The United Kingdom is a nation of pet name fans. Whether you call some "love", "honey bun" or "baby boy", there's a whole host of pet names we call our loved ones.
Now, greetings card marketplace thortful.com has revealed the UK's favourite. In turns out "love" tops the charts, being the pet name of choice for almost one in three Brits.
Also ranking highly were "babe" and "honey". But the research found 32% of Brits won't let their partner use their pet name while out in public.
The survey of 1,500 people found almost half - 47% - confess to use a soppy pet name for their significant other. Males are most likely to use a pet name, with 53% admitting to using one, while only 43% of females use pet names.
Top 10 pet names
1. Love – 29%
2. Babe – 25%
3. Honey – 17.8%
4. Sweetie – 15.3%
5. Handsome – 9.4%
6. Honey Bun – 7.7%
7. Sweetpie – 7.6%
8. Boo – 5.3%
9. Baby Boy/Baby Girl – 4.8%
10. Princess – 4.7%
Barbara Santini, psychologist, sex and relationship adviser at dimepiecela.com, explains: “A pet-name is a kind of internal code understood by the partners as it might relate to the joke, situation, something they have experience together which connected them. Using pet names in a relationship expresses love and a bond in a unique and instant way. It can also be considered as a happiness indicator.”
Commenting on the study, spokesperson at thortful said: “The UK’s diverse list of pet names we call our partners can be a cringy and embarrassing nickname for one person, but a heart fluttering really really really really really thoughtful moment for another. The language of love is a complex thing and its lovely to see that for much affection comes in the form of loving, cute, and often cringy pet names.”
