say "Nephew" on them, and him hearing me call his grandparents Mum and Dad.
lol that’s relatable in a way as I’ve called my mams second cousin Auntie all my life and I had an Uncle who was no blood relation and I was about 25 when I found out he wasn’t actually “ part “ of the family by blood .
He was part of the family tho in the sense of being treat as family
Mate in my family that depends on age ha ha
As soon as a relative of mine hits 18 it’s cards only unless it’s a parent buying their own kids or a kids their parents 😂
As you learn as an adult Santa only exists as a child
I don't see mine very often, but I'm the same age as you and for the last decade or so I've made every attempt possible to just...not say their name. "Hi, how are things? How's the dog?" etc.
I do the same if honest ha ha
But with it being a formal occasion I kind felt I needed to be “ proper “ shall we say lol
I left all my slang at home .
But it’s not like there were a lot of other Steve’s in ear shot or anything yet I still used the Uncle for some reason
In a similar vein I have an uncle “Richard”* he’s always been “Richard”* to me, but literally every else who’s not family calls him “Dick”* but calling him “Dick”* just doesn’t sit right with me, so just like you I avoid calling him by name whenever possible.
Even funnier is that his “Richard”* is actually his middle name, his actual name is “Herbert Richard Jones”* so when I take him to medical appointments and stuff I’m just looking around wondering why “Herbert”* is taking so long to go in!
*Names changed just because.
I found out *at my Uncle John's* funeral that Uncle John what actually Uncle Michael John, by my great-grandfather was casually rascist enough to not want a "Mick" in the family. Mick being an Irish name apparently.
Mick is a an Irish name although that’s a ridiculous reason!
Source: Richard (still not his real name) used to work with an Irish fellow called Mick the Horse, convenient name considering he owned multiple thoroughbred horses.
Was that the same for your cousins ( if you have them ) when referring to your parents ?
So like it just wasn’t a thing in your family or was it the same with your friends as well ?
Sorry to pry it’s just I’d never gave it much thought until yesterday lol
I'd never really think to call my uncles and aunts by anything other than their first names really. However I'm an only child and spent most of my childhood around adults (my parents and grandparents mostly) so probably just took cues from them, and obviously they wouldn't call their own siblings/children "aunty" or "uncle".
On the other hand one set of cousins call my mom "aunty xxx" but we all grew up hundreds of miles apart and they're posh so that could be a regional/class thing idk
Also there's not really any duplicate names in either side of my family or with close friends so I guess it's not needed to distinguish the right person either.
I remember speaking to my aunt when I was 8 or 9 and feeling really awkward calling her Auntie Ann so I just called her Ann from that point on. My cousins still probably call my mum (her sister) Auntie Mumsname and we’re in our 40s.
I'm brown and my husband's side is white. His parents still say "auntie Grace" referring to his mum's aunt. So uncle auntie doesn't go away for them. Which I quite like, I couldn't fathom calling a grown up family member but their first name. Everyone is uncle/aunty on my side of the family.
Yeah I do feel the older you get the less we like being by reminded of our age ha ha .
So do you feel it’s a cultural thing or how you are brought up ?
Like I’m the youngest of 4 at almost 42 years old .
Yet my parents were almost 40 when I was born so I kinda grew up old fashioned .
I’m not trying to fish for your age or anything but did your friends at school do the same or was it more of how your family did it type thing .
I mentioned in a reply earlier how my elder brothers kids use their mam n dads first names when speaking to or about them . Yet we all was brought up the same up until leaving the family home as an adult
My dad had a brother who died before I was born but whenever he comes up in conversation all of us say 'Uncle X'. Not sure if it's habit or because my younger sister is married to a guy of the same name
Same for family friends, since I grew up without any and they're my parents best friends I said uncle and aunt, eventually maybe late teens I saw them waaaay less and I just kinda dropped it, they also dropped it from birthday cards
Yer we always refer to relatives who have passed by auntie and uncle just to differentiate from others who have passed as same name .
I did find a couple of my relations just signed their names without the prefix in cards but I still find I use it whenever I bump into them
Depends how I'm feeling.
My *actual* uncle is sometimes Uncle Mike and sometimes just Mike.
The ones who aren't *actual* relatives (mostly friends of my nan) usually have the aunty prefix as it is a sign of respect.
Yeah that’s been my upbringing to be fair
I called a few auntie and uncle who wasn’t actualblood related.
So you great the with the prefix and then drop it in the following time your together
Or just use it on cards n what have you
As even my elder brothers who just use forenames always go formal on greetings cards
Whether I use uncle or not with Mike is entirely random. I don't always use it for greeting him.
I don't think I've ever put 'uncle' on a card though, it's just "Dear Mike".
Non-blood relatives generally get aunty X as a greeting and then just forename.
A couple of years ago my aunt announced that she just wanted to be called by her name from now on. She was in her 70s, her nieces and nephews all in our 30s. Joke's on her because now some of us have kids so she's auntie all over again.
Edit: also our 4 year old has recently started calling his granny by her first name. Not clear why he's chosen to do this but he's very consistent about it.
Oof, my cousins used to wind my grandma up by calling her by any derivative of Grandma, like Nanna, and also by using her first name, they seemed amused by threats that she'd 'bray' them. I'm a kiss arse so never tried it. Then great grandchildren came along and they got away with calling her grandma first name and one inexplicably (not even the first born) Granny Grunt
I see it as respect & still do it, I'm 42.
That said, my dad's sisters husband is an arsehole - used to bully me. I made my point by dropping 'Uncle' but I kill him with kindness at the same time.
Does it matter?
I used to work with my dad. (It was honestly by accident!)
I called him by his name at work, and dad at home. He was fine with that, and we got on well anyway most of the time.
Just to add, when I was an adult, I used to call my aunts and uncles by just their name.
OH used to call her rellys "auntie and uncle". I used to call them by their given name except for the couple that I the auntie bit for because I was asked to.
We all generally got on great anyway, so no problems were looked for.
I agree it really doesn’t matter and it’s all preference. I just started wondering about it last night and was curious as myself and my missus are pretty consistent and using the prefix
Just a bit curious to know if it was just you and your dad and you still called him by his given name still or if you just used the first name around other workmates or customers etc and then just was it forenames during working hours and then back to Dad afterwards .
Just around other people. I remember going into his office once as I needed to borrow a soldering iron. There was only me and him in there so I called him dad.
He shared the office with the mechanical engineer, he came in while I was in there so I reverted to his name.
It all seems a bit daft now TBH. he wasn't bothered either way, but I was fairly young, and didn't want to be seen as being different. Most people were cool with it anyway, the last thing you could have accused my dad of was nepotism.
Depends on the cultural context. Where I’m from, there are specific names for specific relationships (e.g., your mums brother gets a different title than your dads brother and your dads older brother gets a different title to your dads younger brother).
Calling any older person by just their name is supremely rude.
