I have a friend from Bangladesh who calls women “dahling” and men “my friend” (think Billy Crystal as Fernando Lamas – just like that) for the same reason – many American names are hard for him to remember. He can pull it off, though, with his big smile and charming accent.
Early in our relationship, Mr. S and I started calling each other “Dear” simply as a joke – but whaddya know, it caught on and now we mean it. Most of the time. 