Jenna Bush Hager's Family Has the Sweetest Nicknames for Each Other
The TODAY co-host got the cutest code name from Secret Service during her father's presidency.
Through their years inside the White House and beyond, the Bush family has gone by many official titles. But Jenna Bush Hager wasn't calling her grandfather Mr. President as a young girl walking around the White House lawn. To the TODAY co-host, that was her beloved "Gampy" — and that's only one of the family's many sweet and thoughtful nicknames for each other.
Read on to learn all about the Bush family's many nicknames, including an especially cute one courtesy of the Secret Service.
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Jenna Bush Hager called her grandmother Barbara Bush "The Enforcer"
Throughout her life, Barbara Bush was affectionately called "The Enforcer" by her family. After the former first lady passed away in 2018 at the age of 92, Jenna wrote a letter published by TODAY that explained the meaning behind the famous nickname.
"We called you 'The Enforcer.' It was because, of course, you were a force and you wrote the rules and your rules were simple. Treat everyone equally, don't look down on anyone, use your voices for good, read all the great books," Jenna wrote, going on to share a story about how her grandmother, who she also called "Ganny," halted her plan to order a sandwich from the White House kitchen.
"I will never forget when Barbara and I as 7-year-olds snuck to the bowling alley and ordered presidential peanut butter sandwiches," her letter continued. "We couldn't wait for someone to deliver what was sure to be the fanciest sandwich of our lives when you opened the door, scolding us, telling us under no circumstances could we order food in the White House again, this was not a hotel. You taught us humility and grace."
Jenna Bush Hager's grandfather George H.W. Bush went by "Poppy"
President George H.W. Bush's nickname during his childhood was “Poppy." According to the Associated Press, he was named after his maternal grandfather, George Herbert Walker, whose own nickname was "Pops," which led to him being called "Little Pops" and evolving into "Poppy."
Years later, Jenna was inspired by her grandfather's famous nickname when naming her second daughter. "Welcome to the WORLD Poppy Louise Hager — named after my darling Gamps who went by Poppy during his childhood. We are in LOVE," Jenna shared on Instagram in 2015.
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Jenna Bush Hager's kids call their Bush grandparents "Jefe" and and "Grammy"
Jenna's three children — Mila, Poppy, and Hal — have adorable nicknames for their Bush grandparents. It was revealed during a 2025 segment on TODAY that George W. and Laura Bush's grandchildren call them "Jefe" and "Grammy," respectively. "Jefe," translates to "boss" or "chief" in Spanish, with jefe/jefa being a slang term for a parental figure in Mexican culture.
"My daughter [Cora] has a hilarious relationship with our dad, her Jefe," Jenna's twin sister, Barbara Pierce Bush, shared on TODAY. "She is his #1 fan, so if he's ever having a bad day, he should just call her because she'll laugh at anything he says. They're just super goofy and sweet with them."
Jenna went on to share that her daughter Mila sweetly has her grandpa wrapped around her finger. "Mila said yesterday, 'Jefe does everything I ask.' Nobody has ever said that before," Jenna laughed, adding that Mila asked the former president to paint a portrait of her cat and he happily obliged.
Jenna Bush Hager's husband Henry Hager calls her "Shiny"
Jenna met her husband, Henry Hager, in 2004 while he was working on former President George W. Bush’s reelection campaign. The couple married four years later in a beautiful Texas wedding. And during the early days of their relationship, Henry started calling Jenna "Shiny."
"Henry calls me 'Shiny' — 'Shiny Cat' for long," Jenna shared during a 2020 segment of TODAY, adding that she doesn't exactly remember how the nickname started, but he still uses it every once in a while. "He wrote me a Valentine's little love letter and put it in my bag, so it's in my dressing room, and it said, 'Dear Shiny.'"
Other sweet names Henry also calls his wife include "Honey," as he did when he co-hosted for the fourth hour of TODAY with Jenna in March 2025.
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Jenna Bush Hager's parents go by "Bushy"
While George W. Bush's "Dubya" nickname became well-known during his presidency, Jenna revealed during a 2020 TODAY segment that her parents also go by another surname-inspired moniker.
"My parents go by Bushy — Bushy 1 and Bushy 2," she shared before adding, "Nobody calls me Bushy."
The Bush sisters' Secret Service code names were "Twinkle" and "Turquoise"
While their dad was president and living in the White House, Jenna and her sister had very cute Secret Service code names.
"When you have Secret Service, you have a code name," Jenna told her TODAY co-host Willie Geist in 2020. "My sister's code name was 'Turquoise' because her eyes are really beautiful and turquoise."
The former first daughter then revealed that her nickname was "'Twinkle', which some people got confused with 'tinkle.'" During an appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Jenna told Andy Cohen people at the White House still call her Twinkle. “When we went back to the White House with the TODAY show peeps, we walked in and they were like, ‘Twinkle, welcome home,’ and everybody was like, ‘Twinkle?’” she shared.
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Mila, Poppy, and Hal Hager hilariously call their mom "Jenna"
During a May 2025 segment of TODAY, Jenna revealed her children call her by her full maiden name.
"Do you think it's strange that my children, one of whom is 5, call me 'Jenna'?" she asked her guest co-host Matt Rogers. “And sometimes call me ‘Jenna Bush.’ All I'm hearing is 'Jenna Bush! Jenna Bush!' I’m like, ‘You're not even using your last name with me!’”
Jenna also revealed in a TikTok that one of her daughters "started calling me Kylie," referring to Kylie Jenner "because of Jenna."
"She'll just yell 'Jenner!' and she asks that I call her Stormi," Jenna said in the video which she hilariously captioned, "MAMA'S DONE."
