Wikipedia:Naming conventions (people)

This guideline contains conventions on how to name Wikipedia articles about individual people. It should be read in conjunction with Wikipedia's general policy on article naming, Wikipedia:Article titles.

Most biographical articles have titles in the form <First name> <Last name>, as with Albert Einstein and Margaret Thatcher. This guideline explains how to handle cases where this format is not obvious, or for one reason or other is not followed.

Scope of this guideline

In general this guideline deals with the naming of articles where a single article is devoted to a single person (although there are also sections on articles combining biographies of several people and several articles treating the same person).

This guideline does not cover articles on organizations or other groups of people, things named after people (such as Saint Denis Basilica or RMS Queen Elizabeth 2), or gods and deities. Naming of such articles may be covered by other relevant guidelines: see the box at top right. Otherwise, consult the general article naming policy.

This guideline also does not apply to fictional characters. In those cases where it's not clear whether a character is fictional or not, it is suggested to have either separate articles for the "fictional" and the "non-fictional" character (example: P. D. Q. Bach and Peter Schickele), or to create a single article under the most commonly used name.

Redirects should be created from other names by which readers are likely to search for articles. For the naming of disambiguation pages, see Wikipedia:Disambiguation.

Article titles for certain groups of people are dealt with on more specialized guideline pages. See:

• Wikipedia:Naming conventions (ancient Romans)
• Wikipedia:Naming conventions (royalty and nobility) (dealing mainly with Western monarchs and nobles after antiquity)
• Wikipedia:Naming conventions (clergy)
• Wikipedia:Naming conventions (government departments and ministers)
• Wikipedia:Naming conventions (baseball players)

There are also several other naming conventions for specific languages and cultures (see the box at top right).

Standard format and variations

The "<First Name> <Last Name>" format applies to the majority of biographical articles on Wikipedia. These are not normally problematic, except possibly in terms of orthography, which is treated in the guidelines for particular languages (see box at top right).

However, there are also many biographical article titles that do not have "<First Name> <Last Name>" format, either because the person has no name in that form, or because they are much better known by some other name. The following sections cover cases where other formats may be considered or where other issues arise with applying the standard format.

People from countries where the surname comes first

The conventions for dealing with such names vary from country to country, and are normally covered in specialized guidelines, such as those for Chinese, Korean and Japanese. With Hungarian names, use Western name order (given name before surname).

Single name

Sometimes, mostly for names from antiquity, a single word is traditional and sufficient to identify a person unambiguously: Aristotle, Livy, Plutarch, Charlemagne, Fibonacci, etc.

Some modern examples include Sukarno and Suharto of Indonesia; and Hirohito of Japan.

Using the last name as the page title for a person, when the first name is also known and used, is discouraged, even if that name would be unambiguous, and even if it consists of more than one word. Unambiguous last names are usually redirects: for example, Ludwig van Beethoven is the title of an article, while Van Beethoven and Beethoven redirect to that article.

Similarly, don't use a first name (even if unambiguous) for an article title if the last name is known and fairly often used. For example, Oprah Winfrey is the article title, and Oprah redirects there. Only if the single name is used as a true artist's name (stage name, pseudonym, etc.) can the recommendations of Nicknames, pen names, stage names, cognomens below be followed.

Exceptionally the use of a single name without any other qualifier as article title helps in disambiguation, for example Tacitus (the author) is seldom confused with the emperor with the same name. More often it doesn't help, for example "Prince" has many meanings, so a disambiguator is still required for Prince (musician).

Middle names and abbreviated names

Generally, use the most common format of a name used in reliable sources: if that is with a middle name or an abbreviation, make the Wikipedia article title conform to that format. Examples: John F. Kennedy, Thomas John Barnardo, Annie M. G. Schmidt.

For abbreviations:

• If the version of an article name with the first and middle names written in full is used nearly as often as the version with abbreviated names followed by a period, prefer the version with these names written in full. Example: Johann Sebastian Bach and not J. S. Bach, although the latter has more Google hits.
• There is no consensus for always using spaces between initials, neither for never using them. However, in most Wikipedia articles where the subject uses two consecutive initials, the space between initials is used; see Literary initials.

