I don't think anyone cares about nicknames, it's all the trying to use cute names to give them a different persona to the public, which is all well-intentioned, but it's generally the ones who preach "it's all how you raise them, if you raise them with love they won't be fighters and everything will be sweetness and light."
Ummm, not necessarily. They are what they are, and a hot dog is a hot dog and people NEED to be aware that a Terrier is a Terrier and they may very well need to be prepared to keep their pitbull separated from other animals.
Not being prepared for that causes probably as many pitbull types to be dumped and/or put down as the idiots who think they're baby eating aliens from Planet 9.