When A Guy Calls You Love: 12 Genuine Reasons Why He Does It

So you met this cute guy a couple of weeks ago, he seems perfect, charming, and a true gentleman, but suddenly he starts calling you his “love.”

What does it mean when a guy calls you love? Is he being serious with you or does he call other girls that too?

That’s why it’s confusing to date guys at times.

Every so often you meet a guy that’s honest and direct, but most of the time they leave you wondering: What the hell are they really thinking?

Well, when a guy calls you love, it can mean several things. It can carry either a positive or negative connotation.

Don’t worry, I’ll get into detail all the reasons why he might be calling you this.

On top of that, I’ll give you a few suggestions on what to call him, or rather a few cute nicknames that you can use when you want to show affection to your man.

But that’s not all. I’ll also briefly explain other nicknames that guys use to call their girlfriends or girls they like and the secret meanings behind those names.

Honestly, sometimes it’s really hard to decipher why he might call you his love because you don’t get the chance to see his facial expression while he’s saying it.

Maybe you just met the guy and suddenly he starts showering you with different compliments such as “baby,”, “love,” etc.

The biggest question is: Why does he do that?

Is he being serious with you or does he just want to flatter you so he can get you into the bedroom?

While some women like being called “love,” others are disgusted by it.

Either way, one thing is certain: Most still don’t know the true meaning behind the word.

First, let’s answer this: Why do guys give nicknames?

Well, you should think about what kind of relationship you have with this guy. Did you recently start dating? Is he a stranger to you?

Are you just good friends or are you close to being lovers?

Also, take note of how long you’ve known each other.

That’ll answer most of your questions if you’re wondering why a guy might give you this particular pet name.

If the two of you recently met at a bar or on a dating app, then you should be careful because it might be too soon to use any nicknames.

While guys are all about nicknames, if you just met him then it’s slightly taunting in some way.

Yes, they give pet names to all of their friends and they might even have several ones, but giving a girl a nickname is different.

Guys put a lot of thought into it.

Guys also give nicknames to girls as a flirting tactic, but this happens very rarely.

Most of the time, guys are aware that if they give a girl a nickname, they might blow their chances at starting a relationship with her.

They don’t want to come off as childish and silly, so they’ll refrain from it.

Not everyone is a fan of nicknames. I’m not. I hate it when someone calls me by a nickname, especially if it’s someone I don’t know.

So, he’ll most likely avoid giving you a pet name that indicates he likes you so early into knowing you.

It still might happen, but you have to think about the context in which it was given to you.

Maybe you acted goofy and silly and he just wants to give you a compliment, or maybe he’s poking fun at you as a way to flirt with you.

These are plausible reasons for him giving you a nickname if you two have known each other for a short time, but what if you have known each other for a long time? What does that mean?

Well, he may be calling you with a nickname that has a positive connotation.

If you two have been friends for quite a while and the nickname comes out of the blue, it usually means he has developed strong feelings for you.

Especially if he calls you “love” or “baby.”

On the other hand, if he gives you a pet name that is related to some sort of embarrassing incident you had, then it’s probably a friendly nickname rather than a romantic one.

I know it may sound confusing, but there are a lot of variables you should take into consideration for him giving you a nickname in the first place.

Consider where and when he called you by that name, and how he interacts with other people around him.

What does it mean when a guy calls you love?

Does it mean he’s into you or are you just another girl to him?

Here are the main reasons why a guy might call you love.

1. He’s being spontaneous

Sometimes, guys act spontaneously and don’t overthink things.

A guy might be focused on the visual and notice something about you that’s beautiful to him. That’s when he might call you love.

Your beauty simply mesmerized him to the point where he can’t come up with any other word.

Other situations where he might use it is when something silly or funny has happened to you.

Maybe you trip over your own feet and he says “Oh, love!” – laughing while he catches you.

But what if a guy just admires your beauty and elegance?

Calling you love doesn’t necessarily mean he’s making a move or anything.

It may be that he’s being straight with you and admires your physical appearance.

2. He called you his love by accident

Unfortunately, this happens a lot.

Maybe you were shocked the first time he called you love. He decided to call you by this nickname for reasons unknown to you.

