Why nickname originally had no n
The word nickname did not originally begin with n. It developed from an eke-name, meaning an additional name. The letter crossed the boundary between the two words.
From eke-name to nickname
The old word eke meant an addition or something added. An eke-name was therefore another name added to a person’s ordinary one. When people heard an ekename, they gradually reinterpreted it as a nekename; this eventually became nickname.
The process has a name
Linguists call this rebracketing: speakers divide a phrase into its component words differently. The same process turned a napron into an apron. These are not planned reforms, just the cumulative result of people speaking and listening.
Nederlandse uitleg
In het Nederlands: nickname ontstond uit “an eke-name”, een extra naam. De n verschoof van het lidwoord naar het zelfstandig naamwoord.
Try it yourself
Say an eke-name several times quickly. Can you hear how it could be interpreted as a neke-name?
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Source: Merriam-Webster. Featured photograph by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash.