Nickname preceder, perhaps (3)
I believe the answer is:
aka
'nickname preceder perhaps' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
This is all the clue.
(Other definitions for aka that I've seen before include "Notation indicating alternative name - palindrome" , "Notation with initials indicating alternative name" , "Notation indicating alias or other name" , "Also called (abbrev.)" , "Using the byline" .)