Pronunciation for “bubbe” (but there are many different transliterations from the Yiddish). There are different Yiddish accents, but I have heard it pronounced “BUB-ee” or “BUB-eh.” I am not sure how to say great-grandma, but if alta (old) is correct, then it is pronounced how it looks.
My great-grandmother was always Bubbie, mainly because that is what my mother and uncle called her and also because my own grandmother, born in New York, wasn’t about to be called Bubbie.
This doesn’t help answer the question, but I felt like throwing my two cents in anyway.
I’m a Bubbie too! We’ve been debating what I should be called since Jake was born 4 months ago, but my son wants Jake to have a “bubbie” like he did, so that’s what I’ll be. I wonder how many Bubbies under 60 there are in America?
To get back to the question at hand, I guess my mom is now an Ur-Bubbe.
I was a bubbie at 42 years old! My 20 year old son and his girlfriend were not as careful as they should have been and a few months after I turned 42, I became a grandmother. I have three sons and each of them is married and they each have 3 children of their own so now I am 65 and I have nine grandchildren—seven grandsons and two granddaughters. They all call me Judy or Nana Judy because when I was 42 I told them I had no intention of being called Grandma or Granny or Bubbie. While I adore my grandson and no child ever came into the world more loved that he was, I am still not Grandma or Bubbuie. This young man graduated from college last year and has been a source of pride and joy from day one.