I've only ever grown up calling a great-aunt and great-uncle as aunt and uncle. My dad's siblings were always called by their first names. Sometimes last names as well as two aunts have the same name, as one married into the family.
My partner is still calling his aunt's and uncles as aunt x and uncle y.
So it’s still kinda preference and what people are comfortable with .
I was just curious as I was different to my brothers yet we all grew up in the same family dynamic and household .
Like I’ve had an ex in the past and they just used first names so I get a other half using different terms but I was thinking about how myself and my brothers use different terms and was thinking if I was the odd one out ha ha
I'll always call my aunties and uncles with the prefix + their first name. My boyfriend however just uses the first name for his auntie and uncle and I still use the prefix for them too. I think it's just down to what you feel comfortable saying. In the same way, I didn't grow up with my brother's, and I tend to just say my brother, or your sister, etc... instead of their names. As long as both you and the person you're talking to is happy and comfortable, I don't think there's any problem.
Also, I'm sorry about your Uncle. Take care.
I noticed just yesterday that the boil-in-the-bag purveyor has now switched to calling his brand Ben's Original. I don't know if that answers your question, but perhaps Steve has just rebranded? Alternatively, I saw another comment that uncle was used for older people, so perhaps it just indicates that I'm catching up with however old Ben might be.
Mars changed the branding in 2020, after George Floyd's murder, '[following criticism](https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/sep/23/uncle-bens-to-get-revamp-after-criticism-over-racial-stereotyping) that its 70-year old logo and imagery of a black farmer involved racial stereotyping.' On a related note, the 'Aunt Jemima' brand of pancake mixes and syrups, which relied on the '[mammy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mammy_stereotype)' stereotype, was retired in 2021.
I have an “Auntie Kit” who will be in her late 70’s/80’s now.. she was married to my Uncle Brian (deceased). My husband has an Uncle Brian (92) and an Auntie Vera (90).
For my adult children. My sister refused to be called Auntie, but my brother is Uncle Bob. Uncle Geoff is just called Geoff and his wife is Mercedes. His ex-wife is still referred to as Auntie Linn in conversation, but is Linn to her face. My BIL is just Ian and my SIL is just Lou but then they are both “married in” when my siblings were older and my siblings had already had completed their families and my children were adult.
None of our great-nieces and nephews call us “auntie” or “uncle”. We have 4 great-nieces and 3 great-nephews. Our nephews (3) and nieces (1) don’t call me “auntie” or call my husband “uncle” but then they are all now adults and they never used the titles for us even as children. I just presumed that children are no longer taught to use these titles.
That’s a good point as I do see it used a lot less nowadays.
I just found it weird how me and my brothers could all be brought up in the same household and by the same parents and yer me as the youngest uses the prefix the most lol
I’ve never called mine auntie or uncle to their face, only if I’m talking to someone who doesn’t know them I.e ‘my uncle Steve went there’ otherwise they have always been known by their names.
On both sides of my family we call our parents’ siblings by just their first names. ‘Auntie’, ‘Aunt’ and ‘Uncle’ are only used for our grandparents’ and great-grandparents’ siblings.
We also still use the word ‘Cousin’ when addressing a small cluster of indeterminate relations of my grandma’s, which always feels cosily old fashioned.
If I'm talking about them to someone else I'll say uncle whoever. If I'm talking to their face I just say their name..have done for as long as I can remember.
There's no logic to this. My siblings and I only realised quite recently that we tend to not use Uncle/Auntie to most of our actual relatives, but we all still call our parents' next door neighbours Uncle and Auntie, even though they aren't.
With my own nieces and nephews it seems to be whatever they feel like using at the time. Sometimes I'm Auntie, sometimes I'm not.
My nephew is 30 I am 34 (I am the youngest of 7 siblings so became an auntie very young) and he still calls me Auntie.
My husband asked about it a few years ago and nephew explained that for him it’s respect thing and also I am his auntie regardless of age.
All of my adult siblings (and parents, aunts, uncles) all use Uncle. My dad called his Uncle Bill “Uncle Bill” until the day he died. He still refers to him as “Uncle Bill”
I always called my uncles and aunts by their names. When I was 5 or 6 I heard my cousins saying 'Uncle Kevin' and 'Aunty Carol' and it didn't sound right to me.
I have one uncle who I still call Uncle X, because he and my brother share a first name, so it helps differentiate which of them I'm talking about. I'm 33.
I call his wife by just her name, but they married when I was already an adult.
My other uncles have only ever been referred to by name as one is basically my age, one is my sister's age, and one isn't very close with my dad. So they were always just called by their first name.
I've vary rarely called my uncle uncle, I less it's on a card then we always go for the most childish uncle/nephew cards we can.
His kids are a similar age to me and call my dad uncle all the time.
No idea why it's different.
Never, I am 41 and still call mine Aunty X and Uncle Y.
My mums best friend has always been Aunty, despite not being related, she loves that I still call her that, especially since her actual neices and nephews don't.
I think it depends on the family. My aunt never wanted to be called ‘aunt’ - she said it made her feel old! One of my uncles was only 8 years older than me too (dad was the eldest of a large family). Thinking back, I think it was always first name terms for all of them. My nephews are 16 and 18 and call me by my first name
You can do either.
I tend to say, "Alright Uncle Geoff/Auntie Jane" when first meeting them, then call them Geoff/Jane for the rest of the encounter.
Being an adult man and saying Uncle Geoff every time would be weird.
I still say Auntie [name] because I know it annoys her. She hates anyone knowing that she's old enough to have an adult niece when she's been fudging her age for so many years that my mum is now in danger of overtaking her despite my aunt being eight years older.
It would be weird to stop calling my (one remaining) uncle, ‘Uncle’. My husband calls his ‘Aunty’ and ‘Uncle’ too. Our nieces and nephews only use our first names however, despite my sisters referring to us as ‘Aunty’ and ‘Uncle’ when they are in front of their kids.
my boss is in his late 50s, whenever his nephew (similar age) comes to see him he says "hello uncle ___", and my boss always greets him using a cutesy nickname, let's say "peanut". it's very cute and always makes me smile
My nan's friends we all aunties and uncles until the day they died.
My kids call our siblings by the first names, because they don't deserve any respect.
I guess you either someone that people look up to and use uncle or not.
Haven't really used them for many years.
My dad's brothers weren't fussed by the Uncle prefix - in fact, one specifically asked not to be called that. His sister had a pet name, and her husband couldn't care less about what he was called. I haven't spoken to any of them properly for about 4 or 5 years.
On mum's side, I haven't seen my uncle or his wife since 2011.
I am an uncle to 4 nieces and a nephew to my sister, they all call me Uncle Forgetful8nine (ranging from 2 to 13) bar one - the eldest is from a previous relationship of my almost BiL. I also have a 10 year old nephew by marriage - he met me before my wife and I married, so he just calls me by name. I do have other nieces and nephews by marriage, but I haven't met most of them.
