History Main / ParentalTitleCharacterization

* On ''Manga/SpyXFamily'', Anya always calls Loid "chichi"[[note]]"Papa" in the English translation[[/note]] since she's a very young girl, even though Loid tells her to call him "father," since his mission(which is the reason he adopted Anya) requires him to have Anya attend a school attended by many children of wealthy Ostanian families. It's worth pointing out that "chichi" is often used when talking ''about'' one's father, rather than talking ''to'' one's father.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Brave}}'': RebelliousPrincess Merida refers to her mother Elinor as either "Mum" or "Mother". She regresses to "Mummy" in the climax [[spoiler:when she begins crying due to believing her mother is permanently a [[BalefulPolymorph bear]].]]

* On ''Manga/SpyXFamily'', Anya always calls Loid "chichi"[[note]]"Papa" in the English translation[[/note]] since she's a very young girl, even though Loid tells her to call him "father".

* In ''Fanfic/{{Continuance}}'', [[VideoGame/{{Persona 4}} Soji Seta]] (aka the protagonist) calls his parents "Mother" and "Father," showcasing his distant relationship from them. Yukiko calls her father "Daddy," (in the game, she uses "Mother" on her mother, and uses "Father" on her father in the manga adaptation), to show a hidden playful side to her.

** Liam calls his father "Pa" because he lives on a farm and so he uses stereotypical "country bumpkin" slang.

* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarepants'': Pearl, despite being a teen, still calls her father "Daddy" because she's a DaddysGirl.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

The SuperTrope to CallingParentsByTheirName, which is used when characters call their parents by their given name and usually signifies either lax parents or bad familial relationships. Compare NewParentNomenclatureProblem, which is like this trope but applied to a "new" parent (adoptive, stepparent, etc.) See also UsefulNotes/JapaneseSiblingTerminology and UsefulNotes/JapanesePronouns, which are just as personal for the user. Related to YouCalledMeXItMustBeSerious and YoureNotMyFather.

** Curiously enough, Silver refers to Giovanni as "oyaji" in the japanese version of the celebi event, which is an informal term meaning "old man" and is typically used in a very casual context. This, combined with Silver's former admiration towards his father perhaps suggests that they had a close relationship prior to their falling out.

* In an early episode of ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'', Meg calls her grandmother Babs "Nana". It's worth noting that she's a member of Newport high society, and she's in a position to have doted on Meg before, along with and because of her successful corporate CEO husband, Carter.
** Lois, who is 43, always refers to her father Carter as “Daddy”.

* ''Series/{{Dinosaurs}}'': Baby Sinclair calls Fran "Mama", but Earl "Not the Mama". This is partly because he's a bit of a brat, and partly because Fran does most of the parenting (up until "Nature Calls", for instance, Earl never changed any of Baby's diapers).

* Perhaps to highlight how distant and abusive she is towards her kids, ''Fanfic/CellarSecrets'' has Satsuki and Nui refer to Ragyo as "the Mistress". In the first chapter, Satsuki does call her "Mother" but doesn't stick to calling her that. At another point, Ryuuko dubs Satsuki, her older sister, as "Mam", to emphasize that Satsuki's pratically her mother.

* In ''WesternAnimation/Shrek2'', the fully grown Prince Charming calls his mother, the Fairy Godmother, "Mummy," and it isn't lost on Fiona. As it happens, [[MyBelovedSmother Fairy Godmother is controlling Prince Charming]].
* Throughout ''WesternAnimation/BambiII'' Bambi refers to the Great Prince as "Sir" to reflect the latter's distant and somewhat intimidating nature to him. Them fully developing a loving bond is culminated by Bambi finally calling him "Dad", an even less formal term than his "Mother" whom he had a far more relaxed and affectionate relationship with beforehand.

* At no point does Kylo Ren in ''Film/TheForceAwakens'' refer to [[spoiler:Han Solo]] as his "father", showing just how much Ren wants to cut himself off from who he once was.

* ''Film/TheSantaClause'': Seven-year-old Charlie addresses his parents as "Mom" and "Dad" throughout. Scott and Laura's divorce probably made Charlie feel like he had to grow up a bit more quickly, but he still loves them.

* In ''Film/{{Hook}}'', The titular character tries to get Peter Pan's son, Jack, on side by being more present and supportive than Peter himself. However, Hook doesn't really care for Jack, so despite being sore at Peter, Jack only ever addresses Hook as "Captain."

* In ''Theatre/CatOnAHotTinRoof,'' everybody refers to the family patriarch as Big Daddy (and unlike Big Mama, [[UnnamedParent his first name is never given]]). In the film version, however, there's a scene where Brick goes to have a heart-to-heart with him and refers to him as "Pa" and "Papa." This actually gets Big Daddy angry when he notices. Given the subsequent discussion, Brick seems to think of "Big Daddy" as representative of his big-man, throw-money-around style of parenting, while "Pa/Papa" is his attempt to engage him on a healthier, emotional level.

