A while back, I started keeping track of the nicknames Spike uses while doing my episode reviews. This was prompted by me being annoyed by fanfic's overuse of certain nicknames (Some which had, apparently, never been used in the show). So I wanted to get some actual data on how often Spike uses people's real names, what nicknames he does use, etc etc. I was keeping it to myself cause it is a wee bit compulsive, but stormwreath asked for it, so here.



I immediately ran into some trouble distinguishing what constitutes a "reference" to another person from Spike. If he's speaking to someone and says something along the lines of, "Of course not, you bloody wanker" should "you bloody wanker" count as a reference? Or is it merely an Spike-style insult? I opted to go ahead and count it, but I'll admit I may not have been consistent in applying this (I wasn't planning on sharing, remember).

I also kept track of who he was speaking to when he used each reference to see if he distinguishes between "nicknames he'll use to a person's face" and "nicknames he'll use behind a person's back". I haven't actually looked at that aspect of the data, yet, so I'm pretty much just posting the basics: What he called various characters and the percentage of the time he used their real names.

Also, this is only for S4. I hadn't thought to do this while reviewing S2 (or S3).

Also also, I didn't count anything from Restless because that was dream!Spike, not real!Spike.

So, here goes.

Buffy:

Slayer - 14
Buffy - 5
Betty - 2
Little girl - 1
That bitch - 1
Gorgeous - 1
Woman - 1
Missy - 1
Pet - 1
Goldilocks - 1
Summers - 1
Sweet Slayer - 1
Little Miss Tiny - 1
Alice - 1
Sheriff - 1
Little Nancy Drew - 1

Very obviously, his preferred nickname for Buffy is "Slayer", although that's less a nickname than a title, oddly enough. He calls her "Slayer" 41% of the time and only refers to her by name 15% of the time.

Xander:

Xander - 7
You bloody poof - 1
Blighter - 1
Little Xander - 1
Droopy boy - 1

*Ahem* You'll note that "whelp" is not on the list. He calls Xander by name an astonishing 64% of the time. And, no, he doesn't refer to him as "Harris", either.

Giles:

Mate - 3
Giles - 2
Rupert - 3

Oddly enough, Giles doesn't get a wide variety of nicknames. He's referred to by either first or last name 63% of the time. And it must be pointed out that the only times he refers to Giles as "Rupert" is at the end of the season when Spike is trying to break up the Scoobies (And, with Giles, he's trying to highlight his lack of respect for the guy. It's an intentional psychological ploy).

Willow:

Red - 3
Willow - 2
The Slayer's best friend
Teen witch - 1
Little witch - 1

Okay, fine. For this season, he does call Willow "Red" most of the time (Though only by a slight margin). "Red" makes up 38% of his references to her. He calls her by name 25% of the time. I remain convinced that this will change later.

Harmony:

Harm - 5
Baby - 3
You stupid bint - 1
Sugar - 1
Foam latte - 1
Mon petite creme brule - 1
Mentholated pack of smokes - 1
Luv - 1

Although he never actually refers to her by name he does call her by a shortened name, "Harm", 36% of the time. "Baby" makes up most of the rest, 21%.

Adam:

Mr. Bits - 1
Mate - 1

Jonathan:

Wonder-Jonathan - 1
Jonathan - 1
Big Guy - 1

Riley:

Sir - 1
Riley - 1

Maggie:

Maggie - 1
Maggie Walsh - 1

Willy:

Keep - 1

Anya:

Demon girl - 1

Drusilla:

Dru - 2

Parker:

Parker - 1

Angel:

Angel - 4

*Ahem*, peeps! Notice "Peaches"? Not on there!

Oz:

Dog-boy - 1
Mongrel - 1
Oz - 1

Minion:

Mate - 2

Native American Spirit:

Chief - 1

And finally, totaling all these up, Spike refers to people by name 31% of the time. If this interests anyone else but me, I'll be very surprised. But, yes, I'm still keeping track as I review S5. It amuses me.