Alternative names that are not well known to our readers may not need to be in the lead at all. Excessive non-English language details can make the lead sentence difficult to understand.[k]
Examples:
 Y Genghis Khan (born Temüjin; c. 1162 – August 1227), also known as Chinggis Khan, was the founder and first khan of the Mongol Empire. |
 N Genghis Khan or Chinggis Khan (Mongolian: Чингис хаан, romanized: Çingis hán; Chinese: 成吉思汗; pinyin: Chéngjísī Hán; Wade–Giles: Ch'eng2-chi2-szu1 Han4; c. 1162 – August 18, 1227), born Temüjin (Тэмүжин Temüjin; traditional Chinese: 鐵木真; simplified Chinese: 铁木真; pinyin: Tiěmùzhēn; Wade–Giles: T'ieh3-mu4-chen1), was the founder and first khan of the Mongol Empire. |
| Y Joseph John Aiuppa (December 1, 1907 – February 22, 1997), also known as "Joey O'Brien" and later as "Joey Doves", was a Chicago mobster. |
| N Joseph John Aiuppa (December 1, 1907 – February 22, 1997), also known as "Joey O'Brien", "Joey O.", "O'Brien", "Joey Doves", "Joey the Doves", and "Mourning Doves", was a Chicago mobster. |
| *The various nicknames are mostly how other mobsters – not so much the reliable sources – referred to Joey Aiuppa, and only two of them were widely reported, the rest being minor variants. |
A leading "the" is not capitalized in a nickname, pseudonym, or other alias (except when the alias begins a sentence[j]):
- Use: Jack "the Assassin" Tatum; or: Jack Tatum, nicknamed "the Assassin"
- Avoid: Jack "The Assassin" Tatum; and: Jack Tatum, nicknamed "The Assassin"
Anachronistic names
A person named in an article of which they are not the subject should be referred to by the name they used at the time being described. For example, Pope John Paul I was known as Albino Luciani before he was elevated to the papacy, so material about the time before he became pope should use that name. In some cases, it is helpful to the reader to clarify, e.g., Albino Luciani (later to become Pope John Paul I). The principle of avoiding anachronistic naming is also usually employed in the subject's own biography (including that of John Paul I), especially when the article is no longer a short stub.
Changed names
"WP:CHANGEDNAME" redirects here. For the general article title guideline, see
WP:NAMECHANGES.
In some cases, a subject may have changed their full name at some point after birth. In these cases, the birth name may be given in the lead as well, if relevant:[l]
- From Jack Benny: Jack Benny (born Benjamin Kubelsky; February 14, 1894 – December 26, 1974) ...
- From Bill de Blasio: Bill de Blasio (born Warren Wilhelm Jr., May 8, 1961) ...
If a person has changed their name but it is not known whether the known prior name was their name assigned at birth, introduce it in the opening sentence with "formerly":
- Bob Jones (formerly Bobo Janus; born April 1, 1998)
Specific guidelines apply to living transgender and non-binary people (see § Gender identity, below).
Multiple changed names
In other cases, a subject may have changed names multiple times.[m]
Multiple former names may be mentioned in the lead, boldfaced if they redirect to the article. However, it is not always appropriate to list every previous name of a subject, only the birth name and those that were in use during the period of notability:
- Bill de Blasio (born Warren Wilhelm Jr., May 8, 1961) is a politician .... He was briefly known as Warren de Blasio-Wilhelm ...
The names should be distributed throughout the lead to mark major transitions in the subject's life:
- Augustus (63 BC – 14 AD) was a Roman emperor .... He was born Gaius Octavius Thurinus into a wealthy family .... He assumed the name Octavian after his adoption ...
Surnames
If a subject changed their surname (last name) for whatever reason (e.g., marriage, adoption, personal preference), then their surname at birth should generally also be given in the lead. Editors may denote this with "born" followed by the subject's surname or full name; for name changes due to marriage, they may also use née (feminine) and né (masculine) followed by the surname, provided the term is linked at first occurrence. The templates {{nee}} and {{ne}} provide this linking and do not require typing the é character. It is usually not written in italics.
Some practical examples:
- From Angela Merkel: Angela Dorothea Merkel (née Kasner; born 17 July 1954) is a German politician ...
