"For some strange reason, couples have developed the practice of giving each other pet names which can vary from the most romantic to the ridiculous, the most personal to the perverted. It is basically a short hand language of cementing their bond; a secret that nobody outside their union is necessarily aware of, unless of course they are the type of couple who tend to showcase their choice to close friends or the public at large. Some pet names I like, whereas there are others I simply find bemusing or unedifying to call someone you love.
I have often wondered, just as some men are prone to revisit the same places where they spent time with past partners with the new person in their life, do they retain the same pet name of endearment for the new love of their life? That would be like placing your ex-wife's wedding ring on the finger of your new bride! I would also advise against giving your love a pet name which has hidden ridicule behind its choosing. I know this sometimes occurs as I was guilty of the practice myself in my first marriage, when I started to call my seven and a half stone bride who increased two and a half stones during the first year of our married lives, 'pudding' as a pet name of endearment.
We are all familiar with many pre-war married couples of the 1930s calling themselves 'mother' and 'father', irrespective as to whether or not they had parented children. Move on seventy years and it is not unusual today to hear childless couples address each other to their pet cats and dogs as 'mother' and 'father.'
I recently read a British article on the ten most popular pet names that partners give each other. They are in descending order: (1) Darling (2) Babe/Baby (3) Love (4) Sweetheart (5) Gorgeous (6) Honey/Hun (7) Sweetie/ Sweetie Pie/ Sweets (8) Angel (9) Sugar (10) Boo.
If you have a pet name for your partner on this list, then you appear to be part of the common crowd. If however, you have been given or have given a pet name which is not on this list and is more selective/unusual and you don't mind sharing it with a few hundred facebook contacts, please let me know. The one who comes up with what I judge to be the most appropriate yet unusual pet name can select any one of my 65 published books for either children, teenagers or adults and I will post it to them in time for Christmas!
Me and Sheila elect pet names taken from the Chinese Astrological Calendar. I was born in the year of the Horse and she was born in the year of the Monkey. So 'Horse' and 'Monkey' are our pet names for each other; a most suitable choice I think as I watch her scratch her bum whenever she has an itch and thinks I'm not looking!" William Forde: October 8th, 2015.