Wikipedia:Article titles

Several terms redirect here. For other uses, seeWP:TITLE (disambiguation),WP:NAME (disambiguation),andWP:NC (disambiguation).

"WP:AT" redirects here. Not to be confused withWP:WikiProject Austria.

This page is about the policy governing how to select an article title. For technical information about the titles of pages, seeWikipedia:Page name.

AWikipediaarticle titleis the large heading displayed above the article's content, and the basis for the article'spage nameandURL.The title indicates what the article is about and distinguishes it from other articles.

The title may simply be the name (or a name) of the subject of the article, or, if the article topic has no name, it may be a description of the topic. Because no two articles can have the same title,it is sometimes necessary to add distinguishing information, often in the form of a description inparenthesesafter the name. Generally, article titles are based on what the subject is called inreliable sources.When this offers multiple possibilities, editors choose among them by consideringseveral principles:the ideal article title precisely identifies the subject; it is short, natural, distinguishable and recognizable; and resembles titles for similar articles.

This page explains in detail the considerations, ornaming conventions,on which choices of article titles are based. This page doesnotdetail titling for pages in other namespaces, such ascategories.It is supplemented by other more specific guidelines (see the box to the right), which should be interpreted in conjunction with other policies, particularly the three core content policies:Verifiability,No original research,andNeutral point of view.

If necessary, an article's title can be changed by a page move.For information on page move procedures, seeWikipedia:Moving a page,andWikipedia:Requested moves.

Deciding on an article title

"WP:CRITERIA" redirects here. For criteria of other actions, seeWikipedia:Criteria (disambiguation).

Article titles arebased on howreliable English-language sourcesrefer to the article's subject. There is often more than one appropriate title for an article. In that case, editors choose the best title byconsensusbased on the considerations that this page explains. A good Wikipedia article title has the five following characteristics:

• Recognizability– The title is a name or description of the subject that someone familiar with, although not necessarily an expert in, the subject area will recognize.
• Naturalness– The title is one that readers are likely to look or search for and that editors would naturally use to link to the article from other articles. Such a title usually conveys what the subject is actually called in English.
• Precision– The title unambiguously identifies the article's subject and distinguishes it from other subjects.(See§ Precision and disambiguation,below.)
• Concision– The title is not longer than necessary to identify the article's subject and distinguish it from other subjects.(See§ Concision,below.)
• Consistency– The title is consistent with the pattern of similar articles' titles. Many of these patterns are listed (and linked) astopic-specific naming conventions on article titles,in the box above.(See§ Consistency,below.)

These should be seen as goals, not as rules. For most topics, there is a simple and obvious title that meets these goals satisfactorily. If so, use it as a straightforward choice. However, in some cases the choice is not so obvious. It may be necessary to favor one or more of these goals over the others. This is done by consensus. For instance, the recognizable, natural, and concise titleUnited Kingdomis preferred over the more precise titleUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.(For more details, see§ Use commonly recognizable names,below.)

When titling articles in specific fields, or with respect to particular problems, there is often previous consensus that can be used as a precedent. Look to the guideline pages referenced. When no previous consensus exists, a new consensus is established through discussion, with the above questions in mind. The choice of article titles should put the interests of readers before those of editors, and those of a general audience before those of specialists.

Redirectsshould be created to articles that may reasonably be searched for or linked to under two or more names (such asdifferent spellingsorformer names). Conversely, a name that could refer to several different articles may requiredisambiguation.

Use commonly recognizable names

See also:Wikipedia:Official names

In Wikipedia, an article title is anatural-languageword 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 ofindependent,reliable,English-language sources) as such names will usually best fit thefive criterialisted above.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.

For cases where usage differs among English-speaking countries, see alsoNational varieties of English,below.

Editors should also considerall five of the criteria for article titlesoutlined above. Ambiguousor inaccurate names for the article subject, as determined in reliable sources, are often avoided even though they may be more frequently used by reliable sources. Neutrality is also considered; see§ Neutrality in article titles,below. Article titles should be neithervulgar(unless unavoidable) norpedantic.When there are multiple names for a subject, all of which are fairly common, and the most common has problems, it is perfectly reasonable to choose one of the others.

Although official, scientific, birth, original, or trademarked names are often used for article titles, the term or name most typically used in reliable sources is generally preferred. Other encyclopedias are among the sources that may be helpful in deciding what titles are in an encyclopedicregister,as well as what names are most frequently used.

The following are examples of the application of the concept of commonly used names in support of recognizability:

People

• Mahatma Gandhi(not: Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi)
• Mansa Musa(not: Musa I)
• Bill Clinton(not: William Jefferson Clinton)
• J. K. Rowling(not: Joanne Rowling)
• Bono(not: Paul Hewson)
• Mark Antony(not: Marcus Antonius)
• Shirley Temple(not: Shirley Temple Black)

Places

• Germany(not: Deutschland)
• Great Pyramid of Giza(not: Pyramid of Khufu)
• North Korea(not: Democratic People's Republic of Korea)
• Westminster Abbey(not: Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster)

Scientific and technical topics

• Aspirin(not: acetylsalicylic acid)
• Diesel engine(not: compression-ignition engine)
• Guinea pig(not:Cavia porcellus)
• Polio(not: poliomyelitis)
• Spanish flu(not: 1918 influenza pandemic)

Product names and fictional characters

• Windows XP(not: Windows NT 5.1)
• Sailor Moon (character)(not: Usagi Tsukino)
• Darth Vader(not: Anakin Skywalker)

Other topics

• Cello(not: Violoncello)
• FIFA(not:Fédération Internationale de Football Associationor International Federation of Association Football)
• Mueller report(not:Report on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election)
• Proxima Centauri(not: V645 Centauri or Alpha Centauri C)

In determining which of several alternative names is most frequently used, it is useful to observe the usage of major international organizations, major English-language media outlets, quality encyclopedias, geographic name servers, major scientific bodies, and notable scientific journals. Asearch enginemay help to collect this data; when using a search engine, restrict the results to pages written in English, and exclude the word "Wikipedia". When using Google, generally a search of Google Books and News Archive should be defaulted to before a web search, as they concentrate reliable sources (exclude works fromBooks, LLCwhen searching Google Books). Search engine results are subject to certain biases and technical limitations; for detailed advice on the use of search engines and the interpretation of their results, seeWikipedia:Search engine test.

Name changes

"WP:NAMECHANGES" redirects here. For the manual of style for biographies, seeMOS:CHANGEDNAME.For changing your Wikipedia username, seeWP:RENAME.

See also:Wikipedia:Naming conventions (people) § Self-published name changes

Sometimes the subject of an article will undergo a change of name. When this occurs, we give extra weight toindependent, 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 namewhen discussing the article topic in the present day,Wikipedia should continue to do so as well, as described above at§ Use commonly recognizable names.

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,common sensecan be applied – if the subject of an article has a name change, it is reasonable to consider the usage following the change inreliable,English-language sources. This provision also applies to names used as part of descriptive titles.

Neutrality in article titles

See also:Wikipedia:Neutral point of view § Naming

Conflicts often arise over whether an article title complies with Wikipedia's Neutral Point of View policy. Resolving such debates depends on whether the article title is anamederived from reliable sources or adescriptive titlecreated by Wikipedia editors.

Non-neutral but common names

When the subject of an article is referred to mainly by a single common name, as evidenced through usage in a significant majority of English-language sources, Wikipedia generally follows the sources and uses that name as its article title (subject to the other naming criteria). Sometimes that common name includes non-neutral words that Wikipedia normally avoids (e.g.Alexander the Great,or theTeapot Dome scandal). In such cases, the prevalence of the name, or the fact that a given description has effectively become a proper name (and that proper name has become the common name), generally overrides concern that Wikipedia might appear as endorsing one side of an issue. An article title with non-neutral terms cannot simply beaname commonly used in the past; it must bethecommon name in current use.