- From Hillary Clinton: Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton (née Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician and diplomat ...
- From Jack White: John Anthony White (né Gillis; born July 9, 1975) is an American musician, singer, songwriter ...
- From Barbara Flynn: Barbara Flynn (born Barbara Joy McMurray, 5 August 1948) is an English actress ...
Pseudonyms and stage names
For people who are best known by a pseudonym, the legal name should usually appear first in the article, followed closely by the pseudonym. Follow this practice even if the article itself is titled with a pseudonym:
- Louis Bert Lindley Jr. (June 29, 1919 – December 8, 1983), better known by the stage name Slim Pickens
Investigation in reliable sources may be needed to determine whether a subject known usually by a pseudonym has actually changed their legal name to match (e.g., Reginald Kenneth Dwight formally changed his name to Elton Hercules John early in his musical career). Where this is not the case, and where the subject uses a popular form of their name in everyday life, then care must be taken to avoid implying that a person who does not generally use all their forenames or who uses a familiar form has actually changed their name. Do not write, for example:
- John Edwards (born Johnny Reid Edwards, June 10, 1953).
Hypocorisms
It is not always necessary to spell out why the article title and lead paragraph give a different name. If a person has a common English-language hypocorism (diminutive or abbreviation) used in lieu of a given name,[n] it is not presented between quotation marks or parentheses within or after their name. Example:
Nicknames
If a person is known by a nickname used in lieu of or in addition to a given name, and it is not a common hypocorism[n] of one of their names, or a professional alias, it is usually presented between double quotation marks following the last given name or initial. The quotation marks are not put in lead-section boldface. Example:
Do not cram multiple hypocorisms and nicknames into the name in the lead sentence; complicated naming should be explained separately.
- Poor, confusing example: William Emery "Emory, Spunk" Sparrow (September 15, 1897 – February 2, 1965) was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward ...
- Clear rewrite: William Emery Sparrow (September 15, 1897 – February 2, 1965) was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward ... As a professional player, he spelled his name Emory, and was commonly known by the nickname Spunk Sparrow. (The article title is Emory Sparrow, already establishing that as the common, primary name.)
A nickname can eventually become a professional alias, even the most common name for a person. In this case, it is within quotation marks only if it first introduces the nickname in mid-name in the lead. Otherwise, it loses the quotation marks. If the nickname is dominant (in general or in a particular context) it can often be used in other articles without further elaboration. Example:
- From Magic Johnson: Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. (born August 14, 1959) is ... a basketball player. Magic Johnson left Michigan State after his sophomore season to enter the NBA draft.
If a nickname is used in place of the subject's entire name, it is usually given separately:
Nicknames should not be represented with additional name parts unless necessary for usage clarity.
- Use: Earl "the Pearl" Strickland; or: Earl Strickland, nicknamed "Earl the Pearl"
- Avoid: Earl Strickland, nicknamed "Earl the Pearl" Strickland
Initials
Use initials in a personal name[o] only if the name is commonly written that way.
An initial is capitalized and is followed by a full point (period) and a space (e.g. J. R. R. Tolkien).
In article text, a space after an initial (or an initial and a full point) and before another initial should be a non-breaking space: J. R. R. Tolkien (or use the {{nbsp}} template). This also works inside links ( [[J. R. R. Tolkien]]) and citation template parameters (|first=J. R. R.), though only with markup, not the template. An alternative is {{nowrap}} around the entire initials string, but this must not be used inside citation template parameters.
Initials in other languages are sometimes treated differently from usual English practice. For example, a name beginning with two letters representing a single sound is treated as a single two-character initial in some European languages (e.g., Lj. for Ljudevit), and hyphenated given names are sometimes abbreviated with the hyphen (J.-P. for Jean-Pierre). If reliable sources consistently use such a form for a particular person, use it on Wikipedia as well.
Avoid formerly common multi-letter abbreviations used in English as a shorthand in letter-writing, genealogies, etc. (examples: Geo. = George; Jno. = John; Jna. = Jonathan; Thos. = Thomas; Jas. = James, Chas. = Charles), except in quotations and as they survive in trademarks (Geo. Hall & Sons). E.g., refer to the author as George W. Proctor, though some of his books have Geo. W. Proctor on the cover (the alternative form should redirect to his article).
