nick ‧ name /ˈnɪkneɪm/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Date: 1400-1500 ; Origin: an ekename , mistaken for a nekename , from eke 'also' (11-19 centuries) (from Old English eac ) + name ]
a name given to someone, especially by their friends or family, that is not their real name and is often connected with what they look like or something they have done
nickname for
We had nicknames for all the teachers.
Stephen earned himself the nickname Hawkeye.
—nickname verb [transitive] :
She was nicknamed Sunny because of her happy nature.
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THESAURUS
▪ first name ( also given name especially American English formal ) the name chosen for you by your parents:
People usually call each other by their first name.
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Please write your given name and your date of birth.
▪ Christian name old-fashioned first name:
His Christian name was Joseph.
▪ last name/family name/surname the name that you share with your family or husband. Most English speakers would say last name . Surname sounds slightly formal:
Can I have your last name?
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Johnson is a common English family name.
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At school they used to call each other by their surnames.
▪ middle name the name between your first and last names:
Harry Potter’s middle name is James.
▪ full name your first name, middle name, and last name:
I need your full name and address.
▪ maiden name a woman’s family name before she married and began using her husband’s name:
My mother’s maiden name was Higgins.
▪ married name a woman’s family name after she gets married, if she uses her husband’s name:
I don’t know what her married name is.
▪ nickname a name that people call you because of your appearance, personality etc, which is not your real name:
At school he was given the nickname ‘Shorty’.
▪ stage name the name that an actor uses which is not their real name:
She began acting in her childhood under the stage name Marjorie Moore.
▪ pen name ( also pseudonym formal ) a name that a writer uses which is not their real name:
Mark Twain was his pen name. His real name was Samuel Clemens.
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She wrote under the pseudonym of George Eliot.
▪ under an assumed name using a false name in order to hide your real name:
He had rented the car under an assumed name.
▪ alias /ˈeɪliəs/ a false name, especially one used by a criminal:
He uses a number of aliases.
▪ appellation formal a name which describes something – a very formal use:
This fine city justifies its appellation ‘the Pearl of the Orient’.
▪ sobriquet formal a nickname – a very formal use:
Jackson gained the sobriquet ‘Stonewall’ at the Battle of Bull Run.