Notable circumstances under which Wikipedia often avoids a common name for lacking neutrality include the following:

1. Trendy slogans and monikers that seem unlikely to be remembered or connected with a particular issue years later
2. Colloquialisms where far more encyclopedic alternatives are obvious

Article titles and redirects should anticipate what readerswill type as a first guessand balance that with what readersexpect to be taken to.Thus, typing "Octomom"properly redirects toNadya Suleman,which is in keeping with point 2, above. Typing "Antennagate"redirects the reader to a particular section ofiPhone 4,which is in keeping with points 1 and 2, above. Typing "Great Leap Forward"does not redirect, which is in keeping with the general principle.

See also:Wikipedia:Redirect § Neutrality of redirects

Non-judgmental descriptive titles

In some cases a descriptive phrase (such asRestoration of the Everglades) is best as the title. These are often invented specifically for articles, and should reflect aneutral point of view,rather than suggesting any editor's opinions. Avoidjudgmental and non-neutral words;for example,allegationorallegedcan either imply wrongdoing, or in a non-criminal context may imply a claim "made with little or no proof" and so should be avoided in a descriptive title. (Exception: articles where the topic is an actual accusation of illegality under law, discussed as such by reliable sources even if not yet proven in a court of law. These are appropriately described as "allegations".)

However,non-neutral but common names(see preceding subsection) may be usedwithina descriptive title. Even descriptive titles should be based on sources, and may therefore incorporate names and terms that are commonly used by sources. (Example: Because "Boston Massacre" is an acceptable title on its own, the descriptive title "Political impact of the Boston Massacre" would also be acceptable.)

Explicit conventions

Main page:Category:Wikipedia naming conventions

Wikipedia has manynaming conventionsrelating 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 theconventions 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. When 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

"MOS:PRECISION" redirects here. For the precision of numbers, seeMOS:UNCERTAINTY.For the precision of geographical coordinates, seeWP:OPCOORD.For the precision of statements about dates, seeWP:PRECISELANG.

Usually, titles should unambiguously define the topical scope of the article, but should be no more precise than that. For instance,Saint Teresa of Calcuttais too precise, asMother Teresais precise enough to indicate exactly the same topic. On the other hand,Columbiawould not be precise enough to unambiguously identify theColumbia River.

Exceptions to the precision criterion may sometimes result from the application of some othernaming criteria.Most of these exceptions are described in specific Wikipedia guidelines or by Wikipedia projects, such asPrimary topic,Geographic names,orNames of royals and nobles.For instance:

• Bothellis already precise enough to be unambiguous, but we instead useBothell, Washington(seeGeographic names), seeking a more natural and recognizable title which is also consistent with most other articles on American cities.
• Energyis not precise enough to unambiguously indicate the physical property (seeEnergy (disambiguation)). However, it is preferred over "Energy (physics)", as it is more concise, and precise enough to be understood by most people (seePrimary topic,and the concision and recognizabilitycriteria).
• Leeds North Westis precise enough to be unambiguous, butWikipedia:Naming conventions (UK Parliament constituencies)specify the addition of the qualifier inLeeds North West (UK Parliament constituency)with a redirect fromLeeds North West.
• M-185is precise enough to be unambiguous, butWikipedia:Naming conventions (U.S. state and territory highways)specify adding the qualifierM-185 (Michigan highway)with a redirect fromM-185.

Disambiguation

This policy section should be read in conjunction with thedisambiguation guideline.

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 theprecision criterion,only as much detail as is necessary to distinguish one topic from another should be used. For example, it would be redundant to title an article "Queen (rock band)", asQueen (band)is precise enough to distinguish the rock band fromother uses of the term "Queen".This may result in acceptable inconsistencies; the article on chickens is found atChicken,but the article on turkeys is atTurkey (bird)to disambiguate it from the countryTurkey.

As a general rule, when a topic's preferred title can also refer to other topics covered in Wikipedia:

1. If the article is about theprimary topicto which the ambiguous name refers, then that name can be its title without modification, provided it follows all other applicable policies.
2. If the article is not about theprimary topicfor the ambiguous name, the title must bedisambiguated.

When deciding on which disambiguation method(s) to use, allarticle titling criteriaare weighed in:

Natural disambiguation

Using an alternative name that the subject is also commonly called in Englishreliable sources,albeit not as commonly as the preferred-but-ambiguous title, is sometimes preferred. However, do not use obscure ormade-up names.