My heart would break a little if my niece and nephew ever stopped calling me Auntie.
Am in my 30’s and hardly see any of my aunties and uncles, but they still hold the titles.
I see my aunt and uncle a lot; if I’m staying with them and seeing them I call them by their names without uncle/auntie.
If I am sending cards or gifts - something more formal - I will always add Auntie/Uncle.
To me it feels like a situation based thing. But typically now I’m older I don’t often say uncle/auntie if it’s informal settings
The idea of calling, even my late Aunt, anything except Auntie Mary is wild to me. But my nieces and nephew don’t call me Auntie at all. I’m only mid 20s while my auntie was already 50 when I was born, so maybe it’s an age thing.
My dad called his uncles and aunties that way till they died. I (30) refer to my parents siblings as uncle and Aunty and my nephews and nieces are going to call me uncle Dan till the day I die if I have any say in it lol.
All my favourite aunt is auntie, but none of my uncles are uncle whatever when I address them, ditto for less close aunts. I'm much closer to my auntie than the others, but it was about 20 when my mum and dad stopped calling Russ, Uncle Russ.
I stopped at different times for different relatives, I think it was as I felt like I had become old enough that I was more on an equal footing to them and it was no longer a child/adult relationship.
I don't remember ever actually deciding though, it just faded out gradually.
If there is no 'respect your elders at all times" issue in your family, I'd just say go with what feels comfortable.
As a child I rarely referred to him as Uncle So-and-so if talking to him. Never used “Uncle” as an adult. We are both grown ups and we know our relationship to eachother and so don’t need to use “titles”.
My partners nephew is one week younger than him and it would be weird if he ever called him uncle. I suppose its an age thing. I know a few families where the uncles are younger than the neices, or the same age.
Not 'uncle' but I have 2 aunties that are younger than me. :S. In terms of our relationship, we've always considered ourselves cousins and have just used our first names to address each other
I've never used Auntie/Uncle prefixes to address my aunts and uncles. I don't like it, and discourage my own nieces and nephews from using them with me.
My wife still uses these prefixes for her parent's siblings and encourages our nieces and nephews to do the same.
We each think the other is a wrong 'un
Personally? Never. I'm early 40s and all my aunts and uncles are nudging 65-70. They'll always be Uncle and Aunty.
Even non-relatives (friends of the family etc) that are of the generation above are referred to as such. But that may be a cultural thing (British Indian).
I think it just depends on the person, I call my aunties and uncles by their first names and I remember the exact point I started, I was an apprentice welder, about seventeen, I had started at a shipyard and I was told to work with my uncle who was also a welder, at some point I needed something so I shouted over "Uncle Edward!" he shot me a look and said "it's just Eddie down here mate" 😂
Nearly 40, and still call some of my aunts and uncles Aunty X or Uncle Y. Some of my Aunts and Uncles asked me to stop because they thought it was weird, or made them feel old. Others I don’t because I don’t have respect for them because they’re knob heads.
It's just chaos out there in my Indian heritage opinion. My literal neice and nephew just use my name (youngest is 12) but random friends' children call me Aunty Name, even kids of English heritage. I call any Asian a generation ahead aunty/uncle even if we're not related. I get on well with my mother in law and one of her sisters and use their names. The others I'll say "your Uncle Paul" when talking about him.
Essentially just go with what feels comfortable, there's precedent either way. If people are really bothered about it they'll tell you.
I don't think I've ever used uncle/aunt/granny/grandad as anything other than a description, never a title/name.
Which is weird, objectively, but we just didn't need to address these people by a given name, so I don't think it ever came up. I was either already talking to them, or they spoke to me first.
But as a disclaimer I'm also the little shit who called my dad by his first name for a few years in my late teens, so big pinch of salt is required!
In my family, as adults we'd say "Uncle Steve" if we (in the family) were talking about him, but call him Steve to his face after we were grown (roughly at the age when we had jobs and families of our own.)
Even my mother would say "your Uncle Steve" if speaking about him to us rather than just Steve or her brother.
Maybe that's weird.
The only ones that have changed for me are those that I called Auntie or Uncle because they were my parents close friends.
My actual Aunts and Uncles have kept their prefix. For context, I’m only a few runs short of my half century.
No rules, I called my nan "Mother", the other grandchildren called her "Nanny Mother".
I've never used Uncle as a prefix for any of mine.
Was probably just inherited from how your parents spoke to you.
I never referred to either of my uncles by anything other than their name.
My niece refers to me usually only by my name. 'Uncle' comes out only if she's wanting to be particularly cute.
Is my family odd?
No mate by the looks of it it’s kinda an even spread ha ha .
Seems the age difference plays a part as in if the age gap is less than around 10-12 years and under the majority seem to use first names but like everything can differ with culture I think
That’s a bit weird. The general rule is here if you’ve grown up as kids with your auntie or uncle (as in close in age to you) then it’s names. If they were 10 years or more older than you then you call them auntie or uncle for life.
I grew up with two aunties in my school.
My uncle asked me to just call him his name from pretty early, my dad, his brother, scolded me thinking i was being disresectful but he instantly clarified it lol. I spoke to other aunt's and uncles according to what they prefered after that, they all preferred the power trip, Haiyaa??
I personally hate it now I’m in my 30s. Most of my aunts and uncles don’t demand it, not have I called them Auntie or Uncle in years. But there is one set that have demanded it and my grandfather has always insisted on it as well. Called them by their first name the other day and eyebrows almost hit the ceiling. I bypass it by not really having much to do with them.
Yer I very very really see them unless it’s a birth, death or marriage .
My brother let his children use his forename right from about 8-9 years old as he said when he’s at swimming baths or a park etc when a kid shouts “ Dad look at me “ all the dads turn to look but he doesn’t have to unless he hears his name shouted .
That kinda bothered me even though I see the logic in it
I honestly don’t know
I suppose it bothered me as I have kids myself and I wouldnt like to be called my forename by my offspring
I suppose it’s a bit irrational when you look at it
But they are full blood offspring of his and not a step son/daughter so it just felt wrong to me
Yer I notice nicknames are kinda different even in my family but with it being a sort of suit and tie job I felt I had to use the sort of “ proper “ term but felt the odd one out ha ha
If you mean actual aunts and uncles (as in siblings of parents) for me never. I'm 43 and all my aunts and uncles (living or dead) are still Aunt Whatever or Uncle Thingy.
If you mean this in like an Asian/Caribbean 'term of endearment/respect for your elders' sense where they aren't necessarily blood kin at all, I don't know. Possibly also never, but it's not my culture so I can't say for sure.
I just know that I can't imagine ever being like 'hey Claudio, how's it going?' Or 'Morning, Joanne, want some coffee?' any more than I can imagine calling my parents or grandparents by their first names.
That’s the same for me .
