Prima mentio nota fossati reperitur in charta donationis terrae in oppido Audenshaw monachis cellae Kersal. In charta fossatum et Anglice ''Mykelldiche'' et Latine ''magnum fossatum'' nominaturappellatur.<ref name="N92 78"/> Nomen ''Nico'' (aliquando ''Nikker'') saeculis XIX et XX commune fit. Duceri potest a ''[[Nickar|Hnickar]]'' Anglo-Saxonico, spiritu aquatico qui viatores captos mergebat, sed nomen hodiernum veri simile est corruptio nominis ''Mykelldiche'', a vocabulis ''micel'', 'magnum', et ''diche'', 'fossatum'.<ref name="N92 78"/> At alii nomen a vocabulo Anglo-Saxonico ''nǽcan'', 'necare', ducent.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bosworthandtoller.com/read.htm?page_nr=706 |author= Based on the manuscript collections of the late Joseph Bosworth, D.D. F.R.S |title=Online Anglo-Saxon dictionary. |publisher=Clarendon Press |year=1998 |accessdate=25 August 2007}}</ref>
