It’s in almost every pop song, but I have never heard anyone call the person dearest to them “Baby”. That said, I don’t live in Britain or the US. My father sometimes called my mother “Darling” and I have often heard “My dear” or just “Dear”. Jean Drummond-Young, Winterthur, Switzerland
Send new questions to nq@theguardian.com.
Readers reply
I remember male friends using it affectionately in the US, as in: “Get your ass up to the bar and get those beers in, Pete Baby!” PeteTheBeat
It’s quite simple when you think about it. Calling one’s partner Baby, as in so many songs and movies, is because unconsciously we think of the one we love in terms of procreation. In Plato’s Symposium, his dialogue on love, Socrates – who claims ignorance on matters of love – is informed by Diotima, his mystical muse, that apart from the highest rank of love, love of the beautiful and the good, the rank below is love of our partners for procreation. Which, as Plato tells us through Diotima’s words, is a desire for immortality. EdwardH
Just an idle thought, but might it be worth retracing the genealogical development of the pop song towards its site of origin to see if there’s some sociohistorical context? Was Baby or Babe a label used in, for example, the Mississippi Delta, or perhaps along one of popular music’s many tributaries? I have no idea, I’m just casting off. musicforpleasure
My partner calls her car Baby. I know my status! CharlesJ
My partner is a Filipina living in Hong Kong and I’m Irish living in the UK. We call one another Baby Ko, meaning My Baby in Tagalog. This term crosses continents and cultures, in my experience. Dorkalicious
I expect Attila called his wife Hun. bricklayersoption
This is one of those slightly cringey things that is perfectly normal within a relationship, but sounds weird when you hear others doing it. My wife and I – 23 years in, three teenagers – never call each other by our first name, and never have. It’s now too odd to start. It’s Hun, Babe, Baby and a few other choice pet names. stripsidebob
In Australia, it is not uncommon for a woman’s profile on internet dating sites to read something like: “I don’t answer to Babe, Hun, Darl or Love.” For some men here, it is like Mate – used when you cannot remember their name. FeriouslySlippant
South Africans do this quite a lot. I, in a more promiscuous period of my life, called all my partners Baby so as to not confuse their names at the wrong moment. kzn
My partner and I have called each other Baby for 15 years. She is French and I am Franglais (dual nationality). We live in Montpellier. We found a wonderful song written by Bobby Troup – who wrote (Get Your Kicks on) Route 66 – and performed by Diana Krall called Baby Baby All the Time. It was originally sung by Nat King Cole. Ken
My boyfriend, who is a Frenchman living in Germany, calls me Baby. Apparently, he had never called any of his previous girlfriends Baby. According to him, he calls me Baby because he finds me cute, like a baby. And somehow, in return, I also call him Baby. Suzie
In Germany, it’s mostly Schatz (treasure). Baby, not so much. WalnutTree89
It’s Babes, according to Slow Horses’ Roddy Ho. Leoned
Tucson, Arizona. More frequently, throughout the southern US, the term is Baby Doll and applied to women rather than men. GWPDA11
During a long residency in London, I was called Darling. Returning to the US and meeting someone new, I was called Baby. What the two terms have in common is that they appear to be standard operating procedure with men who simulate the behaviour of “partners” but are, in fact, “players” – a dead giveaway that one is in a “situationship” rather than a relationship. And Baby, in the US, is often heard on the NFL football field between teammates. Anonymous
I’ve pretty much always called my wife Babes, sometimes Princess. I’m trialling Bae, but it’s not going down well. StevenageDave
In Denmark, where I live, bae means shit. Just so you know. grimmglimm