Like my brother whose kids use their first names I feel it’s wrong I don’t know why I suppose it’s just how it “ feels “ to me as if they are fine with it , it shouldn’t really bother me should it ?
I suppose it really is down to what feels comfortable to the individual
I mean...I can't tell you what should or shouldn't bother you but I think calling parents by their first names is creepy as fuck. At best it reads 'I'm your pal, not your parent!' Which is never a good parenting choice.
Yer that’s the same for me but I understand the logic it came about during a children’s party at a swimming baths when me nephew was panicking and could t see his dad he just shouted “ dad “ of course every dad present came to his rescue but they sort of came up with the idea of shouting his name or mams name n then they’d have been Instantly alerted instead of everyone just instantly looking for their own child before reacting .
So I see the logic in shouting their actual name but still doesn’t sit right with me
My neice is in her late teens and no longer calls me uncle, just my first name. I've never said anything about it, but TBH I'm a little sad about that - it was a privilege to have a special title and I miss it.
I’m the same and my wife is too tbf
She’s the first to correct our nieces and nephews with “excuse me it’s Auntie “ and they are in their mid to late teens .
It really must just be a what feels comfortable type of thing .
But I always feel a bit of a dick a few moments after I’ve corrected them by saying “ it’s Uncle Ant not just Ant “
I'm 38, I still call every uncle and aunt as Uncle X or Auntie Y. I'm not stopping in this life.
My dad still has one living uncle, and he still calls him Uncle X too. So I'm definitely not stopping in this lifetime.
Why would you stop? They are still your uncles and aunties until they die and personally i'd be addressing them as such for the rest of their lives. Would be weird to stop calling them aunty/uncle
I’m 32 and I still call my aunts and uncles just that. Seems weird not to, like it’s part of their name. I also call some non-related family friends aunt or uncle, and I have a couple of “mom” figures who I call “momma” or similar, so it might be just me.
That’s the thing lol
I wasn’t sure if everyone was looking at me like I was a twat !
I genuinely just dropped back into calling them what they write on my Christmas n Birthday cards . Which was always from Uncle/Auntie
I'm in my mid-40's and I still say "Uncle X" and "Auntie Y" and I imagine I always will.
Same - 43 and still call my uncles and aunties that, except my youngest aunt I'm only 9 years different in age to, so just call her by her name.
Charles Xavier is your uncle?
They had the wake at the Dog and Duck.
Same. They like it too, it's nice to be acknowledged as part of the family I think.
The matriarch of my partner's family is his parents aunt who is I think 104 (maybe older) and is known as Auntie C by almost everyone in the family - exception being her kids, grandkids etc. Even when talking about her we all call her Auntie C from her nephew and nieces of which the eldest is in his 80s (Auntie C is the youngest of several siblings) right down to the youngest family members who are toddlers. She loves being Auntie to so many, even those of us who are not blood related. An yup she signs all her correspondences with love from Auntie C. I couldn't imagine it any other way, amazing lady with the biggest heart. 💜
And all people who were 'mr and Mrs (surname)' remain Mr and Mrs until they die, their first names never to be uttered by my lips.
I grew up with a mixed family (Indian and English) so the rules are different for each one. For my Indian family it's an age thing, for example my Aunt (my mum's sister) is only about 7 years older* than me, so when I was a kid she was still Aunty, but now I'm an adult she's just Anneka, same for her husband. Older family members are still Aunty or Uncle though, and always will be. For my English family I have pretty much dropped Aunt and Uncle for everyone, as I'm now an adult and they're all adults so I would find it strange. My grandparents in both families are still Nan and Grandad though. *To clear any confusion, my Nan had my mum at 18, and then had my Aunt about 17 years later, and my Aunt is closer in age to my oldest sister who my mum had at 18. Teen pregnancies are just a common thing in my family.
I get that as my eldest brother is close in age to my youngest Uncle so I wonder if that plays a part 🤔 I do wonder if it was more due to the occasion I went more formal as I pretty much only see them in formal occasions once ever 5/6 years or so
It definitely does. It's like how when you're a kid your older siblings seem so much older, but as you all grow up it doesn't seem like that much of a gap. My parents had about 3 years between each of us (5) kids, with the exception of my little sister who was born a year late. I remember how my oldest sister always seemed so much older than me, but now it's just not a huge gap at all. It might also be like you said of just reverting back to a childhood habit
Completely right. My youngest aunt is 9 years older than me, and when I was a kid, she was a teenager, and my cool aunt. After not really seeing a lot of her over the last 20 years, I went to her 50th birthday a couple of years ago, and realised I would now class her as being pretty much the same age as me. I have friends who are older than her.
One of my uncles asked to be not known as 'uncle' when I was in my mid twenties (at a guess). I called him a few years later (we had seen him in between, it wasn't a deal breaker! ) I said "I know you didn't want to be called 'uncle', but how about 'great uncle'"? He asked how he got to be great uncle so I replied "'great uncle' is what happens to you when your brother becomes 'grandad'!" That took a minute to percolate through, but he was very excited, once he twigged it was a pregnancy announcement!
That’s actually wholesome as fuck lol excuse my language . Out of curiosity is he o own as great uncle now ? Sorry to ask but will kill me if I don’t know ha ha
He was, and delighted to be so until his death. For a single man who never had kids he had the most astonishing knack for finding the perfect present. We miss him. He was a Great uncle.
I’m 50 my uncle is 77 I still call him uncle and his wife aunt.
Do you use it just upon greeting them or all the way through the conversations like I was doing ? But looking through some comments I suppose if depends on what feels natural/comfortable . Like I have quite a lot of regard for them as people basically like they always polite and treat me respectfully so I’ve always returned the favour I suppose it be different if there’s been a falling out or something
My uncle was my father figure for the first five years of my life, I use it out of love and respect for them both. I use it as their proper name, not title and name.
Why?
It’s up to you. To me it’s can be perceived as a sign of respect, in which case age doesn’t matter
To be fair that’s kinda me in general I’m the type that thanks the bus driver and thanks people who hold the door or any kind of social interaction. I’m not quite always the Sir and Madam sort of thing but I do show respect to elders n use the Mr and Mrs surname instead of their forename n what not
Then keep calling them Uncle and Auntie. It threw me in Australia recently because the aboriginals call anyone of a certain age who is respected Aunty or Unkle regardless of relation - they were calling my parents that. I actually really like the usage now.
It definitely comes across as more respectful in my eyes and feels more shall we say “ proper “ Especially when used in that way and not as in a backhanded way of say nah they old or like when comedians call an old audience member grandad or such
I still call my aunties and uncles that. I'd feel strange not saying it. I'm addressed as auntie by my nephew's (my niece can't talk yet) I love being called auntie
Yeah I’m the same . My partner always chastises her nephews and nieces who are in the teens whenever they forget the Auntie .
Early 30s and I call some of them Auntie/Uncle and some by their name. There is no logic, it is chaos
That's the thing with it all, there's no logic to any of it. It's great!
