Bat-Family Nicknames and Insults
So I went off the other day because fans keep having people who aren't Roy Harper call Jason Todd "Jaybird" and now I'm thinking about all the other nickname misconceptions so here's a probably non-comprehensive list of nicknames among the Bat Fam.
(Special thanks to @sohotthateveryonedied for a bunch of my data, she made a whole powerpoint with actual comic panels! Go check that out! Also got some info from @kiragecko who was writing some lists with more specific references.)
This list is an active document and will be edited in the event I find more nicknames or have more to say
Addendum note: I'm more than willing to add something I forgot, but you must have receipts. I'm not just going off of memory. Nothing will be added to this list without proof. If you don't have a source, please don't make a suggestion.
This is aside from assorted common insults and nicknames like jerk, ass, shorty, dude, idiot, etc..
Sidenote: every not-Steph Robin has been called “Little Bird”, “Birdboy” and/or “Wonder Boy” at some point. It’s kinda part of the job lol
Secondary side-note, the only ones who REALLY use nicknames for people are Barbara and Jason. And Tim specifically in reference to Damian. Everyone else pretty much uses their names 98% of the time.
Alfred Pennyworth
Al/Alf
Seems to be a common nickname among the boys.
Alfie
Tim and Dick have called him this, but I don’t recall Jason doing it, who is who most ff writers have calling him that.
Alfredo
Jason called him this at least once and I think that’s funny. Not sure it’s exclusive though.
Mom
…Dick seems to have referred to him as such once…I’m sorry but that’s so funny.
Alfred also has specific ways of referring to everyone:
Bruce: Master Bruce, Mister Wayne, Lad, Bruce, My Son
Barbara: Mistress Barbara, Miss Barbara, Miss Gordon, Miss Oracle
Dick: Master Dick, Master Richard, Master Grayson, Dear Boy, Young Sir, Young Man, Richard, Dick
Cassandra: Miss Cassandra, Young Cassandra, My Dear
Jason: Master Jason, Young Sir, Lad, Jason
Tim: Master Tim, Master Timothy, Young Master Tim, Lad, Young Sir, Young Man, Timothy, Tim
Damian: Master Damian, Young Master Damian, Young Sir, Young Man, Son, Damian
Bruce Wayne
Spooky
Oliver Queen calls him this, others might as well but I legitimately have no idea.
Batsy
Everyone and their goddamn dog, but Joker uses this notably a lot.
Detective
RA'S AL GHUL EXCLUSIVE. I think? But this is how Ra's generally refers to Bruce.
B-Man
HARLEY QUINN EXCLUSIVE...I think. She calls him this a lot though.
While Dick and Jason will internally think of Bruce as their father, Dick rarely says so and extremely rarely calls him “Dad”. Jason would only say so mockingly or under pain of a second death. Tim rarely even thinks of Bruce as his father (he didn’t become Robin to be Bruce’s kid, and he doesn’t want to replace his own father—much the same way Dana didn’t replace Janet) and never refers to him as such outside of WE work (where he very much uses that to his advantage). Damian almost exclusively refers to Bruce as “Father” but has called him "Dad". Steph sometimes calls him “Boss”. Everyone usually calls him "Bruce".
He refers to ALL of the boys as “chum” and “lad” at some point. It’s just how he used to talk honestly. He DOES NOT call them ��sweetie” or “honey” or anything like that. Remember, Bruce is very emotionally stunted, that’s kinda his whole thing.
Barbara Gordon
Babs
Most people call her this. Bruce doesn’t seem to though, oddly enough.
Babsy/Babsie
Both Dick and Jim Gordon have called her this. Very cute.
Barb/Barbie
Nearly exclusive to Jason Todd, actually. I think her dad calls her this once in a while, but specifically Jason calls her this.
Babes
A few of her friends call her this, but mostly Luke Fox when they were dating.
Red
A few people call her this, but mostly Jason and not real often. Probably cuz we already have a red-head often referred to as “Red” (Pam Isely by Harley) and as to not be confused with the other two Reds in the family lol
The High Priestess of Tech
More of a reference than a nickname, but I think it’s funny. Dick referred to her as such.
O
For Oracle!
Dick Grayson Exclusives because Boyfriend
Baby
Love
Beautiful
Richard Grayson
Dick
Everyone calls him this. Almost no one calls him Richard.
Dickie
His parents also called him this, along with other people who knew him from Haly’s Circus, but otherwise it’s mostly just Jason.
Dickster
I…hate that this is canon lmao. Dick has thought this one in his inner monologue, but Jason has also said it at least once. It’s…Something.
Circus Boy
Common insult, Jason uses it a few times.
Tight Ass
…No comment.
Rob
Kinda rare for him and more a Tim thing, but his Titans team call him this sometimes. I specifically remember Wally doing so, and Roy too I think.