With initials, it is not necessary to spell out why the article title and lead paragraph give a different name. For example, H. P. Lovecraft has that title, H. P. Lovecraft appears in his infobox, and his lead sentence just gives Howard Phillips Lovecraft ... was an American writer ..., without "explaining" to the reader what H. P. stands for. Initials are not nicknames; do not put them in quotation marks or insert them in mid-name, as in John Thomas Smith better known as "J. T." Smith or John Thomas (J. T.) Smith.
Initials that encapsulate the entire name, and are thus composed solely of initial capital letters, are generally considered nicknames and should be avoided in article prose. Their usage should follow the style guide for acronyms. For instance, do not use J. F. K.: use Kennedy in prose but keep an undotted and unspaced JFK only when used within quotations.
(For unusual exceptions, see below.)
Generational and regnal suffixes
"MOS:SR" redirects here. For style guidelines regarding self-references in articles, see
MOS:SELFREF.
Using Jr., Sr., or other such distinctions, including in the lead sentence of an article, is only for cases in which the name with the suffix is commonly used in reliable sources.
Do not put a comma before Jr., Sr. (or variations such as Jnr), or a Roman numeral name suffix, whether it is patronymic or regnal: use Otis D. Wright II, not Otis D. Wright, II. Append a period, or not (Jr. or Jr), according to the variety of English used by the article.
When the surname is shown first, the suffix follows the given name, as Kennedy, John F. Jr. or Wright, Otis D. II.[p] When the given name is omitted, omit the suffix – Kennedy, not Kennedy Jr. – except where the context requires disambiguation. If necessary, explain in longer form which party is meant, e.g. The younger Jackson was elected mayor of Wolverham in 1998.
The French fils ('son') and père ('father') can be used for subjects for whom this usage is typical in English-language works: Alexandre Dumas fils. These terms are not capitalized.
Families
Royal surnames
Only incorporate surnames in the opening line of royal biographies if they are known and if they are in normal use. But do not automatically presume that the name of a royal house is the personal surname of its members. In many cases it is not. For visual clarity, articles on monarchs should generally begin with the form "{name} {ordinal if appropriate} (full name – but without surname; birth and death dates, if applicable)", and articles on other royals should generally begin with the form "{royal title} {name} {ordinal if appropriate} (full name – including surname (if in normal use); birth and death dates, if applicable)"; in both cases with the full name and dates information unformatted, but the title, name and ordinal that are outside the parenthesis, in bold. Using this format displays the most important information clearly without an unattractive excess of formatting. Other information on royal titles should be listed where appropriate in chronological order.
Subsequent use
"WP:MRS" redirects here. For guideline about medical sources, see
WP:MEDRS.
After the initial mention, a person should generally be referred to by surname only – without an honorific prefix such as "Mr.", "Mrs.", or "Ms.", and without academic or professional prefixes like "Dr.", "Prof.", "Rev.", etc. – or may be referred to by a personal pronoun. For example:
- Fred Smith was a Cubist painter in the early 20th century. He moved to Genoa, where he met singer Gianna Doe. Smith and Doe later married.
However, where a person does not have a surname but a patronymic or matronymic (like many Icelanders, some Mongols, and those historical persons who are known by names-and-patronymics instead of surnames), then the proper form of reference is usually the given name. (See also § Culture-specific usages, below.) For example:
Generally speaking, subjects should not otherwise be referred to by their given name; exceptions include royalty, e.g. Prince William or William. Any subject whose surname has changed should be referred to by their most commonly used name. If their most commonly used name includes their earlier surname, and you're discussing a period of their life before the surname change, refer to them by their prior surname. For example, when discussing the early lives of Hillary and Bill Clinton, use "Rodham met Clinton while they were students at Yale", referring to Hillary using her then-current surname.
A member of the nobility may be referred to by title if that form of address would have been the customary way to refer to them; for example Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, may become the Earl of Leicester, the Earl, or just Leicester (if the context is clear enough) in subsequent mentions. For modern-day nobility it is better to use name and title; at some time in the future the Prince of Wales will be a different person than William, Prince of Wales, and a great many articles risk becoming out of date. Be careful not to give someone a title too soon; for example, one should use Robert Dudley or Dudley when describing events before his elevation to the peerage in 1564.