• Example:The word "French" commonly refers to either the people or the language. Because of the ambiguity, we use the alternative but still common titles,French languageandFrench people,allowing natural disambiguation. In a similar vein,hand fanis preferable tofan (implement).Sometimes, this requires a change in thevariety of English used;for instance,Liftis a disambiguation page with no primary topic, soElevatoris the title of the article on the lifting device.

Comma-separated disambiguation

With place names, if the disambiguating term is a higher-level administrative division, it is often separated using a comma instead of parentheses, as inWindsor, Berkshire(seeGeographic names). Comma-separated titles are also used in other contexts (e.g.Diana, Princess of Walesuses a substantive title as part of the usualNames of royals and noblesconventions, not as a disambiguating term). However, titles such asTony BlairandBattle of Waterlooare preferred over alternatives such as "Blair, Anthony Charles Lynton" and "Waterloo, Battle of", in which a comma is used to change the natural ordering of the words.

Parenthetical disambiguation

Adding a disambiguating term in parentheses after the ambiguous name is Wikipedia's standard disambiguation technique when none of the other solutions lead to an optimal article title.

• Example:The word "mercury" has distinct meanings that do not have sufficiently common alternative names, so instead we use parenthetical disambiguation:Mercury (element),Mercury (planet),andMercury (mythology).

Descriptive title

Where there is no acceptable set name for a topic, such that a title of our own conception is necessary, more latitude is allowed to form descriptive and unique titles.

• Examples:List of birds of Nicaragua,Campaign history of the Roman military,Pontius Pilate's wife(seeWP:NCP § Descriptive titles)

Combinations of the above

These are exceptional, in most cases to be avoided as perWP:CONCISE.

• Example:"comma-separated" + "parenthetical":Wiegenlied, D 498 (Schubert)(seeTalk:Wiegenlied, D 498 (Schubert) § Requested moves)

Commas and parentheses (round brackets) are the onlycharactersthat can be used without restriction to separate a disambiguating term in an article title. Colons can be used in the limited cases ofsubtitles of some creative worksandlists split over several pages.

When a spelling variant indicates a distinct topic

Ambiguity may arise when typographically near-identical expressions have distinct meanings, e.g.iron maidenvs.Iron Maiden,orfriendly firevs. the other meanings listed atFriendly 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 ashatnotesordisambiguation pages.When such navigation aids are in place, small details are often sufficient to distinguish topics, e.g.MAVENvs.Maven;Airplane!vs.Airplane;Sea-Monkeysvs.SeaMonkey;The Wörld Is Yoursvs. other topics listed atThe World Is Yours.

However, when renaming to a less ambiguous page name can be done without wandering fromWP:CRITERIA,such renaming should be considered:

• Renaming "Passio Domini Nostri Jesu Christi secundum Joannem"to"Passio(Pärt) "for the ambiguity of the first expression withPassio Domini Nostri Iesu Christi secundum Ioannem.

And a well-known concept may still be the primary topic for a variant or incorrect spelling, even if a much less well-known subject uses that spelling:

• Cold warredirects toCold War,with the broad concept discussed atCold war (term)
• Gray Pouponredirects toGrey Poupon;an album of that name is atGray Poupon(album)

In certain instances, plural forms may also be used to naturally distinguish articles; seeWikipedia:Naming conventions (plurals) § Primary topicfor details.

Concision

"WP:CONCISE" redirects here. For the essay advising a concise writing style, seeWP:TLDR.

The goal of concision is to balance brevity with sufficient information to identify the topic to a person familiar with the general subject area.

For example:

• The official name ofRhode Island,used in various state publications, was formerlyState of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.Both titles are precise and unambiguous, butRhode Islandwas the most concise title to fully identify the subject.
• The full name of Fiona Apple's 1999 album is 90 words and 444 characters long, but it is abbreviated in sources (and in its Wikipedia title) toWhen the Pawn...(see alsoWP:SUBTITLES).

Exceptions exist for biographical articles. For example, given names and family names are usually not omitted or abbreviated for the purposes of concision. ThusOprah Winfrey(notOprah) andJean-Paul Sartre(notJ. P. Sartre). SeeWikipedia:Naming conventions (people).

