"private, secret, or hidden name," 1868 (by 1855 in German); from crypto- "secret, hidden" + -onym "name," from Greek (from PIE root *no-men-"name").
Entries linking to cryptonym
crypto-
before vowels crypt-, word-forming element meaning "secret" or "hidden, not evident or obvious," used in forming English words at least since 1760 (crypto-Calvinianism), from Latinized form of Greek kryptos "hidden, concealed, secret" (see crypt; the Greek combining form was krypho-).
In 19c. often of secret religious faith; from 1870s in scientific words; since c. 1945 typically of hidden political loyalties. Crypto-fascist is attested from 1937; crypto-communist from 1946. Hence, as an abstracted noun, crypto "person who conceals a political adherence" (1946).
*no-men-
Proto-Indo-European root meaning "name."
It forms all or part of: acronym; allonym; ananym; anonymous; antonomasia; antonym; binomial; caconym; cognomen; denominate; eponym; eponymous; heteronym; homonym; homonymous; hyponymy; ignominious; ignominy; innominable; Jerome; matronymic; metonymy; metronymic; misnomer; moniker; name; nomenclature; nominal; nominate; noun; onomastic; onomatopoeia; paronomasia; paronym; patronym; patronymic; praenomen; pronoun; pseudonym; renown; synonym; synonymy; synonymous; toponym.
It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Sanskrit nama; Avestan nama; Greek onoma, onyma; Latin nomen; Old Church Slavonic ime, genitive imene; Russian imya; Old Irish ainm; Old Welsh anu "name;" Old English nama, noma, Old High German namo, Old Norse nafn, Gothic namo "name."