Boy Wonderful
Not marking this as exclusive because Babs probably used it at one point but, shockingly (or not) this comes from Wally West! Wally has also called his Titans team as a group “Dear Hearts” at least once which is just so fucking cute. Neeeeeerd.
Kid
Not exclusive to him, but consistently called this by Slade Wilson/Deathstroke over most anything else.
Marcia
TIM DRAKE EXCLUSIVE. A joke between him and Tim, assigning each Bat-boy a Brady Bunch member.
Little Robin
MARY GRAYSON EXCLUSIVE. This is where the hero name Robin supposedly came from; Dick’s mom used to call him this. The specific instance I know of is Robin Annual 4 when a little tiny Dick was trying to do trapeze stuff, trying to “fly” like his parents.
Dickie-Bird
JASON TODD EXCLUSIVE. Jason calls Dick this a lot during his weird appearances in Nightwing that I pretend never happened because it was dumb. But it is a canonical nickname. And it’s funny.
Amy Rohrbach Exclusives because Partner
Rookie
Stud
Cowboy
Sherlock
Mr. Confident
Barbara Gordon Exclusives because Girlfriend (and because she’s funny)
Flatterer
Boyfriend
The Brightest, Sweetest, Most Handsome, Wealthiest Young Bachelor on the Entire East Coast
Buckaroo
Bucko
Candy-Gram
Darling
Lover
Love
Hunk Wonder
Man Wonder
Hound Wonder
Former Teen Wonder
Twenty Something Wonder
Blue Wonder
Poor Lovable Naïve Dope
Pixie Boots
Cassandra Cain
Cass
Pretty much everyone calls her this.
Cassie
Some people call her this, specifically the people closest to her; Tim, Barbara, Bruce, Stephanie, and Duke. It’s generally used sparingly, especially considering Tim is close to ANOTHER Cassandra who goes by “Cassie” almost exclusively, so Cass is generally preferred to avoid confusion. But Cassie is tossed around.
Batghoul
Possibly Stephanie Brown exclusive, though easy enough that I wouldn’t be surprised if others called her that. She is notoriously spooky.
Bat-Babe
KON-EL/CONNER KENT EXCLUSIVE. These two are actually good friends and dated for a short time. They’re very cute. And they met at the time Kon was just…Like That.
Jason Todd
Jay
Literally everyone calls him this sometimes. Donna Troy has called him this. It’s a common nickname.
Jace/Jase
Also pretty common, but seems to mostly be among family. Dick and Bruce have at least both called him this.
The Toddster
Was called such by Danny Chase, who Jason may have been penpals with? He calls him that when he discovers Jason’s status in the system is “unknown”, leading him to find out he’s dead.
Rojo
Referred to himself as this once while he was still a crime boss, so presumably some of his gang called him this too. Obviously Spanish for red because Red Hood.
Little Bird
Possibly exclusive to Barbara Gordon, she called him this in a flashback.
Jan
That Dick and Tim Brady Bunch joke. Just imagine one of them looking Jason dead in the eye and saying “Sure, Jan.”
Little Wing
DICK GRAYSON EXCLUSIVE. Called Robin Jason this in Nightwing Year 1 and it’s very cute.
Jaybird
ROY HARPER EXCLUSIVE. The reason I’m making this post because no one seems to remember that Roy and only Roy has ever called Jason this. But any time these two appear together, it’s usually said at least once.
Stephanie Brown
Steph
Pretty much everyone calls her this at one point.
Stephie
A few people if I recall, but I know Tim’s called her that.
Blondie
Pretty sure a few people call her this, but notably Harper Row.
Damian Wayne Exclusives because He Was A Brat
Wench
Fatgirl
Girl Blunder
Timothy Drake
Tim
Everyone to the point where it’s just his name. Timothy is just legal.
Timmy
A lot of people call him this pretty teasingly. Dick, Jason, and Babs do it consistently, but that’s older siblings for ya. Bernard has done it too.
Timbo
Dick and Jason as well as his friend Ives have called Tim this at the very least. I’ve seen Tim mockingly refer to himself as this in his inner monologue, but that’s about it.
Timbers
I’ve only ever seen Jason call him this, but I could be missing things. Would not be surprised if Dick did too, but it’s very Jason.
Rob
Most of Young Justice called him that up until he revealed his name (which took a while because Bruce was being controlling and overprotective, as he does). Short for “Robin”, obviously, which is all they knew him as.
My Robin
I’m pretty sure each member of Young Justice has said this about Tim, though Conner does it the most and has the biggest negative reaction to literally anyone but Tim being Robin.
Baby Bats
As far as I’ve seen, once by some goon. Never been used as a term of endearment.
Cindy
DICK GRAYSON EXCLUSIVE. It’s that Brady Bunch joke again!
