Women of Reddit, what endearing term or pet name would make you uncomfortable if your partner used it, and what are the reasons behind your discomfort?

32 comments

1. dumptruck – i am not trash

2. I have a name and that’s what I answer to.

3. My partner has never used a pet name for me in the more than 15 years that I’ve known the guy. So, hearing any of them would be strange and uncomfortable.

4. [removed]

5. Baby girl

   R: “Are you lost, baby girl?”
   And my name is monosyllabic.

6. At one point in our relationship my now-husband was calling me “my dove” which I thought was absolutely precious… until I realized it was a Beverly Hills Ninja reference 😂 I said nahhh that ends now.

7. Any of them. We don’t use pet names as we both dislike them so hearing him do so would be incredibly weird and unwanted.

8. I would veto my partner using “my princess”, “my queen” or similar because I associate it with people that have super toxic relationships. I would also be uncomfortable with “my little one”, “baby girl” or other things suggestive of age play/things people say to babies.

   He calls me “my sun”, “my love”, my dearest”, “my treasure” and I am very okay with that <3

9. Babe. I don’t know why, I’m just not a fan of the term.

10. My partner and I use tons of nicknames and pet names, often affectionately calling each other random things like peanut butter boy, shower dodger, or dairy pleb depending on whatever inside joke we have going at the time. That being said, he called me Becky jokingly once (not my name, nor is it a traditional nickname of my name, he meant it in the “you’re basic” sense) and I didn’t like that.

11. I think Baby might give me the ick if I ever heard it. I prefer the sweetie and honey terms, more logical connotations too.

12. Baby, baby girl, princess, queen, etc.

    We have only 1 nickname for each other and that’s more than enough lol.

13. Baby. Because I’m a grown ass woman

14. Kitten 🤮🤮🤮 i called a bf i had in high school kitten and everytime my dumb brain brings it back up it makes my brain want to explode 😵‍💫

15. Sweetie. I had an ex that called me that and it makes my skin crawl hearing it.

16. Baby/babe sounds too generic to me.

17. Kitten, only one person got to call me that.

18. My boyfriend’s girlfriend in high school called him “puffin”.

    He has since realized the “cringe” of being called Puffin and no longer responds to it 😂

19. I always hated “munchkin”. It sounds ugly and it’s also what my partner at the time called his ex.

20. Mommy.

    Just… no. No. That’s gross.

21. One of my exes tried to convince me that “Pork Chop” was supposedly a well known and widely used term of endearment. I kind of regret not punching him in the nuts for that.

22. Hun / honey. 🤢

23. i think i’d be okay with any pet name under certain circumstances. some are more playful and others more serious/romantic. so i think it just depends on the guy and the nature of the relationship

24. Doll….. ughhh gives me the hebee jeebees lol. Sounds like a creepy old dude interested in something he shouldn’t be. 😫

25. honestly, everything makes me uncomfortable at this point. bc most guys have called me like. babe/baby. kitten. hun. queen. princess. like nah. idk. it hits weird when all the interactions you’ve had have been shitty.

26. Mommy or daddy, I will only find it acceptable if it’s said in a joking way. It makes me think of my parents and I don’t like thinking about them.

27. I may be lost, but I’m not a baby girl. Call me by my name and don’t be creepy.

28. I’m with you guys, any version of “baby” or “babygirl.” Like my dad called me babygirl so no thanks

29. I am literally 32 and have always called my husband “baby.” Like, saying his name sounds completely foreign and it pisses me off because it’s the most annoying thing ever lol

30. Reading through all of these and hating all of these pet names…. the only people I let call me honey without getting the ick are the old ladies at the grocery store when I checkout 🙆‍♀️

31. All of them. I don’t like pets names. I have a name and that’s what I want them to use. Nicknames are fine, but pet names?? Ew hard pass. I don’t have much of a reason other than I just don’t like them, I never have.

32. I hate the queen stuff. It’s cringey. My bf calls me babe, princess, wife, and they’re all fine, but if he ever called me queen, I would puke. I can not and have never been able to call a bf baby or baby. I just can’t.