Consistency

For examples of Wikipedia practices regarding consistency in article titles, seeWP:TITLECON.

To the extent that it is practical, titles should be consistent among articles covering similar topics. However, there has been a history of consensus among editors regarding several areas where consistency doesnotcontrol titling:

• Disambiguation: for example, the use of a parenthetical disambiguator inGeorgia (country)does not support an argument that all country articles should use them, e.g. forAzerbaijan (country)orArmenia (country).This is also the case with natural disambiguation: the existence ofQuerétaro CityandChihuahua Citydoes not mean we have to haveGuadalajara Cityinstead ofGuadalajara.
• Spellings that differ between varieties of English:Orange (colour)andLime (color)peaceably coexist, as domotorcycle tyreandsnow tire.
• It is not considered important for article titles on the English Wikipedia to be consistent with titles used by the corresponding articles on other language versions of Wikipedia.

English-language titles

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).

The English-language names of some topics may differ according to how names are anglicized from other languages, or according to different varieties of English (e.g. American English, British English, Australian English, etc.).

Foreign names and anglicization

See also:Wikipedia:Naming conventions (use English)

For the policy regarding non-English sources, seeWP:RSUE.

The choice between anglicized and local spellings should follow English-language usage, e.g. the non-anglicized titlesBesançon,Søren Kierkegaard,andGöttingenare used because they predominate in English-language reliable sources, whereas for the same reason the anglicized title formsNuremberg,delicatessen,andFlorenceare used (as opposed to Nürnberg, Delikatessen, and Firenze, respectively).

If there are too few reliable English-language sources to constitute an established usage, follow the conventions of the language appropriate to the subject (German for German politicians, Portuguese for Brazilian towns, and so on). For lesser known geographical objects or structures with few reliable English sources, follow the translation convention, if any, used for well known objects or structures of the same type e.g. becauseRheintalandMoseltalare translatedRhine ValleyandMoselle Valley,it makes sense to translate lesser known valley names in the same way. For ideas on how to deal with situations where there are several competing foreign terms, see "Multiple local names"and"Use modern names"in the geographical naming guideline. Such discussions canbenefit from outside opinionsso as to avoid a struggle over which language to follow.

Names not originally in aLatin Alpha bet,such as Greek, Chinese, or Russian names,mustberomanized.Established systematic romanizations, such asHanyu Pinyin,are preferred. However, if there is a common English-language form of the name, then use it, even if it is unsystematic (as withTchaikovskyandChiang Kai-shek). For a list of romanization conventions by language, seeWikipedia:Romanization.

Wikipedia generally uses the characteræto represent the Anglo-Saxon ligatureæsc.For Latin- or Greek-derived words (e.g.Paean,Amoeba,Estrogen), usee,ae,oroe,depending on modern usage and thenational variety of Englishused in the article.

In deciding whether and how to 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.

National varieties of English

See also:Wikipedia:Manual of Style § National varieties of English

If a topic has strongtiesto a particular English-speaking nation, the title of its article should use that nation's variety of English (for example, compareAustralianDefenceForcewithUnited States Secretary ofDefense).

Otherwise, all national varieties of English are acceptable in article titles; Wikipedia does not prefer one in particular.American Englishspelling should not be respelled toBritish Englishspelling, and vice versa; for example, bothcolorandcolourare acceptable and used in article titles (such ascolor gelandcolour state). Very occasionally, a less common but non-nation-specific term is selected to avoid having to choose between national varieties: for example,soft drinkwas selected to avoid the choice between the Britishfizzy drink,Americansoda,American and Canadianpop,and a slew of other nation- and region-specific names.

Treatment of alternative names

See also:Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Lead section § Alternative names

Thearticle titleappears at the top of a reader's browser window and as a large level 1 heading above the editable text of an article, circled here in dark red. The name or names given in the first sentence do not always match the article title.