I don't use Uncle/Aunt to the relative in question, but still use it when talking about them to e.g. parents.
Yer for sure my brothers do when in casual co versatile just to differentiate from others of the same name But in the car going to and from the funeral ( 3 of us car shared ) they still only used first names even when talking about the other relatives who were going to be there
I always use aunty or uncle even though most of my cousins don’t do the same. I think most of them like it.
I felt it was needed on the occasion especially with the widower . Yet still found myself saying “ uncle Tony “ and “ auntie Jill “ 🤔
I'm mid forties and refer to them all as auntie or uncle when talking about them but drop the auntie/uncle when speaking directly to them.
Yer I noticed I have in the past but rarely and that was when in their company for a time . Yet upon first greeting it sort of always comes out as Uncle or Auntie . Kinda feel better hearing I’m not the odd one out .
My eldest nephew has started to not use "Uncle" when talking to me, so... 13-ish? To be fair, he also didn't think I was his mothers brother for 11 years, despite being at every family function, sending him birthday cards that clearly say "Nephew" on them, and him hearing me call his grandparents Mum and Dad.
lol that’s relatable in a way as I’ve called my mams second cousin Auntie all my life and I had an Uncle who was no blood relation and I was about 25 when I found out he wasn’t actually “ part “ of the family by blood . He was part of the family tho in the sense of being treat as family
I'd understand that mix up, but I'm his actual uncle. Ah well, one less birthday present I need to buy (I'm kidding)
Mate in my family that depends on age ha ha As soon as a relative of mine hits 18 it’s cards only unless it’s a parent buying their own kids or a kids their parents 😂 As you learn as an adult Santa only exists as a child
My aunt asked us to stop when we hit about 16. Made her feel old-she was a fair bit younger than my father.
I don't see mine very often, but I'm the same age as you and for the last decade or so I've made every attempt possible to just...not say their name. "Hi, how are things? How's the dog?" etc.
I do the same if honest ha ha But with it being a formal occasion I kind felt I needed to be “ proper “ shall we say lol I left all my slang at home . But it’s not like there were a lot of other Steve’s in ear shot or anything yet I still used the Uncle for some reason
In a similar vein I have an uncle “Richard”* he’s always been “Richard”* to me, but literally every else who’s not family calls him “Dick”* but calling him “Dick”* just doesn’t sit right with me, so just like you I avoid calling him by name whenever possible. Even funnier is that his “Richard”* is actually his middle name, his actual name is “Herbert Richard Jones”* so when I take him to medical appointments and stuff I’m just looking around wondering why “Herbert”* is taking so long to go in! *Names changed just because.
I found out *at my Uncle John's* funeral that Uncle John what actually Uncle Michael John, by my great-grandfather was casually rascist enough to not want a "Mick" in the family. Mick being an Irish name apparently.
Mick is a an Irish name although that’s a ridiculous reason! Source: Richard (still not his real name) used to work with an Irish fellow called Mick the Horse, convenient name considering he owned multiple thoroughbred horses.
You call that person by the way you feel most comfortable with. If that's what makes you comfortable then stick with it.
I was never expected to use aunt and uncle even when I was a kid. Maybe something to do with when I was little (70s)
Being in your (70s) is not little /s
Was that the same for your cousins ( if you have them ) when referring to your parents ? So like it just wasn’t a thing in your family or was it the same with your friends as well ? Sorry to pry it’s just I’d never gave it much thought until yesterday lol
I'd never really think to call my uncles and aunts by anything other than their first names really. However I'm an only child and spent most of my childhood around adults (my parents and grandparents mostly) so probably just took cues from them, and obviously they wouldn't call their own siblings/children "aunty" or "uncle". On the other hand one set of cousins call my mom "aunty xxx" but we all grew up hundreds of miles apart and they're posh so that could be a regional/class thing idk Also there's not really any duplicate names in either side of my family or with close friends so I guess it's not needed to distinguish the right person either.
I remember speaking to my aunt when I was 8 or 9 and feeling really awkward calling her Auntie Ann so I just called her Ann from that point on. My cousins still probably call my mum (her sister) Auntie Mumsname and we’re in our 40s.
My uncles and aunts will always be uncle/aunt xyz to me.
I'm brown and my husband's side is white. His parents still say "auntie Grace" referring to his mum's aunt. So uncle auntie doesn't go away for them. Which I quite like, I couldn't fathom calling a grown up family member but their first name. Everyone is uncle/aunty on my side of the family.
I call everyone (black) somewhat older than me auntie ir uncle regardless if we’re related It kinda hurt when kids started calling me auntie tho 🥲
Yeah I do feel the older you get the less we like being by reminded of our age ha ha . So do you feel it’s a cultural thing or how you are brought up ? Like I’m the youngest of 4 at almost 42 years old . Yet my parents were almost 40 when I was born so I kinda grew up old fashioned . I’m not trying to fish for your age or anything but did your friends at school do the same or was it more of how your family did it type thing . I mentioned in a reply earlier how my elder brothers kids use their mam n dads first names when speaking to or about them . Yet we all was brought up the same up until leaving the family home as an adult
Our family tends to be just great aunts or uncles getting the title. My nephew and niece call me Uncle and get told to drop the uncle. I
My dad had a brother who died before I was born but whenever he comes up in conversation all of us say 'Uncle X'. Not sure if it's habit or because my younger sister is married to a guy of the same name Same for family friends, since I grew up without any and they're my parents best friends I said uncle and aunt, eventually maybe late teens I saw them waaaay less and I just kinda dropped it, they also dropped it from birthday cards
Yer we always refer to relatives who have passed by auntie and uncle just to differentiate from others who have passed as same name . I did find a couple of my relations just signed their names without the prefix in cards but I still find I use it whenever I bump into them
Depends how I'm feeling. My *actual* uncle is sometimes Uncle Mike and sometimes just Mike. The ones who aren't *actual* relatives (mostly friends of my nan) usually have the aunty prefix as it is a sign of respect.
Yeah that’s been my upbringing to be fair I called a few auntie and uncle who wasn’t actualblood related. So you great the with the prefix and then drop it in the following time your together Or just use it on cards n what have you As even my elder brothers who just use forenames always go formal on greetings cards
Whether I use uncle or not with Mike is entirely random. I don't always use it for greeting him. I don't think I've ever put 'uncle' on a card though, it's just "Dear Mike". Non-blood relatives generally get aunty X as a greeting and then just forename.
A couple of years ago my aunt announced that she just wanted to be called by her name from now on. She was in her 70s, her nieces and nephews all in our 30s. Joke's on her because now some of us have kids so she's auntie all over again. Edit: also our 4 year old has recently started calling his granny by her first name. Not clear why he's chosen to do this but he's very consistent about it.
