1
Darling
Baby, Bae or Bird?
Which relationship ‘pet’ names do the lovers of the UK love and loathe to be called?
If you’ve ever been in a relationship, chances are you’ve had a pet name for your partner. Regardless of whether you love or hate them, the options for pet names are endless, from sweet and romantic, to the amusing and even slightly offensive!
We’ve surveyed the nation to reveal how people really feel about pet names and create a definitive ranking of the ones we love, as well as those we really can’t stand.
55%
55% of people surveyed like using pet names between themselves and their partner
The most loved and hated pet names
From the classic darling, to the cringey extremes of cutie pie, chances are a few of the below have creeped into you and your partner’s dialect over the years. From the two thousand people we surveyed, here are the UK’s picks…
The top 10 most loved
Darling is officially our favourite term of endearment, with this taking the top spot to be crowned the UK’s favourite pet name. We also found people get weak at the knees for sweetie and babe, with these coming in second and third place respectively.
2
Sweetie/Sweetheart
3
Babe
4
Love
5
Honey
6
Baby
7
Lovely
8
Dear/Dearest
9
Angel
10
Princess/Prince
The top 10 most hated
When it comes to those we can’t stand, you’d do well to avoid calling your SO sausage at all costs, as this is the pet name that tops our most hated list. Doll, bird and bae are also worthy contenders, with these names also getting right under out skin. Both men and women also don’t like to be referred to as sexy, instead preferring terms of affection that are less objectifying.
1
Sausage
2
Doll
3
Bird
4
Bae
5
Pudding
6
The Missus
7
Wifey
8
Treacle
9
Sexy
10
Cutie pie
Our favourite open responses
With something as deeply personal as our relationships, chances are there are names we have for each other that don’t fall under the traditional pet name umbrella. We left an open response for this very reason, revealing some of the more unusual terms we use!
Your favourite pet names by region
With the power of pet names often signifying a strong emotional connection, we’ve also investigated how our preferred choices differ across the UK. In greater London, babe and love came out on top, with the capital preferring the short and snappy above the overly affectionate. Those in the South West and South East also opted for the safe bet of sweetheart and darling as their favourites. As we venture further north, it might not come as a surprise that calling your partner love is a tradition very much alive in Yorkshire and the North West.
East of England
Darling
Greater London
Babe/Love
East Midlands
Babe
West Midlands
Darling
North East
Sweetie/Sweetheart
North West
Love
Northern Ireland
Love
Scotland
Darling
South East
Darling
South West
Sweetie/Sweetheart
Wales
Babe
Yorkshire and the Humber
Love
Your most hated pet names by region
Much of the UK agreed that sausage is the ultimate pet name faux pas, with Scotland, Northern Ireland and half of England naming this their most hated name. For those in the West Midlands, bird is the term that gets under their skin the most, whilst those in Yorkshire have rejected modernity and rated bae as their most despised.
East of England
Sausage
Greater London
Sausage
East Midlands
Sausage
West Midlands
Bird
North East
Babe
North West
Sausage
Northern Ireland
Sausage
Scotland
Sausage
South East
Doll
South West
Sausage
Wales
Wifey
Yorkshire and the Humber
Bae
Your favourite pet names by sexuality
For the gay and lesbian community, the evergreen appeal of love makes it their go to pet name. As for what makes them wince, anyone referring to their partner as the missus is most likely to result in a cringe. Those who identify as bisexual are most likely to prefer babe, whilst bae once again proves to be unpopular.
Sexuality
Heterosexual/ straight
Homosexual/ Gay/ Lesbian
Bisexual
Asexual
Other
Prefer not to answer
Most lovedDarling
Love
Babe
Cutie pie/ pudding/ treacle
Babe/baby
Sweetheart (or sweetie)
Sexuality
Heterosexual/ straight
Homosexual/ Gay/ Lesbian
Bisexual
Asexual
Other
Prefer not to answer
Most hatedSausage
The missus
Bae
Baby/boo/honey
Bird
Doll
Data and methodology
Based on a survey of 2,000 respondents from a nationally representative survey. We asked people from across the UK what their most loved and hated pet names are. From this, we’ve been able to build a picture of pet name etiquette in the UK broken down by location and sexuality.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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