What does "n" stand for in n-akyldiols, n-alkanes, n-dicholoroalkanes? I have read two conflicting answers upon a google search:


  " 'n' in this context stands for normal or the latin equivalent. That is why, like other Latin and Greek abbreviations, it is in italics. It refers to straight chain alkanes. If we weren't dealing with n-alkanes we would have branched chain isomers to consider and potentially very different answers. It is old nomenclature from the days when adjacent carbons in a molecule were designated alpha,beta,gamma, etc and when acidity was given in 'N' units of normality."


and 


  " 'n' in science is like "x". It is just a reminder that a number needs to be there. You need to know that numbers can be replaced by x, x/y, n, or any variable and that groups can be replaced by their generic names."
The "n" stands for "normal", which in this context means "straight-chain".  It is not italisized, since it is not Latin, but English.  In contrast, the prefixes "i" or "a" for "iso" and "anteiso" are Latin and are properly italisized, but rarely are.  

Your second choice, "n is like x", can be found in the subscripts of chemical formulae, where it does denote a variable amount.