# nickname

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈnɪkneɪm/ · frequency rank #8,176

## Definitions
1. A familiar, invented name for a person or thing used instead of the actual name of the person or thing, often based on some noteworthy characteristic.
2. A familiar, shortened or diminutive name for a person or thing.

## Etymology
From Middle English neke name, alteration (due to a rebracketing of an ekename as a nekename) of earlier ekename (“nickname”), from eke (“additional”) + name. Compare Old Norse aukanafn, auknafn, auknefni, Faroese eyknevni, Danish øgenavn, Norwegian Nynorsk aukenamn, Swedish öknamn, and German Low German Ökelname.
For other similar cases of incorrect division, see also apron, daffodil, newt, orange, umpire.

## Common misspellings (12)
`inckname`, `ncikname`, `nicckname`, `nickanme`, `nickkname`, `nicknaem`, `nicknamme`, `nicknmae`, `nicknname`, `nicnkame`, `nikcname`, `nnickname`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/nickname