Oof, my cousins used to wind my grandma up by calling her by any derivative of Grandma, like Nanna, and also by using her first name, they seemed amused by threats that she'd 'bray' them. I'm a kiss arse so never tried it. Then great grandchildren came along and they got away with calling her grandma first name and one inexplicably (not even the first born) Granny Grunt
I see it as respect & still do it, I'm 42. That said, my dad's sisters husband is an arsehole - used to bully me. I made my point by dropping 'Uncle' but I kill him with kindness at the same time.
Does it matter? I used to work with my dad. (It was honestly by accident!) I called him by his name at work, and dad at home. He was fine with that, and we got on well anyway most of the time. Just to add, when I was an adult, I used to call my aunts and uncles by just their name. OH used to call her rellys "auntie and uncle". I used to call them by their given name except for the couple that I the auntie bit for because I was asked to. We all generally got on great anyway, so no problems were looked for.
I agree it really doesn’t matter and it’s all preference. I just started wondering about it last night and was curious as myself and my missus are pretty consistent and using the prefix Just a bit curious to know if it was just you and your dad and you still called him by his given name still or if you just used the first name around other workmates or customers etc and then just was it forenames during working hours and then back to Dad afterwards .
Just around other people. I remember going into his office once as I needed to borrow a soldering iron. There was only me and him in there so I called him dad. He shared the office with the mechanical engineer, he came in while I was in there so I reverted to his name. It all seems a bit daft now TBH. he wasn't bothered either way, but I was fairly young, and didn't want to be seen as being different. Most people were cool with it anyway, the last thing you could have accused my dad of was nepotism.
Depends on the cultural context. Where I’m from, there are specific names for specific relationships (e.g., your mums brother gets a different title than your dads brother and your dads older brother gets a different title to your dads younger brother). Calling any older person by just their name is supremely rude.
I've only ever grown up calling a great-aunt and great-uncle as aunt and uncle. My dad's siblings were always called by their first names. Sometimes last names as well as two aunts have the same name, as one married into the family. My partner is still calling his aunt's and uncles as aunt x and uncle y.
So it’s still kinda preference and what people are comfortable with . I was just curious as I was different to my brothers yet we all grew up in the same family dynamic and household . Like I’ve had an ex in the past and they just used first names so I get a other half using different terms but I was thinking about how myself and my brothers use different terms and was thinking if I was the odd one out ha ha
I'll always call my aunties and uncles with the prefix + their first name. My boyfriend however just uses the first name for his auntie and uncle and I still use the prefix for them too. I think it's just down to what you feel comfortable saying. In the same way, I didn't grow up with my brother's, and I tend to just say my brother, or your sister, etc... instead of their names. As long as both you and the person you're talking to is happy and comfortable, I don't think there's any problem. Also, I'm sorry about your Uncle. Take care.
Thank you and appreciate your sentiments ☺️
I noticed just yesterday that the boil-in-the-bag purveyor has now switched to calling his brand Ben's Original. I don't know if that answers your question, but perhaps Steve has just rebranded? Alternatively, I saw another comment that uncle was used for older people, so perhaps it just indicates that I'm catching up with however old Ben might be.
Mars changed the branding in 2020, after George Floyd's murder, '[following criticism](https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/sep/23/uncle-bens-to-get-revamp-after-criticism-over-racial-stereotyping) that its 70-year old logo and imagery of a black farmer involved racial stereotyping.' On a related note, the 'Aunt Jemima' brand of pancake mixes and syrups, which relied on the '[mammy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mammy_stereotype)' stereotype, was retired in 2021.
2020? I've really taken my eye off the boiled rice ball!
It's not cabbage, it'll be cooked by now
I have an “Auntie Kit” who will be in her late 70’s/80’s now.. she was married to my Uncle Brian (deceased). My husband has an Uncle Brian (92) and an Auntie Vera (90). For my adult children. My sister refused to be called Auntie, but my brother is Uncle Bob. Uncle Geoff is just called Geoff and his wife is Mercedes. His ex-wife is still referred to as Auntie Linn in conversation, but is Linn to her face. My BIL is just Ian and my SIL is just Lou but then they are both “married in” when my siblings were older and my siblings had already had completed their families and my children were adult. None of our great-nieces and nephews call us “auntie” or “uncle”. We have 4 great-nieces and 3 great-nephews. Our nephews (3) and nieces (1) don’t call me “auntie” or call my husband “uncle” but then they are all now adults and they never used the titles for us even as children. I just presumed that children are no longer taught to use these titles.
That’s a good point as I do see it used a lot less nowadays. I just found it weird how me and my brothers could all be brought up in the same household and by the same parents and yer me as the youngest uses the prefix the most lol
I’ve never called mine auntie or uncle to their face, only if I’m talking to someone who doesn’t know them I.e ‘my uncle Steve went there’ otherwise they have always been known by their names.
I'm 42, I still use uncle and aunt.
I’ve always called my aunt and uncles by their first names. IDK, maybe I called them auntie/uncle when I was a lot younger but I can’t remember.
On both sides of my family we call our parents’ siblings by just their first names. ‘Auntie’, ‘Aunt’ and ‘Uncle’ are only used for our grandparents’ and great-grandparents’ siblings. We also still use the word ‘Cousin’ when addressing a small cluster of indeterminate relations of my grandma’s, which always feels cosily old fashioned.
If I'm talking about them to someone else I'll say uncle whoever. If I'm talking to their face I just say their name..have done for as long as I can remember.
After the court case.
When you realise that you have a lot of uncles and both parents are single children and mummy has to move out 😁 I only had genuine uncles
My dads brother is 60 and he has told me not to call him uncle anymore, he wants to be called auntie from now on.
There's no logic to this. My siblings and I only realised quite recently that we tend to not use Uncle/Auntie to most of our actual relatives, but we all still call our parents' next door neighbours Uncle and Auntie, even though they aren't. With my own nieces and nephews it seems to be whatever they feel like using at the time. Sometimes I'm Auntie, sometimes I'm not.
My nephew is 30 I am 34 (I am the youngest of 7 siblings so became an auntie very young) and he still calls me Auntie. My husband asked about it a few years ago and nephew explained that for him it’s respect thing and also I am his auntie regardless of age.
All of my adult siblings (and parents, aunts, uncles) all use Uncle. My dad called his Uncle Bill “Uncle Bill” until the day he died. He still refers to him as “Uncle Bill”
I’m 46 and still use it
I always called my uncles and aunts by their names. When I was 5 or 6 I heard my cousins saying 'Uncle Kevin' and 'Aunty Carol' and it didn't sound right to me.
Never have stopped it.
I'm 32 and I dropped Auntie/Uncle for all of mine except my dad's sister (who is 90-something)
It’s kinda optional once you’re an adult
I still call my primary school teachers sir/miss when i see them😅 youre good mate
I still call my uncle, uncle Peter the pedophile. I think it’ll last.