- If a majority of reliable secondary sources refer to a person by a pseudonym, subsequent mentions should use their pseudonym.
- For people well known by one-word names, nicknames, or pseudonyms, but who often also use their legal names professionally (e.g. André Benjamin ("André 3000"), Drew Pinsky ("Dr. Drew")), use the legal surname.
- If a person is known by multiple professional names, subsequent mentions should use the name consistent with the article title (e.g. Sean Combs, Teemu Keisteri).
Culture-specific usages
- Burmese names are personal names that consist of one or more words, with no patronymic or surname. Always use the full form of the person's name. (See Wikipedia:Naming conventions (Burmese).)
- Ethiopian and Eritrean people are almost always referred to by their given name as they do not have a family name. There are some rare exceptions to this: where the person – usually a member of the later generations of the Eritrean diaspora or Ethiopian diaspora – has adopted the patronymic as a formal family name. Consider using the template
{{Patronymic name}}.
- Icelandic people with patronymics (which is most of them) may be referred to by their given name or their given name and patronymic, but not by their patronymic alone. Consider using
{{Icelandic name}}.
- Japanese historical (and some modern) figures may be conventionally known by either their family (clan) name and their given name or their given name only but not their family name only.
- In Southeast and South Asia, many people use only a personal name, which may be followed by a patronymic; in such cases, they should be referred to by their personal name.
- Mongolian people are referred to by their given name, with their patronymic placed in front of it, usually in the genitive case. There are no family names. (For more details, see Mongolian name and WP:Naming conventions (Mongolian).) Consider placing
{{Family name hatnote}}.
- Spanish naming customs generally call for one or more given names followed by a patronymic then a matronymic (and the latter two may be separated by y or another article). In Portuguese names, given names are followed by a matronymic then a patronymic. In both cases, the common name of such a person most often lacks the matronymic. Consider using
{{Family name hatnote}} or {{Portuguese name}}.
- Thai people are almost always known and addressed by their first name (i.e. given name). Hence, on second and subsequent mentions, they should be referred to by first name alone.
- In Vietnamese names, given names also take priority over family names. The given name, not the surname, should be used to refer to the person. The given name is nevertheless placed after the family name, following the East Asian naming scheme, even when written about in English.
See also Wikipedia:Categorization/Sorting names § Sort by surname, on the proper sorting of these names.
People with the same surname
To distinguish between people with the same surname in the same article or page, use given names or complete names to refer to each of the people upon first mention. For subsequent uses, refer to them by their given names for clarity and brevity. When referring to the person who is the subject of the article, use just the surname unless the reference is part of a list of family members or if use of the surname alone will be confusing. This applies to minors as well as adults.[q] While citations and bibliographies should use full names even in subsequent mentions (if full names are the style for citations and bibliographies in the article), the body of an article should not unless confusion could result.
For example, in the text of an article on Ronald Reagan:
- Correct: Ronald and Nancy Reagan arrived separately, Ronald by helicopter and Nancy by car.
- Correct: The Reagans arrived separately, Ronald by helicopter and Nancy by car.
- Redundant: Ronald and Nancy Reagan arrived separately; Ronald Reagan by helicopter and Nancy Reagan by car.
In the text of an article about the Brothers Grimm:
- Correct: Jacob Grimm was 14 months older than his brother Wilhelm.
- Redundant: Jacob Grimm was 14 months older than his brother Wilhelm Grimm.
Individuals distinguished with a generational suffix can be written about in Forename Suffix style to disambiguate from other family members in the same article: William Sr., John Jnr, James III. No comma is used in these short constructions.
If an article about a person mentions another person with the same surname who is not related by family or marriage, subsequent mentions of the other person should use the full name:
In an article that is not about either unrelated person with the same surname, continue to refer to them both by their full names. Source citations, bibliographies, and in-text attributions usually include the names of authors and others. Consider them when checking for people with the same surname.
Titles of people
Overview: Titles should be capitalized when attached to an individual's name, or where the position/office is a globally unique title that is the subject itself, and the term is the actual title or conventional translation thereof (not a description or rewording). Titles should not be capitalized when being used generically. Aside from mentioning them in the lead sentence of a biographical subject's own article, only use titles where they are necessary for clarity or identification in the context.