Pretender
JASON TODD EXCLUSIVE. Though it should be noted, he only directly called him this one time. Aside from that, he more refers to Tim as A pretender, not as like a nickname or title. It’s a description (like “replacement” was but fandom made that a nickname yes I am in fact bitter)
Duckboy
HARLEY QUINN EXCLUSIVE. She says this once, but it’s hilarious so I’m keeping it.
Detective
RA’S AL GHUL EXCLUSIVE. Ra’s is very particular about titles. The only other person he refers to as “Detective” is Bruce, so he is acknowledging Tim’s competence, which he does in other ways. And then proceeds to get a large portion of his resources obliterated by Tim <3
Stephanie Brown Exclusives because Girlfriend
Sweetie
Muffin
Boy Virgin
Duke Thomas
Narrows
Almost Jason exclusively, though I think Harper has called him this once or twice. In reference to the neighborhood he grew up in, as opposed to Jason and Harper's Park Row aka Crime Alley upbringing.
Newbie
Again Jason, but would be unsurprised if others called him that.
Baby Bird
ELAINE THOMAS EXCLUSIVE. Yeah, surprisingly Duke is actually called this by his mom.
Damian Wayne
Gremlin
Mostly exclusive to Tim, but Jason has called him this too. This also seems to be Tim’s go-to for Damian when not using his name or codename.
Dami
Used by Jon Kent and Talia al Ghul, so presumably those closest to him.
Little D
I think Barbara Gordon exclusive but I’m not sure.
Cousin Oliver
Not said to his face to my knowledge, but the Brady Bunch in-joke between Dick and Tim.
D
JON KENT EXCLUSIVE. I have yet to see anyone else call him this at least, and this is how Jon almost always refers to him.
Baby Bird
TALIA AL GHUL EXCLUSIVE. I’ve seen her call him this once, and I don’t recall ever seeing anyone else call him this.
Baby Bats
INJUSTICE HARLEY QUINN EXCLUSIVE. Used by Harley Quinn in Injustice and nowhere else.
Batbaby
DC VS VAMPIRES BLACK MASK EXCLUSIVE. Again, used nowhere else.
Tim Drake Exclusives because Tim is Petty and Damian was a Brat
Little Monster
Hobbit
Homunculus
Little snot
Spoiled, vicious and homicidal little punk
Heir to the Kingdom of the Damned
Note on how Damian refers to others:
Damian usually uses full first names or surnames, depending on circumstance and closeness. He occasionally calls Dick “Dick” or “Richard”, but often calls him “Grayson”. He almost always refers to Tim as “Drake”, but occasionally as “Timothy”.
Fanon names that I dislike
Replacement
Jason never once calls Tim this, and refers to Tim as A replacement about as much as Dick did about Jason (Yes Dick has at least once when talking to Bruce referred to Jason as his replacement). How common it is in this fandom to call Tim Replacement (with a capital R like it's a name or title!!!) drives me absolutely insane. It's not canon and tbh you can do better. Hell, "pretender" is right there! And Jason's a nerd, he could do better.
Baby Bird
Like…it’s cute, but given it’s used in fanon almost exclusively for Tim, and POST DAMIAN, it just feels infantalizing. Especially when the only canon uses are mother towards their kids. And it feels icky when people have Jason use it in an endearing way because tbh Jason would never. Jason respects Tim, but he takes his "brotherly duties" to annoy the shit out of him very seriously. If he were being gentle with Tim for some reason, he'd just use his name, maybe call him "kid" as he's called him that a few times. Dick might, but he's more likely to call him "little brother".
Big Bird
No one ever calls Dick that in canon and whenever I read it all I can think of is Sesame Street so unless a giant yellow muppet bird is what you're going for, maybe don't do that lol
Demon Brat
Not the most egregious thing, especially considering the numerous nicknames Tim comes up with, but the consistency of its usage in fanon is a little frustrating. This is never used in-canon, and if you want to use it in your fanworks, just maybe intersperse it with other more creative nicknames, yeah?
Jaylad
I don’t hate this one, but it’s such a huge misconception that it’s canon. Bruce has said “Jay, lad” a couple times because he calls like every boy he meets “lad” and people made up “Jaylad”. Not the worst thing ever, but it's not canon.
Golden Boy
I don't actually have a problem with this one, but I may as well clear up that this is canon as a descriptor but not as a nickname for Dick. Like calling Jason "the dead Robin". Like, people have said that about him in-canon, but they haven't called him that.
Non-canon nicknames I think are funny
Dick-face/Dickhead
I’m sorry, I find it hilarious whenever someone (usually Jason) in fanfic calls him this. It’s also to me just a silly exaggeration of the obvious joke that has been made at least once (but probably several times by now) in canon about someone being about to call Nightwing a dick and someone else reminding them not to use names in the field. I think it’s hilarious.
Timberly
I can’t tell you why this specific deviation of Tim is funny to me but it is. And I'm surprised I haven't seen Jason call Tim this in canon.
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