By the design of Wikipedia's software, an article can only have one title. When this title is a name, significant alternative names for the topic should be mentioned in the article, usually in the first sentence or paragraph. If there are three or more alternative names – including alternative spellings, longer or shorter forms, historic names, and significant names in other languages – or there is something notable about the names themselves, a separate name section is recommended. Alternative names may be used in article text when context dictates that they are more appropriate than the name used as the title of the article. For example, the city now calledGdańskis referred to asDanzigin historic contexts to which that name is more suited (e.g. when it was part of Germany or a Free City). Likewise, even thoughColor's title omits the "u",Orange (colour)'s title does not.

All significant alternative titles, names, or forms of names that apply to a specific article should usually be made toredirectto that article. If they are ambiguous, it should be ensured that the article can at least be reached from a disambiguation page for the alternative term. Note that the exact capitalization of the article's title does not affect Wikipediasearch,so it is not necessary to create redirects from alternative capitalizations unless these are likely to be used in links; seeNaming conventions (capitalization).

Piped linksare often used in article text to allow a subject with a lengthy article title to be referred to using a more concise term where this does not produce ambiguity.

Article title format

The following points are used in deciding on questions not covered by the five principles; consistency on these helps avoid duplicate articles:

Use sentence case

"WP:LOWERCASE" redirects here. You may also be looking forWikipedia:Naming conventions (technical restrictions) § Lowercase first letter.

Titles are written insentence case.The initial letter of a title is almost always capitalized by default; otherwise, words are not capitalized unless they would be so in running text. When this is done, the title is simple to link to in other articles:Northwestern Universityoffers more graduate work than a typicalliberal arts college.Note that the capitalization of the initial letter is ignored in links. For initial lowercase letters, as ineBay,see thetechnical restrictionspage. For more guidance, seeWP:Naming conventions (capitalization)andWP:Manual of Style/Proper names.

Use singular form

Article titles are generally singular in form, e.g.Horse,notHorses.Exceptions include nouns that arealways in a plural formin English (e.g.scissorsortrousers) and the names ofclassesof objects (e.g.Arabic numeralsorBantu languages). For more guidance, seeWP:Naming conventions (plurals).

Avoid ambiguous abbreviations

Abbreviations and acronyms are often ambiguous and thus should be avoided unless the subject is known primarily by its abbreviation and that abbreviation is primarily associated with the subject (e.g.PBS,NATO,Laser). It is also unnecessary to include an acronym in addition to the name in a title. Acronyms may be used for parenthetical disambiguation (e.g.Conservative Party (UK),Georgia (U.S. state)). For more details, seeWP:Manual of Style/Abbreviations § Acronyms in page titles.

Avoid definite and indefinite articles

Do not place definite or indefinitearticles(the,a,andan) at the beginning of titles unless they are part of a proper name (e.g.The Old Man and the Sea) or otherwise change the meaning (e.g.The Crown). They needlessly lengthen article titles, and interfere with sorting and searching. For more guidance, seeWP:Naming conventions (definite or indefinite article at beginning of name).

Use nouns

Nounsandnoun phrasesare normally preferred over titles using other parts of speech; such a title can be the subject of the first sentence. One major exception is for titles that are quotations or titles of works:A rolling stone gathers no moss,or "Try to Remember".Adjective and verb forms (e.g.elegant) should redirect to articles titled with the corresponding noun (Elegance) or disambiguation pages, likeOrganicandTalk.Sometimes the noun corresponding to a verb is thegerund(-ingform), as inSwimming.

Do not enclose titles in quotes

Article titles that are quotes (or song titles, etc.) are not enclosed in quotation marks (e.g.To be, or not to beis the article title, whereas"To be, or not to be"is a redirect to that article). An exception is made when the quotation marks are part of a name or title (as in the TV episodeMarge Simpson in: "Screaming Yellow Honkers"  or the album"Heroes"(David Bowie album)).

Do not create subsidiary articles

Do not use titles suggesting that one article forms part of another: even if an article is considered subsidiary to another (as wheresummary styleis 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 (transport)"; useTransport in Azerbaijan.(This does not always apply in non-articlenamespaces;seeWP:Subpages.)

Follow reliable sources for names of persons

When deciding whether to use middle names, or initials, follow the guidelines atWP:Middle names,which means using the form most commonly used by reliable sources (e.g.John F. Kennedy,J. P. Morgan,F. Scott Fitzgerald), with few if any exceptions. See also theConcisionsection above.

