Wikipedia:Article titles: Difference between revisions

{{Redirect-distinguish|WP:NAME|namesWP:Manual inof a biography's leadStyle/Biography#Names|MOSWP:NAME|usernameUsername policy|WP:U|namespaces|WP:NSNamespaces}}

{{Redirect-distinguish|WP:NC|all the topical naming conventions|:Category:Wikipedia naming conventions|the North Carolina WikiProject|WikipediaWP:WikiProject North Carolina}}

{{Redirect-distinguish|WP:AT|the WikiProject about Austria|WikipediaWP:WikiProject Austria}}

<h1></nowiki></code> element on the page, but because editors have the ability to add any level of heading to a page's text, that cannot be guaranteed. An additional <code><nowiki>=Level-1 heading=</nowiki></code> found in an article body should be converted to <code><nowiki>==Level 2==</nowiki></code>, and any subsections under it adjusted to compensate.}} The title indicates what the article is about and distinguishes it from other articles.{{efn|The title displayed as the article's main heading is usually identical (and always similar) to the stored title by which the page is referenced in category listings, recent changes lists, etc., and that appears (suitably encoded as necessary) in the page's [[URL]]. For technical details, see [[Wikipedia:Page name]].}}

* {{anchor|CONCISE|concise}}'''Concision''' – The title is nonot longer than necessary to identify the article's subject and distinguish it from other subjects. {{xref|(See {{section link||Concision}}, below.)}}

* {{anchor|CONSISTENT|Consistency|consistent}}'''Consistency''' – The title is consistent with the pattern of similar articles' titles. Many of these patterns are listed (and linked) as [[#nameconbox|'''topic-specific naming conventions on article titles''']], in the box above. {{xref|(See {{section link||Consistent titlingConsistency}}, below.)}}

{{Shortcut|WP:UCRN|WP:COMMONNAME|WP:COMMONTERM}}

In Wikipedia, an article title is a [[natural-language]] word or expression that indicates the subject of the article; as such, the article title is usually the name of the person, or of the place, or of whatever else the topic of the article is. However, some topics have multiple names, and some names have multiple topics; this can lead to disagreement about which name should be used for a given article's title. Wikipedia does not necessarily use the subject's "official" name as an article title; it generally prefers the name that is most commonly used (as determined by its prevalence in a significant majority of [[WPWikipedia:SOURCESIndependent sources|independent]], [[Wikipedia:Reliable sources|reliable]], English-language sources]]) as such names will usually best fit the [[WP:CRITERIA|five criteria]] listed above.{{efn|This includes but is not limited to usage in the sources used as references for the article. Discussions about article titles commonly look at additional off-site sourcing, such as frequency of usage in news publications, books, and journals.

"Common name" in the context of article naming means a {{em|commonly or frequently used name}}, and not necessarily a [[commonCommon name|common (vernacular) name]], as opposed to [[scientific name]], as used in some disciplines.}} When there is no single, obvious name that is demonstrably the most frequently used for the topic by these sources, editors should reach a consensus as to which title is best by considering these criteria directly.

Sometimes the subject of an article will undergo a change of name. When this occurs, we give extra weight to [[WPWikipedia:SOURCESVerifiability#Reliable sources|independent, reliable, English-language sources]] ("reliable sources" for short) written after the name change. If the reliable sources written after the change is announced routinely use the new name, Wikipedia should follow suit and change relevant titles to match. If, on the other hand, reliable sources written after the name change is announced continue to use the established name ''{{em|when discussing the article topic in the present day''}}, Wikipedia should continue to do so as well, as described above inat "[[#Use{{section commonly recognizable nameslink||Use commonly recognizable names]]"}}.

[[WPWikipedia:What Wikipedia is not#Wikipedia is not a crystal ball|Wikipedia is not a crystal ball]]. We do not know what terms or names will be used in the future, but only what is and has been in use, and is therefore familiar to our readers. However, [[Wikipedia:Common sense|common sense]] can be applied &nbsp;– if the subject of an article has a name change, it is reasonable to consider the usage following the change in [[WPWikipedia:IRSReliable sources|reliable]], English-language sources. This provision also applies to names used as part of descriptive titles.

{{Shortcut|WP:MOSATATEC|WP:ATNC}}

Wikipedia has many ''naming conventions'' relating to specific subject domains (as listed in the box at the top of this page). In rare cases, these recommend the use of titles that are not strictly the common name (as in the case of the [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style (medicine-related articles)|conventions for medicine]]). This practice of using specialized names is often controversial, and should not be adopted unless it produces clear benefits outweighing the use of common names;. whenWhen it is, the article titles adopted should follow a neutral and common convention specific to that subject domain, and otherwise adhere to the general principles for titling articles on Wikipedia.

