The most popular piece of Sheffield slang has just been revealed – but do you agree?

Our extensive and sometimes unusual list of local slang makes Sheffield such a unique city – although visitors may sometimes feel they’ll need a translator. 

We’ve got lots of popular, well-known turn of phrases like ‘ey-up’ ‘nah-then’ and  ‘reyt’, as well as many others that aren’t as commonly known. 

But which piece of slang is the most commonly used term of endearment in Sheffield?

GalaBingo.com has published its findings into what the UK’s favourite pet name is, as well as Yorkshire’s and also Sheffield. 

Specifically, the research has mainly focussed on what people’s favourite terms of endearment were and when it is and isn’t appropriate to call someone by these familiar terms.

In Yorkshire, ‘Darling’ came out on top for the favourite pet-name but this only came second in Sheffield. 

The research found that ‘Angel’ was the most commonly used term of endearment in Sheffield with ‘Love’ in third, ‘Hun’ fourth and ‘Mate’ in fifth. 

Nationally, ‘Babe’ came out on top.

Not a single respondent in Sheffield said their favourite term of endearment is ‘Duck’. ‘Bro’, ‘Geezer’, ‘Pet’ and ‘Petal’ also equally as unpopular.

But when is it appropriate to use these? A whopping 40 per cent stated they only like being called a pet name by people they know well, and a further 23% claimed they do not like to be called pet names at all!

Reader in Sociolinguistics Dr. Mercedes Durham said: “Generally speaking, pet names, like other terms of endearment, can be used for politeness when you don’t know someone’s name, but also to build a connection.

“There are differences in terms of which pet names are used and who they are used with. Younger speakers might not use ‘love’ or ‘hen’ or ‘petal’ as much as older speakers but might use ‘mate’ instead.”

“Older speakers are also often perceived to use more pet names with strangers.”

Karina Adrian, PR & Brand Partnership Manager at GalaBingo.com said: “We’re all guilty of using pet names every now and again. ‘Duck’ is a term that many people associate with Sheffield, and ‘Love’ for Yorkshire overall, but it’s interesting to find out this just isn’t the case anymore!”