: Female Pet Names that a Londoner might use? I was wondering about female pet names, like darling, sweetie, pet, babe, etc. One of my characters refers to his other half as "pet" but I've been

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I grew up in London and live within commuting distance. These are just my impressions - I haven't done a survey!

Between spouses or couples I would say the most common pet names used in London and the surrounding area are "Darling" and "Love".

"Love" is more working class, "Darling" more middle class. However there is a lot of overlap. Both terms could be used either by men or women.

The use of any pet name between the partners would suggest to me that it is a long established relationship - people who have just started going out tend to simply use each other's first names. It would also suggest to me that the people are middle aged or older.

I'd guess that "darling" and "love" are also the most common pet names used by people who don't know the person spoken to - e.g. a market trader addressing a customer. In this context use of pet names is very much a working class thing. Middle class Londoners are more formal.

My impression is that any sort of pet names are used less often in London and SE England than in other parts of the UK.

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Terms of endearment are, by their very nature, quite individual. You may want one that is common and doesn't draw attention to itself. In that case go for something like 'darling'. However, if you want to give your character uniqueness, have them use individual terms, such as 'lotus blossom'. Pick something that will reveal something about him or her.

You can also have your character do what some people do: use a set of themed terms, for example, 'possum', 'platypus', 'emu', 'kookaburra'.

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Try looking up "British terms of endearment" instead. You should find several links. This one looks good in particular.

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