I never had a nic or pet name as a child and only got stuck with Ernie after a colleague ferreted out some childhood secret about my collecting 'Ernest goes to...' movies when I was little. My family is originally from SC, and I can't recall anyone going by nic names, either.
My husband's family though is a different story...he is Arana ( means spider but his childhood crush was named Ariana), sisters are Chalia, Chavela, Peluchina, and Nidi. Brothers are Patas, Cheque, Rafa, And Bara- short for baracuda, since he's not the nicest guy.