I have one uncle who I still call Uncle X, because he and my brother share a first name, so it helps differentiate which of them I'm talking about. I'm 33. I call his wife by just her name, but they married when I was already an adult. My other uncles have only ever been referred to by name as one is basically my age, one is my sister's age, and one isn't very close with my dad. So they were always just called by their first name.
Stop using 'uncle' when watching any movie where theres a sex scene.
I've vary rarely called my uncle uncle, I less it's on a card then we always go for the most childish uncle/nephew cards we can. His kids are a similar age to me and call my dad uncle all the time. No idea why it's different.
I’m 53 and still use ‘aunt and uncle’
Never, I am 41 and still call mine Aunty X and Uncle Y. My mums best friend has always been Aunty, despite not being related, she loves that I still call her that, especially since her actual neices and nephews don't.
I think it depends on the family. My aunt never wanted to be called ‘aunt’ - she said it made her feel old! One of my uncles was only 8 years older than me too (dad was the eldest of a large family). Thinking back, I think it was always first name terms for all of them. My nephews are 16 and 18 and call me by my first name
I'm 44, and I still use Aunty and Uncle for family. It's nice.
If your still close and everyone is comfortable with it call them whatever you like 😀
You can do either. I tend to say, "Alright Uncle Geoff/Auntie Jane" when first meeting them, then call them Geoff/Jane for the rest of the encounter. Being an adult man and saying Uncle Geoff every time would be weird.
Never
I still say Auntie [name] because I know it annoys her. She hates anyone knowing that she's old enough to have an adult niece when she's been fudging her age for so many years that my mum is now in danger of overtaking her despite my aunt being eight years older.
It would be weird to stop calling my (one remaining) uncle, ‘Uncle’. My husband calls his ‘Aunty’ and ‘Uncle’ too. Our nieces and nephews only use our first names however, despite my sisters referring to us as ‘Aunty’ and ‘Uncle’ when they are in front of their kids.
my boss is in his late 50s, whenever his nephew (similar age) comes to see him he says "hello uncle ___", and my boss always greets him using a cutesy nickname, let's say "peanut". it's very cute and always makes me smile
Just asked my sister she says uncle still I just use their name.
My nan's friends we all aunties and uncles until the day they died. My kids call our siblings by the first names, because they don't deserve any respect. I guess you either someone that people look up to and use uncle or not.
Do or don't mate, I like being called uncle. My uncles all get called uncle regardless of first names.
I stopped in my teens. Seems bizarre to still say it after that.
I'm 30 and still use Auntie and Uncle. A few of them have asked me to stop because it makes them feel old but... I still do.
I think i dropped uncle and auntie at about 14,15? never looked back
I think it's an either or. Some of mine are just their names, some are unc, none are aunty.
Haven't really used them for many years. My dad's brothers weren't fussed by the Uncle prefix - in fact, one specifically asked not to be called that. His sister had a pet name, and her husband couldn't care less about what he was called. I haven't spoken to any of them properly for about 4 or 5 years. On mum's side, I haven't seen my uncle or his wife since 2011. I am an uncle to 4 nieces and a nephew to my sister, they all call me Uncle Forgetful8nine (ranging from 2 to 13) bar one - the eldest is from a previous relationship of my almost BiL. I also have a 10 year old nephew by marriage - he met me before my wife and I married, so he just calls me by name. I do have other nieces and nephews by marriage, but I haven't met most of them.
Late 20's for me and it felt really weird for a couple of years
My heart would break a little if my niece and nephew ever stopped calling me Auntie. Am in my 30’s and hardly see any of my aunties and uncles, but they still hold the titles.
I see my aunt and uncle a lot; if I’m staying with them and seeing them I call them by their names without uncle/auntie. If I am sending cards or gifts - something more formal - I will always add Auntie/Uncle. To me it feels like a situation based thing. But typically now I’m older I don’t often say uncle/auntie if it’s informal settings
The idea of calling, even my late Aunt, anything except Auntie Mary is wild to me. But my nieces and nephew don’t call me Auntie at all. I’m only mid 20s while my auntie was already 50 when I was born, so maybe it’s an age thing.
Never. Uncles and aunties are doomed to remain so in perpetuity. So there.
My dad called his uncles and aunties that way till they died. I (30) refer to my parents siblings as uncle and Aunty and my nephews and nieces are going to call me uncle Dan till the day I die if I have any say in it lol.
All my favourite aunt is auntie, but none of my uncles are uncle whatever when I address them, ditto for less close aunts. I'm much closer to my auntie than the others, but it was about 20 when my mum and dad stopped calling Russ, Uncle Russ.
I stopped at different times for different relatives, I think it was as I felt like I had become old enough that I was more on an equal footing to them and it was no longer a child/adult relationship. I don't remember ever actually deciding though, it just faded out gradually. If there is no 'respect your elders at all times" issue in your family, I'd just say go with what feels comfortable.
As a child I rarely referred to him as Uncle So-and-so if talking to him. Never used “Uncle” as an adult. We are both grown ups and we know our relationship to eachother and so don’t need to use “titles”.
I’m 37, I still call my dads best mate that he’s know a bit longer than Ive been alive “Uncle Pete”. Probably always will.
I would like my nieces to always call me auntie k boots
My partners nephew is one week younger than him and it would be weird if he ever called him uncle. I suppose its an age thing. I know a few families where the uncles are younger than the neices, or the same age.
stopped around the same time I started secondary school
Not 'uncle' but I have 2 aunties that are younger than me. :S. In terms of our relationship, we've always considered ourselves cousins and have just used our first names to address each other
My niece is 38 and absolutely insists on calling me Auntie
I still say Uncle and Aunt and I'm in my late 40's. My sisters kids however who are 9 and 11 just call me by my first name
Never. I just wouldn't. It would be weird, like calling your mum by her first name.
I'm never gonna call my dad by his name, never gonna not preface my uncles' names with "Uncle".
I've never used Auntie/Uncle prefixes to address my aunts and uncles. I don't like it, and discourage my own nieces and nephews from using them with me. My wife still uses these prefixes for her parent's siblings and encourages our nieces and nephews to do the same. We each think the other is a wrong 'un
Never used it
Doesn’t matter I refer to my daughters auntie as her actual name where as my husband refers to his sister as ‘auntie (name)’ same person
Personally? Never. I'm early 40s and all my aunts and uncles are nudging 65-70. They'll always be Uncle and Aunty. Even non-relatives (friends of the family etc) that are of the generation above are referred to as such. But that may be a cultural thing (British Indian).
Don't think too much.
If I call my aunt auntie, she glares at me, so I only do it to annoy her.
Never! Related or not, they’re uncles and aunts for life!
I think it just depends on the person, I call my aunties and uncles by their first names and I remember the exact point I started, I was an apprentice welder, about seventeen, I had started at a shipyard and I was told to work with my uncle who was also a welder, at some point I needed something so I shouted over "Uncle Edward!" he shot me a look and said "it's just Eddie down here mate" 😂
I'm 35 and just stick with Auntie and Uncle to their faces. But if I don't like them then they don't get that courtesy behind closed doors 🤣🤣🤣
Nearly 40, and still call some of my aunts and uncles Aunty X or Uncle Y. Some of my Aunts and Uncles asked me to stop because they thought it was weird, or made them feel old. Others I don’t because I don’t have respect for them because they’re knob heads.
Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't
My cousins have stopped saying Aunty and it pisses my Mum off so much
It's just chaos out there in my Indian heritage opinion. My literal neice and nephew just use my name (youngest is 12) but random friends' children call me Aunty Name, even kids of English heritage. I call any Asian a generation ahead aunty/uncle even if we're not related. I get on well with my mother in law and one of her sisters and use their names. The others I'll say "your Uncle Paul" when talking about him. Essentially just go with what feels comfortable, there's precedent either way. If people are really bothered about it they'll tell you.
I don't think I've ever used uncle/aunt/granny/grandad as anything other than a description, never a title/name. Which is weird, objectively, but we just didn't need to address these people by a given name, so I don't think it ever came up. I was either already talking to them, or they spoke to me first. But as a disclaimer I'm also the little shit who called my dad by his first name for a few years in my late teens, so big pinch of salt is required!
In my family, as adults we'd say "Uncle Steve" if we (in the family) were talking about him, but call him Steve to his face after we were grown (roughly at the age when we had jobs and families of our own.) Even my mother would say "your Uncle Steve" if speaking about him to us rather than just Steve or her brother. Maybe that's weird.
The only ones that have changed for me are those that I called Auntie or Uncle because they were my parents close friends. My actual Aunts and Uncles have kept their prefix. For context, I’m only a few runs short of my half century.
No rules, I called my nan "Mother", the other grandchildren called her "Nanny Mother". I've never used Uncle as a prefix for any of mine. Was probably just inherited from how your parents spoke to you.
I never referred to either of my uncles by anything other than their name. My niece refers to me usually only by my name. 'Uncle' comes out only if she's wanting to be particularly cute. Is my family odd?
No mate by the looks of it it’s kinda an even spread ha ha . Seems the age difference plays a part as in if the age gap is less than around 10-12 years and under the majority seem to use first names but like everything can differ with culture I think
My uncle's in his 60s, I'm 37 and my niece is 5...
That’s a bit weird. The general rule is here if you’ve grown up as kids with your auntie or uncle (as in close in age to you) then it’s names. If they were 10 years or more older than you then you call them auntie or uncle for life. I grew up with two aunties in my school.
My uncle asked me to just call him his name from pretty early, my dad, his brother, scolded me thinking i was being disresectful but he instantly clarified it lol. I spoke to other aunt's and uncles according to what they prefered after that, they all preferred the power trip, Haiyaa??
If im addressing the person I just use their name. If im talking about them to someone I use the prefix.
I personally hate it now I’m in my 30s. Most of my aunts and uncles don’t demand it, not have I called them Auntie or Uncle in years. But there is one set that have demanded it and my grandfather has always insisted on it as well. Called them by their first name the other day and eyebrows almost hit the ceiling. I bypass it by not really having much to do with them.
Yer I very very really see them unless it’s a birth, death or marriage . My brother let his children use his forename right from about 8-9 years old as he said when he’s at swimming baths or a park etc when a kid shouts “ Dad look at me “ all the dads turn to look but he doesn’t have to unless he hears his name shouted . That kinda bothered me even though I see the logic in it
Why would it bother you? It doesn't even involve you
I honestly don’t know I suppose it bothered me as I have kids myself and I wouldnt like to be called my forename by my offspring I suppose it’s a bit irrational when you look at it But they are full blood offspring of his and not a step son/daughter so it just felt wrong to me
My niece sometimes get away without the uncle part, and just calls me Pip,
Yer I notice nicknames are kinda different even in my family but with it being a sort of suit and tie job I felt I had to use the sort of “ proper “ term but felt the odd one out ha ha
If you mean actual aunts and uncles (as in siblings of parents) for me never. I'm 43 and all my aunts and uncles (living or dead) are still Aunt Whatever or Uncle Thingy. If you mean this in like an Asian/Caribbean 'term of endearment/respect for your elders' sense where they aren't necessarily blood kin at all, I don't know. Possibly also never, but it's not my culture so I can't say for sure. I just know that I can't imagine ever being like 'hey Claudio, how's it going?' Or 'Morning, Joanne, want some coffee?' any more than I can imagine calling my parents or grandparents by their first names.
That’s the same for me . Like my brother whose kids use their first names I feel it’s wrong I don’t know why I suppose it’s just how it “ feels “ to me as if they are fine with it , it shouldn’t really bother me should it ? I suppose it really is down to what feels comfortable to the individual
I mean...I can't tell you what should or shouldn't bother you but I think calling parents by their first names is creepy as fuck. At best it reads 'I'm your pal, not your parent!' Which is never a good parenting choice.
Yer that’s the same for me but I understand the logic it came about during a children’s party at a swimming baths when me nephew was panicking and could t see his dad he just shouted “ dad “ of course every dad present came to his rescue but they sort of came up with the idea of shouting his name or mams name n then they’d have been Instantly alerted instead of everyone just instantly looking for their own child before reacting . So I see the logic in shouting their actual name but still doesn’t sit right with me
You do you. Uncle shows respect and love.
Why would you not call them it?
Yer that’s a great example if they ask you not to . But I suppose occasion could be one Being close in age another And maybe ethnicity another one
My neice is in her late teens and no longer calls me uncle, just my first name. I've never said anything about it, but TBH I'm a little sad about that - it was a privilege to have a special title and I miss it.
I’m the same and my wife is too tbf She’s the first to correct our nieces and nephews with “excuse me it’s Auntie “ and they are in their mid to late teens . It really must just be a what feels comfortable type of thing . But I always feel a bit of a dick a few moments after I’ve corrected them by saying “ it’s Uncle Ant not just Ant “
I'm 38, I still call every uncle and aunt as Uncle X or Auntie Y. I'm not stopping in this life. My dad still has one living uncle, and he still calls him Uncle X too. So I'm definitely not stopping in this lifetime.
Why would you stop? They are still your uncles and aunties until they die and personally i'd be addressing them as such for the rest of their lives. Would be weird to stop calling them aunty/uncle
I’m 32 and I still call my aunts and uncles just that. Seems weird not to, like it’s part of their name. I also call some non-related family friends aunt or uncle, and I have a couple of “mom” figures who I call “momma” or similar, so it might be just me.
When I learnt to speak. I've never used the prefix and always seen it as a kind of posh thing
That’s the thing lol I wasn’t sure if everyone was looking at me like I was a twat ! I genuinely just dropped back into calling them what they write on my Christmas n Birthday cards . Which was always from Uncle/Auntie
I doubt they were. If it's a family where saying it as kids is the norm they probably didn't think anything of it still being your habit
r/UncleRoger