* Taken one step further in a flashback to Arnold Rimmer's childhood in ''Literature/RedDwarf'', in which his father - who is also his professor at college - admonishes Arnold for calling him "father" and insists on "Sir" or "Professor Rimmer".
* In ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'', it's part of standard etiquette among nobles to address their parents "My lord father" or "My lady mother" in public situations, but Tyrion Lannister nearly always calls his father that, because they hate each other.

* In ''Messenger: The Legacy of Mattie J.T. Stepanek and Heartsongs'', there's some discussion about the difference between being a father (merely siring a child) and being a daddy (committing to and nurturing a relationship with the child). Sometime in Mattie's early life, his parents divorced, [[note]]in part because all four of her children had inherited a terminal illness from mother Jeni, unbeknownst to her[[/note]] so he never got to know his father.
* In ''Literature/OutOfTheDust,'' Billie Jo switches from "Daddy" to "[my] Father" after he [[spoiler:accidentally causes her and her mother to get burned]] and [[spoiler:leaves her to tend with her dying mother while he [[DrowningMySorrows goes out drinking. She goes back to "Daddy" when they reconcile]]]].

* Squirrel in ''Literature/ADogsLife'' notes that her mother's name was "Stream", but that to her and her brother she was just "Mother".
* Bambi from ''Literature/{{Bambi}}'' calls his mom "Mother". This could be because of the time period of the book, but it also could be to emphasize that he's an animal.
* In ''Literature/ADogsPurpose'', all dogs presumably only use "mother". The protagonist doesn't understand that "mom" is another term for "mother" and thinks that Ethan's mother is literally named "Mom".
* ''Literature/ATaleOf'':
** Snow White referred to her biological mother who died in childbirth as "Mother", showing her lack of a bond with her. She referred to her step-mother Grimhilde as the affectionate "Momma" growing up but switched to an aloof "Mother" when she became more abusive. She switched back to "Momma" [[spoiler:after Grimhilde turned sweet again after becoming the new Slave in the Mirror]], and she uses that even years later when her own children are grown.
** Subverted with Maleficent. She only calls her adopted mother "Mother" once. She's usually referred to as "Nanny". However, it's not meant in a negative manner. It's just ''everyone'' calls her "Nanny".
** Gothel and her sisters refer to Manea as a stern, distant "Mother", which Manea enforced. Manea was a neglectful and emotionally abusive mother.
* In ''Literature/TheColorPurple'', Squeak was in jail for over a decade. As a result, her kids call their step-mom "Mama" but Squeak "Miss." It upsets Squeak.

* In the ''Literature/RamonaQuimby'' series, Ramona calls her mother "Mama" in the earlier books, but switches to "Mother" as she gets older, except for one emotional moment near the end of ''Ramona and Her Mother'', where she says "Mama" again. [[DaddysGirl She always calls her father "Daddy," though.]]

* In the ''Literature/HannahSwensen'' mystery novels, Hannah and her two sisters always call their mother Delores "Mother." Since Delores is a ProperLady and MyBelovedSmother, in sharp contrast with her GirlNextDoor baker daughter, the formal title suits her much better than "Mom" would.

* ''Series/{{MASH}}'': It is established that stuffy Charles calls his parents Mother and Father, while most other characters call their parents Mom and Dad. Lampshaded in one episode where Charles is trying to console Hawkeye, who just learned that his father is in the hospital and is trying to contact home for news.
-->'''Charles:''' While I had a father, you had a dad.

* In ''Series/{{Vida}}'', the Hernandez sisters' relationship with their late mother is clearly demonstrated by how they address her. Emma, who is still angry and hurt about [[spoiler: being sent away for liking girls]], calls her by her full name, Vidalia. Lyn had a much warmer relationship with her and calls her "Mommy".

* ''Series/{{Frasier}}'':
** Frasier and Niles sometimes refer to their deceased mother, Hester Crane, as "Mother", but always refer to their (still living) father Martin as "Dad". Ironically at the start of the series they had had a much better relationship with Hester than with Martin. This could be due to Martin being a Seattle cop who loves sports and Hester being a respected psychiatrist who loved opera.
** Whilst Daphne usually refers to her parents as “Mum” or “Dad”, she has occasionally called them “Mummy” or “Daddy”.
* One episode of ''Series/NCISLosAngeles'' involves teenage students of a MilitarySchool. One of them insists on only addressing his military father by rank, whether or not either of them are in uniform; even Sam Hanna, himself a former Navy SEAL with his own son following in his footsteps, considers it a bad sign that the boy is ''way'' too stiff and emotionally repressed.
* On ''{{Series/Haven}}'', Nathan refers to his father as [[DaChief "the Chief,"]] as does everyone else in Haven. He uses it as an example of their strained relationship when explaining it to Audrey, though he does call him "Dad" in emotional moments and after [[spoiler: his death.]]

