I call my family a variety of pet names. My Mom started it when DD was very little. DD loved to pick cherries at my aunts house. Mom would call DD "George" , in reference to George Washington. Then she started called DD and her best friend, George and Martha. And it snowballed from there! LOL!!

My Mom is now gone and the kids get still get called George, Ralph,and Fred(don't know where I got those from). Other names for the DD's are sweetie, baby girl, etc. I call my little granddaughter "Blondie girl" because of her blond hair, along with other pet names like her mommy and auntie. My grandson gets called Bubby alot. I try not use it much. Lexi calls him Gaby Baby. His name is Micah Gabriel and gets called Micah or Gabe most often. It's a wonder my children and grands even know their own names!! LOL!!

DH and I most always call each other pet names. We only call each other by our given names when we are mad/upset with each other.

I am not offended by being called "sweetie, dear, honey, etc" by strangers or those younger than me. It is so much a part of the south where we live that I think nothing of it. And I am just as guilty of it.

That's the whole point. I don't like it either. Also where I live, ma'am is considered offensive. Women think you're calling them old.

I call my hubby Sweetie Pie, my Son I call babydoll, my cat fuzzy but!!

My daughters are chickie dick and missy, my hubby is pet. I say sweetie to most of my 5th graders, male or female, and they don't seem to mind.

My husband is most often Baby or Sugarbuns. My dog Cassidy is fuzzbutt, my dog Eddy is Mister Ed. My youngest brother was called Pookie most of his youth, and if I want to get him riled up I will still use that. None of my siblings could pronounce my name, so I became Noonoo (nunu), and my father used that to his dying day.

Call DH "Bub"...Now for Bailey the OES dog.....Sometimes is Bales, sometimes it's Bud....whatever we feel like calling him...LOL...He answers to anything!

A friend called all my boys Smitty (for last name of Smith) since he could never remember which name went with which boy. The only one with a nickname that stuck is the #4 son who got called Anvil Child because he wrecked his bicycle so often jumping the hump betweeen the neighbors driveway and ours. DD got called Meshach, ShellyBell, Tinkerbell, Chevy (???).

In Texas, pet names public and private are popular. When I had my retail business - I lucked out most of the time by calling people names that made them comfortable. Working with the public, one learns quickly who's the "honey" and who's the "Mr" or "Mam!" Then there's always the customers that connect with no one, so they get a simple "Thank you."

I call our son GareBear - when he was younger, he was Pookie! I also call him Old MacDonald (he and his family bought a farm this Spring). He is Gary. Grandkids are Mads (Madeline) and Joshie (Joshua) I call my husband the love of my life or Rog,honey, sweetheart, Kiss me in the dark Sweetheart (after 50 years, not shabby, eh?) The doctor across the alley calls me EdieBear, or Grandma Edie. The worst of all and I hope I am not chastized for this, was when I was in high school I was called Titless Toots! NOT ANY MORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The dog is Miss Bess! Or, Bessie Mae, Bess, Bad Dog, Little Lady. She answers every name, except Bad Dog. She doesn't know who BAd Dog is. Sometimes I call her Roundhead. Edie

Our dog Sassi is called by more "pet"names by my hubby than he has ever called me. Sometimes I think I shoiuld be jealous!LOL But, Sassi was born with just a nub for a tail, so I call her Button-Butt or Poopsi. For some reason she really gets excited and all happy when I call her Poopsi.