But, you must remember how he looked when he called you love. Did he appear proud and confident?

Well, if he did, then obviously it was intentional, and he wanted to see your reaction.

On the other hand, if he looked surprised and quite insecure, then it was just an accident and he didn’t mean to call you that.

Maybe he was thinking about you earlier and suddenly those words slipped out.

You may not believe it, but guys can call you love by accident and nothing more.

No hidden meanings – just plain words without special meaning.

There are certainly times when he says it and means it, but maybe he wasn’t prepared at all to say it so early on.

3. He considers it a normal thing (if you’re in a relationship)

Certainly, love is a term of affection that most guys will use when they’re in a relationship.

If you’re in a relationship with the guy, he might call you that because he considers it to be a normal thing to do when talking to his girlfriend.

It’s quite normal for couples to give each other nicknames after they’ve been together for some time. You shouldn’t be surprised by it at all.

Usually, the guy will show positive body language signs around you such as mirroring your body language, dilated pupils when talking to you, or blinking more frequently than normal.

These are all signs he likes you a lot and for him, calling you his love is normal, specifically if you’re in a long-term relationship.

4. He wants to see how you react to it

Sometimes guys think carefully about what they’re going to say to a girl to see what their reaction is going to be, so they can plan their next move.

Well, a guy might say this word to you to see if you’ll say something similar back to him.

Maybe he doesn’t know how you feel about him, so he wants to test if your reaction is positive or negative in order to know whether or not to ask you out on a date.

That’s when you come in.

If you like the guy, obviously you should reciprocate and then wait for him to make the next move.

On the other hand, if you don’t like the guy, then this is the perfect moment to put him in the friendzone.

I know it’s a tough thing to do, but it’s better to be straight with him than to play games with someone’s emotions.

If your reaction is positive, then he might continue to ask you other questions about your love status and then make a move and ask you out.

5. He’s attracted to you

He may call you his love because he has strong feelings for you, but doesn’t know how to say it directly to you.

There are a couple of body language signs that you can notice when a guy is attracted to you, such as finding excuses to touch you, prolonged eye contact, standing closer to you, etc.

But when he couples these positive body language signs with calling you love, then he’s definitely into you.

Be sure to look out for these signs if you’re unsure about his feelings for you.

A guy calling you love by itself doesn’t mean much since there are different reasons he might say that.

But if it’s backed up with other signs of attraction in his body language, then he’s attracted to you.

But what if you can’t see him face-to-face and he sends you a text message calling you love?

It’s his way of telling you how he feels about you and doesn’t consider you just his friend. He wants something more serious with you.

Maybe he wants to make it official.

6. He feels comfortable in your relationship

I mean, this is a no-brainer.

If your relationship is going great, you have great communication, you trust each other, then he might call you his love to show that he feels comfortable around you.

If you hear this in a relationship, then you know you’ve hit the jackpot.

A guy will only open up about his emotions once he feels comfortable and secure.

Maybe he calls you his love first as a precursor to saying “I love you.”

I know it sounds confusing, but hear me out.

Guys have a hard time expressing their emotions and they might seem complicated at times, but they aren’t actually.

You just have to notice those subtle signs that tell a great deal about his feelings.

7. He truly means it

Nicknames can mean nothing to someone, but at the same time, they can mean everything.

When a guy calls you love, then he almost certainly loves you but is afraid to say those three big words.

He’s likely just scared to do so and tell you how he actually feels.

The thing is, he doesn’t want to scare you off, especially if you’ve just started building a relationship.

He truly loves you and wants you to know how special you are to him.

He’s just waiting for you to tell him you love him first before he says it back to you.

As I said before, this is usually noticeable if you pay attention to his behavior also.

8. He wants you to know you hold a special place in his heart

Sometimes the occasion or even the place where he says it doesn’t matter as much as his intentions.

Why? Because he wants you to know that you hold a special place in his heart.

It’s his way of making sure you know how extraordinary and unique you actually are.

It doesn’t matter if you’re in a fight and he’s trying to calm you down by calling you his love, he does so because he deeply cares about you.

You’re the love of his life and he wants everyone to know that.

It doesn’t matter what other people think about him. Maybe they’ll call him weak or not “a real man”, but he doesn’t care.