Special characters

See also:Wikipedia:Naming conventions (technical restrictions)

There are technical restrictions on the use of certain characters in page titles, due to how MediaWiki stores and matches the titles. The following characterscannot be usedat all:# < > [ ] | { } _

There are restrictions on titles containingcolons,periods,and some other characters, which may be addressed throughTemplate:Correct title.Technically, all other Unicode characters can be used in page titles. However, some characters should still be avoided or require special treatment:

• Characters not on a standard keyboard (use redirects):Sometimes the most appropriate title containsdiacritics(accent marks), dashes, or other letters and characters not found on most English-language keyboards. This can make it difficult to navigate to the article directly. In such cases, provide redirects from versions of the title that use only standard keyboard characters. (Similarly, in cases where it is determined that the most appropriate title is one that omitsdiacritics,dashes, and other letters not found on most English-language keyboards, provide redirects from versions of the title that contain them.) However, avoidcombining diacritical marks,which are difficult to type and interfere with adjacent characters.
• Quotation marks (avoid them):Double ("...") and single quotation marks ('...'), as well as variations such as typographic (curly) quotation marks (“...”), "low-high" quotation marks („... “),guillemets(«...»), and angled quotation marks or backticks (`...´) should be avoided in titles. Exceptions can be made when they are part of the proper title (e.g."A" Is for Alibi) or required byorthography(e.g."Weird Al" Yankovic,Fargesia'Rufa').

Similarly, variousapostrophe(-like) variants (’ ʻ ʾ ʿ ᾿ ῾ ‘ ’^c), should generally not be used in page titles. A common exception is the simple apostrophe character (', same glyph as the single quotation mark) itself (e.g.Anthony d'Offay), which should, however, be used sparingly (e.g.Quraninstead ofQur'anandBismarck (apple)instead ofMalus domestica'Bismarck'). If, exceptionally, other variants are used, a redirect with the apostrophe variant should be created (e.g.'Elisiva Fusipala Tauki'onetukuredirects toʻElisiva Fusipala Taukiʻonetuku).

See alsoWP:Manual of Style (punctuation)andMOS:APOSTROPHE.

• Symbols (avoid them):Symbols such as "♥", as sometimes found in advertisements or logos, should never be used in titles. This includes non-Latin punctuation such as the characters in Unicode'sCJK Symbols and Punctuationblock.
• Characters not supported on all browsers (avoid them):If there is a reasonable alternative, avoid characters that are so uncommon that not all browser and operating system combinations will render them. For example, the articleFleur-de-liscarries that title rather than the symbol ⚜ itself, which many readers would see as just a rectangular box.
• Fractions:SeeMOS:FRAC.Templates and LaTeX-style markup cannot be used in article titles.

Italics and other formatting

Use italics whenitalics would be necessary in running text;for example,taxonomic names,the names of ships, the titles ofbooks, films, and other creative works,andforeign phrasesare italicized both in ordinary text and in article titles.

The titles of articles, chapters, songs, episodes, storylines, research papers and other short works instead take double quotation marks. Italics are not used for major religious works (the Bible,the Quran,the Talmud). Many of these titles should also be intitle case.

Italic formatting cannot be part of the actual (stored) title of a page; adding single quotes to a page title will cause those quotes to become part of the URL, rather than affecting its appearance. A title or part of it is made to appear in italics with the use of theDISPLAYTITLEmagic word or the{{Italic title}}template. In addition, certain templates, includingTemplate:Infobox book,Template:Infobox film,andTemplate:Infobox album,by default italicize the titles of the pages they appear on; see those template pages for documentation. SeeWP:Naming conventions (technical restrictions) § Italics and formattingon the technical restrictions page for further details.

Other types of formatting (such as bold type and superscript) can technically be achieved in the same way, but should generallynotbe used in Wikipedia article titles (except for articles on mathematics). Quotation marks (such as around song titles) would not require special techniques for display, but are nevertheless avoided in titles; see§ Article title formatabove.

