I come from a family where we rarely show emotions (last year, my grandmother got me really upset by being very cold on the phone, and since I was then both struggling with the loss of my dear dog and beginning to accept AS as a part of me (albeit without a diagnosis), I broke down completely. My mom told my aunt, who called my grandmother and told her to be kinder to me, and when my birthday came up, my grandmother had actually written on my birtday card that she and my grandfather loved me. That actually made my mom cry. I guess that gives you an idea of how things are here...), and so I'm not that used to pet names. While growing up, I was sometimes refered to as "Miss [surname]", which I hated, but that's about it. I have a male coworker who's about 15 years older than me who sometimes calls me what I guess would answer to "my dear" or "sweetie" in English, in a way that makes me feel cared for and safe - he says it as an older person who shows affection for a younger person.
I've never had a boyfriend, and I never use pet names on friends - it doesn't come naturally, and I find it very odd when hearing it from others. Also, I'm completely unable to reprogram my mind when someone wants to be called something different from what they were called when I first met them. However, when talking to my late dog and my current cat, I use a ridiculous range of pet names, so I guess I may turn out to be a horrible pet namer if I get a boyfriend... Unless, of course, I'm only able to use silly names when talking to someone who understands the tone of my voice but not the words I speak...
Maybe the use of gooey names is a way to tell the other person that one's willing to reduce onself to this impressive level of silliness because one trusts the other person that much? Like telling someone a secret to show them that you trust them?
_________________
"No, I'm not crazy, I'm eccentric. Big difference!"