He knows he loves you and he wants to make sure you feel special.

9. He’s trying to hide something

Certainly, there are times when guys know they did something wrong and they want to hide it.

In most cases, they’ll be defensive and use a lot of pet names just to get out of trouble.

That’s especially true if he’s calling you his love when talking about certain problem areas related to your relationship.

However, don’t focus just on this word. Rather pay attention to his body language as he’ll start feeling anxious.

He might hide his palms, speak at a different pitch, or change the subject.

Those body language signs combined with this nickname mean that he’s hiding something from you.

10. He uses it for everyone

This is especially true if you’re friends with the guy. It means it’s a casual nickname that he uses for all of his female friends.

It can also be the case that he’s from a country where calling someone love is common and means nothing, such as in the UK or Spain.

If he’s from one of those countries, then that might be the reason why he has a habit of calling you his love.

Pay attention to how he calls other women around you. Does he say to them “my love” or does he use a different nickname?

Even if he’s from a culture where it’s fairly common to use the word love to refer to a woman, he could still have a different reason for calling you that.

That’s why you should observe his behavior as it may help decipher his feelings for you.

11. He’s patronizing you

While calling you love can have positive connotations, it can also have negative ones.

Maybe he’s calling you love because he’s being condescending.

If that’s the case, then he’d say that with a sarcastic tone and would back off from any physical touch.

It happens in situations when he simply disagrees with you or after you made a suggestion that he doesn’t want to accept.

It simply means that he doesn’t take you seriously and also refuses to include you in certain discussions.

The only way for you to make him stop using those words in situations like these is to confront him about it and tell him to stop it once and for all.

12. He’s only interested in getting you into bed

Sometimes guys only want one thing and they’ll do anything to succeed in it.

They aren’t interested in having a romantic relationship with you, but only a fling and that’s it.

He might call you love to make you believe he’s being serious about you so that you give him a fair chance.

But he won’t stop there. He’ll continue giving you compliments until you agree to allow him to take you on a date.

He wants you to know he likes what he sees, and his primary objective is to get you in bed. That’s why he calls you love to soften your heart – that’s it.

When he succeeds in his quest, he’s outta there and you’re left heartbroken and feeling used.

The good thing is this doesn’t happen quite often, since girls tend to trust their gut instincts and can usually spot a player from miles away.

But I thought to include this reason just as a reminder.

If you’re still unsure why he calls you his love, then consider this: How does he interact with other people, and when and where did he call you love?

It’s always helpful to think about how a guy interacts with other people when determining why he calls you love.

Maybe he calls other women the same thing and shows the same body language signs as he does around you.

That’s definitely a sign that those words mean nothing to him and don’t hold any special meaning.

On the other hand, if you notice that his behavior and body language change when he says to you that you’re his love, then he is certainly attracted to you.

If you’re still unsure why he’s called you love, then take note of when and where he called you by that pet name.

Maybe he said it when the two of you were alone. That means he’s either comfortable with you or he’s attracted to you but too shy to say it in public.

On the other hand, if a guy says that in a public setting, then it’s most often because he’s saying it naturally (or maybe being condescending).

Now that you’ve figured out why he calls you his love, you might wonder: What is an appropriate nickname for a guy?

Sometimes it’s tough to pick a pet name for a guy because you don’t want to make him feel like he’s less of a man.

That’s why these are always safe go-to nicknames for guys: Tiger, Handsome, Cowboy, Big guy, Sweetheart, Honey.

But be careful. Most of the time, guys prefer to be called by their real names over nicknames. However, this doesn’t apply to every guy, so play it by ear.

What are other romantic nicknames guys give to their girlfriends?

Well, they’re basically the same as those that I listed above, with few exceptions.

A guy might give you the nickname babe or baby. It’s usually used to show you he adores you and isn’t shy to tell it to the world.

Babies are super cute, and so are you.

Hun (short for honey) is another nickname a guy might give you.

It’s a little more romantic than calling you babe, and usually used when you’re in a long-term relationship.

Also, sweetie is another nickname a guy might give you, especially if he’s texting you and you’re at the dating stage.

He might give you this pet name to break the friend-zone barrier and let you know he wants more than just a friendship with you.