Some nicknames are teasing and some are love. Learn to hear the difference before you get defensive.

The same words can carry opposite intentions, and the difference sits in the voice rather than the vocabulary. A name used by people who would defend you sounds nothing like that name used to make a group laugh at you. Reacting to the sound alone means sometimes pushing away the ones who meant it kindly.

Next time one lands badly, wait a beat and ask what you felt from the room, not just from the word. If it was warmth, let it be. If it was not, say plainly that you would rather be called your name, once and without heat.