* The intro to "What Is This Feeling?" in ''Theatre/{{Wicked}}'' [[EstablishingCharacterMoment establishes the differences]] between the two main characters by how they address their parents. The spoiled DaddysGirl Glinda refers to her parents by the cutesy-sounding "dearest, darlingest Momsie and Popsicle". On the other hand, Elphaba (who is more serious and has a distant relationship with her father) refers to her father as "my dear Father".

** Kim calls her parents [[CallingParentsByTheirName by their first names]] because it's the "modern" thing to do. But when she gets the call informing her that she's been chosen to be kissed by Conrad Birdie on live TV, she calls "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!" in wild excitement to tell her the news.

* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'':
** Gladion from ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'' refers to his mother as both her first name and as "mother", to show their distant relationship. His sister, [[spoiler:Lillie]], uses "Mother" as well. Their family seems to be wealthy, so that might be a reason for the title even without the {{abusive|Parents}} aspect.
** As with all protagonists, Eilio/Selene from ''Sun and Moon'' refer to their mother as "Mom". In a throwaway line, they refer to their father as "father". This implies a distant relationship, made more noticeable by the fact Mom seems to have moved to Alola alone and ''[[VideoGame/PokemonUltraSunAndUltraMoon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon]]'' implying that the father lives overseas, however, it's never given any further specification.
** Curiously enough, Silver refers to Giovanni as "oyaji" in the japanese version of the celebi event, which is an informal term meaning "old man" and is typically used in a very casual context. This, combined with Silver's former admiration towards his father perhaps suggests that they had a close relationship prior to their falling out.
* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'':
** Hinata is slightly dismayed to hear his son Hisame, a very serious and mature individual, calling him "Father" when Hinata visits Hisame in the Deeprealms, since the last time Hinata visited, Hisame called him "Dad." Hisame then reminds Hinata that given [[YearInsideHourOutside the nature of the Deeprealms]], it's been much longer since the last visit than Hinata realizes, and Hisame's bitter about his father not visiting that often.
** In ''Birthright'', the Avatar generally calls their father Garon "King Garon, or just "Garon," as a result of no longer considering him a father. Just before the final battle, the Avatar gets upset enough to call him "[[HeyYou old man]]" when [[spoiler:he only shows mild surprise after hearing that two of his children just died]].

* Given that the franchise takes place from 1899-1914, most of the characters in ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption'' and ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption2'' call their parents “Ma” and “Pa” but there are some exceptions. Upper-class women (like Arthur Morgan’s ex Mary) call their fathers “daddy” directly. Men like Dutch and Micah will sometimes use “daddy” to indirectly mention their fathers. Jack Marston usually uses “Pa” for John but will call him “sir” a lot to show their somewhere distant relationship. He's also the only one in the entire series who uses "Dad" occasionally, showing that he's from a different generation.
* ''VideoGame/Bayonetta2'': Bayonetta often refers to the Masked Lumen, [[spoiler: the younger version of her father Balder, by his name, partially because she doesn't want him to know she's his future daughter Cereza and partially because she still doesn't forgive his future self for starting the Witch Hunts and dragging her into the events of [[VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}} the first game]].]] By the game's end, [[spoiler: she switches to "Daddy" after realizing that his future sins aren't really his fault, and he reveals that he knows she's his daughter (though, to be fair, he told her to call him that just once).]]

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': The affluent Weiss calls her abusive father "Father". In contrast, she has a better (but still troubled) relationship with her mother, who she calls "Mom".

** [[TheOjou Shion]] uses the very respectful "Otou-sama" and "Okaa-sama" ("Father" and "Mother") on her parents, reflecting her privileged upbringing.

->''He may have been your father, boy, but he wasn't your daddy.''

-->-- ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol2''

[[folder: Literature]]

[[folder: Live-Action TV]]
* ''Series/{{Buffy the Vampire Slayer}}'': Buffy finds [[spoiler: her mother]] [[spoiler:lifeless]] on the couch and regresses from confident young adult to frightened child in the space of three words, the last of which is achingly quiet.

[[folder: Video Games]]

[[folder: Visual Novels]]

[[folder: Web Animation]]

[[folder: Western Animation]]

[[folder: Real Life]]

* ''Yuri Oyako'':

* Utilised iconically in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''. Bart regularly calls his father, Homer, by first name or other more derogatory titles to display his cocky impudence (though he also calls him "Dad"). In the original shorts, Lisa did similar to show her similar bratty characterization, though when she diverged into a more precocious, well-behaved child, she started referring to him solely as "Dad". As shown in the flashback episode "Lisa's First Word", both kids referred to Homer by first name even as a toddler, building up to the heartwarming final scene where Maggie calls him "Daddy", though out of earshot.

* In the ''Literature/RamonaQuimby'' series, Ramona calls her mother "Mama" in the earlier books, but switches to "Mother" as she gets older. [[DaddysGirl She always calls her father "Daddy," though.]]

* On ''{{Series/Haven}}'', Nathan refers to his father as "the Chief," as everyone else in Haven does. It highlights their strained personal relationship, as he explains to Audrey. He does call his father "Dad" in more personal moments, but not often.