pet names?

[xSuperMario64x]

I've heard that a lot of people have differing opinions on pet names. basically where someone calls you "hon", "babe", "sugar", "love".

personally I don't mind it, I think it's actually kinda cute hehe. now if it's used in a creepy kinda way (like an older man addressing me and giving me an awkward vibe), or if someone who isn't my SO is saying it to try to be romantic with me, then yeah I don't like it. but this morning I got some iced coffee at the nearby gas station and the lady was calling me babe and I thought that was cute.

and I do use pet names myself with my friends and pets. maybe I'm used to it bc my mum's family is from the South and pet names are common there.

what do you guys think about them?

 

[ZeldaCrossing64]

I think they can be cute! I prefer to call someone by their name, but I don't mind using pet names with my loved ones. (//w//) The pet names I often use are "love", "hon", "dear", and "ma cherie" ("my dear/beloved" in French).

Of course, there's different ones that I do and don't like being called, but I'd let the other person know if it makes me uncomfortable. I haven't been called anything undesirable. ('w')b

 

[Envy]

Depends on the context, I suppose. If some man randomly starts inserting pet names I know what he's after and it's creepy. There are other contexts where it's not so creepy, but that's the context I always think of. It's very uncomfortable.

 

[-Blue-]

One of the King of the Hill side characters addresses everyone as honey and it's just a sweet term he uses regardless of who he is talking to. It's a cultural and region thing. People in the south (United States) are more likely to use terms like the such. I don't see anything wrong with it as long as it's not being used in an undesirable way like to be rude or for creepy reasons.

 

[Foreverfox]

I love pet names! I give them often, or use people’s existing nicknames often. My husband and I have like, 6 each haha. Nicholas has about 10, our animals have so so many each. I think I counted one time and one of our cats had 13. I’ll have to count how many our cat and dog have. The real question is, do nicknames count as pet names?

 

[AccfSally]

One of the King of the Hill side characters addresses everyone as honey and it's just a sweet term he uses regardless of who he is talking to. It's a cultural and region thing. People in the south (United States) are more likely to use terms like the such. I don't see anything wrong with it as long as it's not being used in an undesirable way like to be rude or for creepy reasons.

I do this and also live in the South. I grew up around folks (usually by motherly types and elderly women) who often called me: 'dear', 'honey', 'darling', 'Sweetie/sweetheart.' Especially when they needed my help with something.

Now that I'm getting older, I've started saying them as well; but not too often and when I do it's mostly 'dear' and 'sweetie' around people I know. However in video games I go to town with it, like in Animal Crossing for example. lol

 

[MiniPocketWorld]

To me, it just depends. Hon around here is a neutral word, while other examples you mentioned aren't so much.
Though some work places call it unprofessional, I personally don't care.
Hon doesn't bother me from anyone unless they aren't using it towards everyone. Then It gets odd. I also don't mind it from places that sell stuff... Infact I kinda expect to hear it because that's a sales/tip tactic, and common (whether viewed good or not).

 

[SkyKnight03]

I had a friend who was doing this to me.

I didn't know how to feel about it. I wasn't resentful or anything. But eventually I did tell her 'I don't mind if you call me by my real name'. That was the easiest way I could put it.

I had silly nicknames in highschool school because I had a tendency to overdress. I didn't mind them. One student was calling me 'fresh'.

 

[Chris]

It's pretty much ingrained into the culture where I'm from. It bothered me when I was younger (teens/early 20s), but as I got older I started doing it myself without thinking.

For my girlfriend specifically I use "honey bee" and "princess" in addition to the more common terms of endearment.

 

[skarmoury]

cute topic!! c:
me and my bf have gone through an evolution of pet names.... first it was bubby, then bub, then bee, then baba, then now it's just b....... we're using baba and bee (or b in text) more often now c: i like baba lol cuz when i message him i always go bababababa. ive been so used to calling him pet names that i rarely even say his first name anymore LMAO. same goes for him, we call each other "bee" irl heh.

we have some common generic pet names in our community like "beh" and "beb" (both derived from "babe"), but that's all i can think of right now

 

[Kitsuragi]

very situational for me, because it depends on how it's being used. if it's by a significant other, i adore it. a stranger? mmmm maybe not. unless it's like, a waitress or an older woman calling me "baby" or whatever else. that always gets to me, i love it. but creepy people using it for flirtatious/unsavory reasons, no.

my boyfriend stopped using this because he didnt like it, which is SO sad to me, but he used to call me "pumpkin" all the time and i adored it.

 

[Midoriya]

For anyone that I don't know well or isn't close to me, I absolutely hate it. I have a real name for a reason. And my real name isn't even that long. Usually if people call me by them anyway and we're not close, I tend to ignore them.

 

[coordinator lissi]

Don’t love them personally, id rather have nicknames derived from my name be used. It’s fun in fiction though

 

[Croconaw]

I’m a sap, and I’ll pet name the **** out of my significant other. The person I’m dating typically doesn’t mind the pet names, and more likely than not the relationship wouldn’t work out if she wasn’t okay with it as it’s part of my personality.

In return, I love being called them by my partner.

 

[Balverine]

I only like them from certain people, but then I love them LOL
From an S/O is completely acceptable and wanted, but I don't like strangers calling me stuff, and not even really a big fan of family doing it

 

[Aerith]

I like pet names a lot~! And I like giving them to people, too. Just have to reach a certain level of intimacy before I'm comfortable doing so.

 

[QueenCobra]

Idk why but sometimes I call my dog “Bubs” or “Bub” when he’s in a playful mood. Sometimes he’s “Buddy” or “Baby”, but he likes to think of himself as big and strong, AKA NOT a baby lol. (He’s a Shih Tzu with a Napoleon complex.)

My cat is usually “Baby”, “Sweetie”, or “Princess” because she acts like a little princess lol. Whoever decided that female cats should be called queens was a genius.

 

[seliph]

being called "baby" gives me serotonin

usually it's just that or "babe" for my bf and i, but i call the dogs everything. baby, baba, sweetie, sweetness, sweetheart, baby girl, baby boy, sweet baby...

 

[Suguri]

I remember how flattered I was when my partner first called me "love". (///w///) When we first exchanged ILYs with each other I assumed they were doing it as a "best friend" thing; I developed feelings for them prior but was too nervous to confess. My partner has these cute pet names for me (the same ones as here) and my favorite is ma cherie.

I also have some equally adorable terms of endearment for them, like sweetheart and mahal (love in Tagalog) among others.

P.S. When I first saw this thread I almost thought it was about names (not nicknames) for your pet animals. XP