==Precision and disambiguation==

{{Shortcut|WP:PRECISION|WP:PRECISE|WP:OVERPRECISION}}

It is not always possible to use the exact title that may be desired for an article, as that title may have other meanings, and therefore may have been already used for other articles. According to the above-mentioned [[WP:PRECISION|precision criterion]], whenonly aas moremuch detaileddetail titleas is necessary to distinguish an articleone topic from another, useshould onlybe as much additional detail as necessaryused. For example, it would be redundant to title an article "Queen (rock band)", as [[Queen (band)]] is precise enough to distinguish the rock band from [[Queen (disambiguation)|other uses of the term "Queen"]]. This may leadresult to somein acceptable inconsistencyinconsistencies; for instance, the article on chickens is found at [[Chicken]], but the article on turkeys is at [[Turkey (bird)]] to disambiguate it from the country [[Turkey]].

====Parenthetical disambiguation{{<span class="anchor|" id="PARENDIS|"></span><span class="anchor" id="PARENTHDIS}}"></span>====

Ambiguity may arise when typographically near-identical expressions have distinct meanings, e.g. [[iron maiden]] vs. [[Iron Maiden]], or [[friendly fire]] vs. the other meanings listed at [[Friendly Fire (disambiguation)|Friendly Fire]]. The general approach is that whatever readers might type in the search box, they are guided as swiftly as possible to the topic they might reasonably be expected to be looking for, by such disambiguation techniques as [[WP:HATNOTE|hatnotes]] and/or [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Disambiguation pages|disambiguation pages]]. When such navigation aids are in place, small details are usuallyoften sufficient to distinguish topics, e.g. [[MAVEN]] vs. [[Maven]]; ''[[Airplane!]]'' vs. [[Airplane]]; [[Sea-Monkeys]] vs. [[SeaMonkey]]; ''[[The Wörld Is Yours]]'' vs. other topics listed at [[The World Is Yours]].

* {{-r|Gray Poupon}} redirects to [[Grey Poupon]]; an album of that name is at [[Gray Poupon (album)|''Gray Poupon'' (album)]]

===Concision===

On the English Wikipedia, article titles are written using the English language. However, it must be remembered that the English language contains many loan words and phrases taken from other languages. If a word or phrase (originally taken from some other language) is commonly used by English-language sources, it can be considered to be an English-language word or phrase (example: [[coup d'état]] or ''[[coup d'état]]''<!--(is there an example title that is not italicized throughout the article?)-->).

In deciding whether and how to [[translation|translate]] a foreign name into English, follow English-language usage. If there is no established English-language treatment for a name, translate it if this can be done without loss of accuracy and with greater understanding for the English-speaking reader.

Do not use titles suggesting that one article forms part of another: even if an article is considered subsidiary to another (as where [[Wikipedia:Summary style|summary style]] is used), it should be named independently. For example, an article on transport in Azerbaijan should not be given a name like "Azerbaijan/Transport" or "Azerbaijan&nbsp;(transport)",; use [[Transport in Azerbaijan]]. (This does not always apply in non-article [[Help:Namespace|namespaces]]; {{crossreference|see [[WP:Subpages]]}}.)

Changing one controversial title to another ''without'' a discussion that leads to consensus is strongly discouraged. If an article title has been stable for a long time,<ref>{{efn|1=No clear consensus has been found for a timeframe, see [[Wikipedia:Stable version to revert to]] (and the [https[Wikipedia talk://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia_talk:Stable_version_to_revert_to&diff=1021445600&oldid=1016722532Stable version to revert to| talk page]]). theThe content change after the move is also relevant, as well as the time a previous move was made. meaning ifIf significant changes have been made after a move, several months may be considered "stable". otherwiseOtherwise, significantly longer is generally required.</ref>}} and there is no good reason to change it, it should not be changed. Consensus among editors determines if there does exist a good reason to change the title. If it has never been stable, or it has been unstable for a long time, and no consensus can be reached on what the title should be, default to the title the article had when the first major contribution after the article ceased to be a [[Wikipedia:stub|stub]] was made.<!--The previous sentence is quoted verbatim at Wikipedia:Consensus#No consensus; if it is changed here, be sure to update the quotation there.-->{{efn|This paragraph was adopted to stop move warring. It is an adaptation of the wording in the [[WP:MOS|Manual of Style]], which is based on the Arbitration Committee's decision in the [[Wikipedia:Requests for arbitration/Jguk|Jguk case]].}}