Patronymics are widely used in Russia where English speakers would use a surname, thus should generally be included in the first line of the article, but are not usually used in the title of the English Wikipedia article.

Important: provide redirects wherever possible (or appropriate disambiguation where redirects are not possible) for all other formats of a name that are also in use, or could reasonably be typed in Wikipedia's "Search" box by someone looking for information about that person.

See also section about pen names, nicknames and cognomens below: prefer what is most common, e.g. Malcolm X and F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Adding middle names, or their abbreviations, merely for disambiguation purposes (if that format of the name is not commonly used to refer to the person) is not advised.

Multiple and changed surnames

Some Western cultures use a "double last name" format, or add patronymics or matronymics. Also, people sometimes change their surnames, particularly on marriage.

The general rule in such cases is to title the article with the name by which the person is best known. Some examples are listed below.

• Josep Puig i Cadafalch – Puig is the last name of his father, Cadafalch of his mother; i means "and" (see Iberian naming customs).
• Antoni Gaudí – not Antoni Gaudí i Cornet; this architect is better known without the matronymic.
• Virginia Woolf – born Virginia Stephen, she took the married surname Woolf. The article title contains "Woolf" because that is the name by which she is best known.
• Vita Sackville-West – her birth name, not her married name Vita Nicolson, which is rarely used.
• Alberta Christine Williams King – born Alberta Christine Williams, she simply added her husband's surname, unhyphenated.
• Tatyana Sukhotina-Tolstaya – on marriage she combined the feminized versions of her husband's and father's surnames.
• Courteney Cox – on marriage she became Courteney Cox-Arquette, but she is still best known by the surname Cox, so the article title reflects that.

If a name is the evident choice of the article subject, it is likely to be common; but evidence of actual usage is to be preferred if available.

Adding or subtracting a second last name artificially, as a disambiguation aid, is rarely advised. The most usual form of the name is the one that should be used.

"X of Y" format

Some people, particularly historical figures, are known by names in the format "<First name> of <Location>", such as Stephen of Ripon and Anne of Cleves. If, for a given person, this format is more often used than the usual "<First name> <Last name>" format, then it should be used as the article title.

If alternative "locations" are in use, then use the more common one. For example, Jeanne of Flanders and Jeanne of Constantinople both refer to the same person, but the first version is slightly more used, so that is the preferred article name.

Note that for monastics, names in the form "X of Y" may exist where "Y" is not a location. If a variant with a location exists, that is the version preferred as the article title. For example:

• Teresa of Ávila, not "Teresa of Jesus" (translation of "Teresa de Jesús," the way she signed her letters and was known in her convent); but
• John of the Cross, translation of "Juan de la Cruz"; no variant with a location available.

Sometimes the "of <Location>" part is differently formatted: "à Kempis" (in: Thomas à Kempis) would by many be perceived as a last name, while in fact it is "of Kempen" differently formatted. Such an alternative format is only used for an article title when in English the name is nearly exclusively written in that form (compare: Thomas Becket and not Thomas à Becket).

The "X of Y" format is widely used in Wikipedia for monarchs (see the royalty and nobility guideline). For many monarchs and saints this format is useful for disambiguation, although in some cases the ambiguity persists – see for example Elisabeth of Bohemia (disambiguation).

Ordinals

For guidance on the use of ordinals with the names of European monarchs and other European nobility, see the royalty and nobility guideline.

For others, use ordinals if they are commonly used in reliable sources, for example:

• Henry Ford II (grandson of Henry Ford)
• Martin Luther King III, but not Martin Luther King II, who is usually known as Martin Luther King, Jr.

Use ordinals for disambiguation only when naming the ordinal explicitly is the commonest way to refer to the person. So it is Henry Vane the Younger, not Henry Vane II.

Nicknames, pen names, stage names, cognomens

The name used most often to refer to a person in reliable sources is generally the one that should be used as the article title, even if it is not their "real" name, and even if it appears to pass judgement on the person (as with Alfred the Great).

