Is there a synonym for nickname including '-onym'?

Question

Words suffixed by '-onym' relate to different classifications of word, or more often, name.

They refer to myriad different names from endonym to theronym but I cannot find an appropriate term for a nickname.

Is there one?

Answer 1

Hypocoronym

It appears that I may have gone to EL&U too quickly; upon further inspection of a list of '-onym' words I found

Hypocoronym: A colloquial, usually unofficial, name of an entity; a pet-name or "nickname" (Wikipedia)

While this seems to fit the bill perfectly, it is the only definition I can find and is from Wikipedia. Since Wikipedia is not considered a reputable source for EL&U answer I have tried to find others, but they all seem to have the same text as the Wikipedia source.

Can anyone find a more reputable source?

Answer 2

It's complicated.

The short answer is that there is none. There is no word ending in '-onym' that is equivalent to nickname.

But there are related terms that capture what 'nickname' captures. A nickname, which etymologically means an 'also' name, can be a diminutive of the original name, a street name, an AKA, fanciful or not. Given that, the possibilities are:

• cognomen - this doesn't have '-onym' as the ending, but it can mean all those things. It's just 'another' name one is known by
• diminutive - this only covers things like Peggy for Margaret or Sasha for Alexander, but also means any other kind of small thing, like kitchenette.
• moniker - this means 'nickname' like 'cognomen' is of dubious provenance, but sounds like it could have been derived from 'nym' and metathesis
• pseudonym - a stage- or pen-name. What one is known as professionally. This has the -nym' suffix, is an alternative name, but is not normally considered a nickname

Some words that do not mean nickname but are close:

• paronym - a cognate, a word from another language. paranym means euphemism but is not given in M-W
• hypocorism - is a term of endearment, a pet-name, like 'sweetie' or 'dear'. Close, a vocative of sorts, but not actually a name. Wikipedia gives 'hypocoronym' as a word, but I can't find any evidence elsewhere that it is an accepted word.

The closest to your specifications is cognomen. If I were to make up a word, it would be paranym (purely by literal root meanings) but that is already taken.

Answer 3

Not exactly the same as "nickname", a "pseudonym" is a fictitious name used by an author to conceal his or her identity. It's also called a "pen name"

pseudonym - "a fictitious name adopted, esp by an author" (from Greek pseudōnumon, neuter of pseudōnumos, falsely named : pseudēs, false; see pseudo- + onuma, name)

There are differences between a nickname and a pseudonym, though. While a "pseudonym" is usually chosen by somenone to conceal his identity, a nickname is usually chosen by friends, acquaintances or colleagues. In addition, a nickname can also be used for animals, cities, etc.