Standard English and trademarks

See also:Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Trademarks

Article titles follow standard English text formatting in the case of trademarks, unless the trademarked spelling is demonstrably the most common usage in sources independent of the owner of the trademark. Items in full or partial uppercase (such asInvader ZIM) should have standard capitalization (Invader Zim); however, if the name is ambiguous, and one meaning is usually capitalized, this is one possible method of disambiguation.

Exceptions include article titles with the first letter lowercase and the second letter uppercase, such asiPodandeBay.For these, seeWP:Naming conventions (technical restrictions) § Lowercase first letter.

Titles containing "and"

"WP:AND" redirects here. For the Manual of Style guidance on the use of the word "and" vs ampersands, seeWP:&.

Sometimes two or more closely related or complementary concepts are most sensibly covered by a single article. Where possible, use a title covering all cases: for example,Endiannesscovers the concepts "big-endian" and "little-endian". Where no reasonable overarching title is available, it is permissible to construct an article title using "and", as inPromotion and relegation,Hellmann's and Best Foods,Tropical storms Amanda and CristobalandPioneer 6, 7, 8, and 9.(The individual terms – such asPioneer 6– should redirect to the combined page, or be linked there via a disambiguation page or hatnote if they have other meanings.)

It is generally best to list topics in Alpha betical order, especially those involving different countries or cultures, as inCanada–United States border.However, when a conventional or more logical ordering exists, it should be used instead, such as atyin and yang.If one concept is more commonly encountered than the other, it may be listed first, as inElectrical resistance and conductance.Alternative titles using reverse ordering (such asRelegation and promotion) should be redirects.

Titles containing "and" are often red flags that the article hasneutralityproblems or is engaging inoriginal research:avoid the use of "and" in ways that appear biased. For example, useIslamic terrorism,not "Islam and terrorism";however,"Media coupling of Islam and terrorism"may be acceptable. Avoid the use of" and "to combine concepts that are not commonly combined in reliable sources.

Considering changes

Changing one controversial title to anotherwithouta discussion that leads to consensus is strongly discouraged. If an article title has been stable for a long time,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 astubwas made.

Any potentially controversial proposal to change a title should be advertised atWikipedia:Requested moves,and consensus reached before any change is made. Debating controversial titles is often unproductive, and there are many other ways to helpimprove Wikipedia.

In discussing the appropriate title of an article, remember that the choice of title is not dependent on whether a name is "right" in a moral or political sense. Nor does the use of a name in the title of one article require that all related articles use the same name in their titles; there is often some reason for inconsistencies in common usage. For example, Wikipedia has articles on both theBattle of Stalingradand onVolgograd,which is the current name of Stalingrad.

Although titles for articles are subject to consensus, do not invent names or use extremely uncommon names as a means of compromising between opposing points of view. Wikipedia describes current usage but cannot prescribe a particular usage or invent new names.

Proposed naming conventions and guidelines

Main pages:Category:Wikipedia naming conventions proposalsandWikipedia:Policies and guidelines

Proposals for new naming conventions and guidelines should be advertised onthis page's talk page,atrequests for comment,theVillage Pump,and any related pages. If a strongconsensushas formed, the proposal is adopted and is added to thenaming conventions category.

New naming conventions for specific categories of articles often arise fromWikiProjects.For a manually updated list of current and former proposals, seeProposed naming conventions and guidelines.

See also

• Wikipedia:Manual of Style § Article titles
• Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Lead section § Format of the first sentence
• Wikipedia:Category names,a list of guidelines concerning naming conventions for categories
• Linguistic descriptionandLinguistic prescription
• MediaWiki:TitleBlacklist extension,a tool to block the creation of pages with disallowed titles (and their derivatives/variants)
• Wikipedia:Naming conventions (technical restrictions),software limitations on the names of Wikipedia pages (articles, categories, templates, etc.)
• Wikipedia:Inversusof,proper use ofinandof(or some alternatives, asfromandon)
• Wikipedia:Ambiguous subjects
• Wikipedia:Reliable sources § Headlines,on the unreliability of news headlines for sourcing

External links

• Google Book Ngram Viewer,a graphic plotter of case-sensitive frequency of multi-term usage in books over time, through 2022