A nickname is a descriptive name given in place of or in addition to the official name of a person, place or thing. Another class of nickname is the familiar or truncated form of the proper name, which may sometimes be used simply for convenience (ex. Bob, Bobby, Bobert, Rob, Robbie, and Bert for Robert), sometimes referred to as a short name.

The term hypocoristic is used to refer to a nickname of affection between those in love or with a close emotional bond, compared with a term of endearment. The term diminutive name refers to nicknames that convey smallness in the names, e.g., referring to children. The distinction between the two is often blurred.

As a concept, it is distinct from both pseudonym and stage name, and also from a title (for example, City of Fountains), although there may be overlap in these concepts.

A nickname is sometimes considered desirable, symbolising a form of acceptance, but can often be a form of ridicule.

Etymology

The compound word ekename, literally meaning "additional name," was attested as late as 1303. This word was derived from the Old English phrase eaca "an increase", related to eacian "to increase"). By the 15th Century, the misdivision of the syllables of the phrase "an ekename" led to its corruption into the form "a nekename." Though spelling has changed, the pronunciation and meaning of the word have remained relatively stable ever since.

In Viking societies, many people had nicknames heiti, viðrnefni or uppnefni which were used in addition to, or instead of their family names. In some circumstances the giving of a nickname had a special status in Viking society in that it created a relationship between the name maker and the recipient of the nickname, to the extent that the creation of a nickname also often entailed a formal ceremony and an exchange of gifts. Slaves have often used nicknames, so that the master who heard about someone doing something could not identify the slave. In capoeira, a Brazilian martial art, the slaves had nicknames, to protect them from being caught, as practicing capoeira was illegal for decades.

One popular but inaccurate explanation for the origin of the term "nickname" is that it was in opposition to what has been referred to (in the 18th and 19th centuries, at least, and even into the 20th) as one's "Christian name," i.e., a proper name. This was based on one appellation for the Devil, also known as "Old Nick."

Computing

In the context of information technology, a nickname (or technically a nick) is a common synonym for a screenname or handle.

Nickname is a name to shorten a name. Nick is a term originally used to identify a person in a system for synchronous conferencing. In computer networks it has become a common practice for every person to also have one or more nicknames for the purposes of anonymity, to avoid ambiguity or simply because the natural name or technical address would be too long to type or take too much space on the screen.