An additional or familiar name.
The n from “an” became attached to the next word.
A familiar or descriptive name.
A word boundary moved: an eke name became a nickname.
A name added to a name
Before there were nicknames, English had an eke name: an extra name added to someone’s usual one. The old word eke meant “increase” or “add”, and survives in the expression eke out — making something go further.
The wandering n
Say “an eke name” aloud. The n at the end of an can sound as though it belongs to the next word. Over time, speakers reinterpreted the boundary: an eke name became a neke name, and eventually a nickname. Linguists call this kind of change rebracketing or misdivision.
What the dates tell us
The older ekename is recorded around 1300; forms such as neke name appear by the mid-fifteenth century. The shift was not a single inventor’s clever coinage. It emerged from ordinary speech and spelling over generations.
Why it is memorable
The word describes an extra name, but its own history is about an extra consonant. Its story is a reminder that word boundaries, which look so solid on a printed page, are less obvious in spoken language.
Was it named after someone called Nick?
No. The nick- of nickname is not a reference to a person called Nick. It arose when the n moved across a word boundary.
Check the evidence
Dates are approximate and reflect recorded evidence, not the moment a word was first spoken. Read our research approach.
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