Why do girls call me "mama" ? why do they use that word instead of my name?

Of course they could just consider you as somewhat of a motherly figure, you know, one in whose presence you feel safer than normal, you might have given them advice on different things that they feel are more mature etc.

i heard many say that to women who are mothers, their friends not their kids ofcourse. And also many Latinas call their female friends mama and they call their guy friends papi. But the ones I have heard has said it to women of all sizes. Its just something friends say, I call my friends bitch all the time and so do they doesn't mean we think we are bitches.