If people published under one or more pen names and/or their own name, the best known of these names is chosen.

Examples of pen names, stage names etc. used as article titles:

• George Eliot, pen name of Mary Ann Evans
• H. G. Wells: as author, Herbert George Wells abbreviated both his forenames
• Le Corbusier, not "Charles-Édouard Jeanneret"
• Scotty Bowman, not "William Scott Bowman"
• Dizzy Gillespie, not "John Birks Gillespie"
• 50 Cent, not "Curtis James Jackson III"
• MC Hammer, not "Stanley Burrell"

For guidance on the use of cognomens or other titles for monarchs and nobles, see the royalty and nobility guideline.

Titles and styles

Styles, such as "His Grace" or "HRH", are not used in the page titles of biographical articles.

Honorifics and other titles such as "King", "Queen", "Blessed", "Mother", "Father", "Doctor", "Mister", "Mrs" etc. are not generally used to begin the titles of biographical articles, unless they are used to form the unambiguous name by which the subject is clearly best known (as in Mother Teresa, Father Damien).

Where such qualifiers are used, they are not abbreviated (unless the abbreviation is the only form used, as with "Mrs").

Redirects should be created from commonly used forms containing such qualifiers; this may include abbreviated forms. For example, Blessed John Forrest redirects to John Forest, and Dr Livingstone redirects to David Livingstone.

For guidance on the use of the title "Saint", and for clerical titles such as "Pope", see the clergy naming guideline.

For the use of titles in the names of articles on monarchs, other royals and members of the nobility, see the royalty and nobility guideline.

Descriptive titles

When the subject is known by a description, and not by a name, use it.

• Master of the Saint Bartholomew Altarpiece (whose name is unknown)

Exceptionally, when no direct name (not even a nickname) can be given for a person, or when such a name would have too much uncertainty and/or lack wide recognisability, a descriptive article title may be appropriate. For example:

• Pontius Pilate's wife (names exist, but are lacking a degree of certainty and broad recognisability)

Do not do this for disambiguation alone.

Disambiguating

As with many other Wikipedia articles, the titles of articles on people (arrived at using the principles described above) sometimes require further disambiguation. An article title will require disambiguation if there are other articles to which the plain title could also refer, unless the subject of the current article is considered to be the primary topic for that title.

When there is a usual way of distinguishing two people of the same name, use it. Examples:

• Martin Luther King, Sr. and Martin Luther King, Jr. (note also Martin Luther King III)
• John F. Kennedy, Jr. and John F. Kennedy
• Pliny the Elder and Pliny the Younger
• Louis the Pious and Louis the Stammerer
• Apollonius of Rhodes and Apollonius of Tyana
• George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush.

In the case of Senior/Junior, the preferred format is with ", Sr." or ", Jr." written after the name; for Latin and Greek names, "the Elder"/"the Younger" (or in some cases "the Great(er)"/"the Lesser") is preferred (with that capitalisation) rather than "Major"/"Minor".

If there is no usual form of conventional disambiguation, place a disambiguating tag in parentheses after the name. Examples:

• William Henry (delegate), William Henry (chemist), William Henry (congressman), William Henry (actor), ...
• Eddy Merckx (the cyclist; primary topic, so no tag required), Eddy Merckx (billiards player)
• Prince (musician), disambiguated from the other meanings of "Prince" listed at Prince (disambiguation)

The disambiguator is usually a noun indicating what the person is noted for being. Some of these are standard, commonly-used tags, such as "(musician)" and "(politician)". Try to avoid abbreviations or anything capitalised or containing hyphens, dashes or numbers (apart from where more specific guidelines specify particular exceptions to that), and also try to limit the tag to a single, recognisable and highly applicable word. Years of birth and death are not normally used as disambiguators (readers are more likely to be seeking this information than to already know it).

Sometimes disambiguators need to be more specific than usual. For example, "Engelbert Humperdinck (musician)" could still refer to two different people, so Engelbert Humperdinck (composer) and Engelbert Humperdinck (singer) are used.

Other examples where more creative disambiguation is required include the following:

• Roger Meddows-Taylor and Roger Taylor (Duran Duran drummer) (two drummers called Roger Taylor)
• Jessica Collins (actress born 1971) and Jessica Collins (actress born 1983) (two actresses called Jessica Collins)
• James Stephen Smith and Steve Smith (ice hockey) (two ice hockey defensemen born in 1963 called Steve Smith; this avoids excessively long tags such as Steve Smith (Edmonton Oilers, Chicago Blackhawks), Steve Smith (ice hockey defenceman b. 1963 in Scotland), Steve Smith (Canadian-born ice hockey player), etc.)

Articles combining biographies of several people

Occasionally, multiple persons with a strong connection are treated in a single article (the individuals may or may not also be the subject of separate articles). Examples include:

• Peruzzi, a family as an entity of interest in its own right (the family name is used as the article title)
• Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, a musical group named after its members
• Artist duos such as Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Pierre et Gilles, Gilbert and George, Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer
• Other duos such as Sacco and Vanzetti, Theodora and Didymus, Vandino and Ugolino Vivaldi, Godley & Creme
• Author duos writing under a single name, such as Nicci French, Ellery Queen
• Wright brothers, de Vriendt brothers, Del Rubio triplets, NatWest Three, Guildford Four (without "the", per Wikipedia:Naming conventions (definite and indefinite articles at beginning of name))
• In the case of bands, particularly for band members who do not have separate articles, biographical notes are often included in the article on the band.

Note that a page titled with a single first name or family name will often be a disambiguation page, but a more informative page may be created, with information about the name itself (etymology, variants and so on). See, for example, Peter and Katz. However, if the additional information consists of more than a short introductory paragraph, it is better to make separate "description" and "disambiguation" pages, for instance: John (name) and John - in this case John (disambiguation) redirects to the latter of these pages. Jean only has a disambiguation page, but the introduction of this page links to John (name) for the etymology.

Normally, if multiple people share the same name, a disambiguation page (or disambiguation using hatnotes) is used, Occasionally, however, a single page may be created for a number of people with the same name. (See Category:Articles about multiple people.)

This is quite often done for ancient Roman names, such as Julia Caesaris. Brief information is given on each person in a separate section, with a link to an individual article on that person if one exists. Even if there are no subarticles, the same layout can be used, that is: one "==...==" level section per person by this name (example: Lucius Valerius Flaccus). A mixed example (some sections having subarticles, while others haven't) can be found at Lucius Julius Caesar. (Such pages are placed in Category:Articles about multiple people in ancient Rome.)

Several articles treating the same person

The essentials of a person's life and significance can generally be summarized in less than 30/32 KB. If additional encyclopedic content seems justified, the Isaac Newton article structure can be followed: split the article on the person in sections: each section giving a summary of another article detailing a specific part of that person's life stage or significance in history. Best to make a link to such other articles in the {{Main|<sub-article name>}} format, immediately under the title of level "==" sections. A similar style with {{Details|<sub-article name>}} templates can be followed, as explained at Wikipedia:Summary style.

Articles on peoples (ethnicities and tribes)

Tswana
Person	Motswana
People	Batswana
Language	Setswana
Country	Botswana

See also: Wikipedia:Naming conventions (languages)

Where a common name exists in English for both a people and their language, that term is preferred, especially when borrowed native forms involve different prefixes or are otherwise not transparently related. For example, Tswana people and Tswana language, with redirects placed at Batswana and Setswana. The template {{Infobox NC name}} may be used to list the various affixed forms, as at right for Tswana.

A people should not be called a "tribe" unless they are actually a tribe (sub-ethnicity) rather than an ethnic group or a nation, even if references commonly call them tribes, as that label can be offensive when used inaccurately. Examples are the Walla Walla tribe of the Sahaptin people and the Ohuhu tribe of the Igbo people. In the case of an article on a tribal government with 'tribe' in its name, the word 'tribe' is capitalized, as in Spirit Lake Tribe.

See also

• Wikipedia:Manual of Style (biographies)