Specifics may vary, as described in more detail below. Non-English titles are most often translated into English, but this is left to editorial discretion and may be conventionalized across a category, based primarily on usage in English-language reliable sources (e.g., recipients of German knighthoods like Robert Ritter von Greim are not translated into "Sir Robert Greim", and are usually rendered in Robert von Greim form in running text; the Tibetan title Dalai Lama is far more familiar to English speakers than any literal or figurative translation).
Hyphenation and compounds: When hyphenated and capitalized, e.g. Vice-president (as it is usually spelled in contexts other than US politics), the element after the hyphen is not capitalized. When an unhyphenated compound title is capitalized (unless this is simply because it begins a sentence),[j] each word begins with a capital letter: In 1973, Vice President Agnew resigned. This does not apply to unimportant words, such as the of in White House Chief of Staff John Doe. Do not use a hyphen, dash, or slash to fuse two titles someone holds; give them separately: XYZCo Regional Director and Staff Counsel Janet Goldstein.
Positions, offices, and occupational titles
Offices, titles, and positions such as president, king, emperor, grand duke, lord mayor, pope, bishop, abbot, prime minister, leader of the opposition, chief financial officer, and executive director are common nouns and therefore should be in lower case when used generically: Mitterrand was the French president or There were many presidents at the meeting. They are capitalized only in the following cases:
- When followed by a person's name to form a title, i.e., when they can be considered to have become part of the name: President Nixon, not president Nixon; Pope John XXIII, not pope John XXIII.
- When used to refer to a specific person as a substitute for their name during their time in office, e.g., the King, not the king (referring to Charles III); the President, not the president (referring to Donald Trump).
- When referring to an office or title itself (as King of France), and it is not plural (not Kings of France), is not preceded by a modifier—including a definite or indefinite article (not the King of France, former King of France), and is not a reworded description (not Head of Government of France).
More information Unmodified, denoting a title, Modified or reworded, denoting a description ...
| Unmodified, denoting a title |
Modified or reworded, denoting a description |
| Richard Nixon was President of the United States. |
- Richard Nixon was the president of the United States.
- Richard Nixon was a president of the United States.
- Nixon was the 37th president of the United States.
- Nixon was one of the more controversial American presidents.
- Mao met with US president Richard Nixon in 1972.
- A controversial American president, Richard Nixon, resigned.
- Camp David is a mountain retreat for presidents of the United States.
|
| Theresa May became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in 2016. |
- Theresa May was the prime minister of the United Kingdom.
- Theresa May is a former prime minister of the United Kingdom.
|
| Louis XVI became King of France and Navarre in 1774, later styled King of the French (1791–1792). |
- Louis XVI was a king of France.
- Louis XVI was the king of France when the French Revolution began.
- The French king Louis XVI was later beheaded.
|
Close
Even when used with a name, capitalization is not required for commercial and informal titles: OtagoSoft vice-president Chris Henare; team co-captain Chan.
The formality (officialness), specificity, or unusualness of a title is not a reason to capitalize it.
Note that for "president of the United States" or "prime minister of the United Kingdom", the name of the country remains capitalized even when the title is not, as it is always a proper noun. When writing "minister of foreign affairs" or "minister of national defence", the portfolio should be lower-cased as it is not a proper noun on its own (i.e., write minister of foreign affairs or, as a proper noun, Minister of Foreign Affairs; do not write minister of Foreign Affairs).
Academic or professional titles and degrees
Academic or professional titles (such as "Dr." or "Professor"), including honorary ones, should be used only with subjects of a biography that are widely known by a pseudonym or stage name containing the title (whether earned or not), and included in the pseudonym as described above (e.g. Mehmet Cengiz Oz, better known as Dr. Oz ...). However, verifiable facts about how a person attained their title should be included in the article. (For dots after abbreviated titles, see WP:Manual of Style/Abbreviations § Full points (periods).)
Post-nominal letters for academic degrees following someone's name (such as Steve Jones, PhD; Margaret Doe, JD) may occasionally be used within an article where that person is not the subject, to clarify their qualifications concerning some part of the article, although this is usually better described in wording. Avoid this practice otherwise. See WP:Manual of Style/Abbreviations § Contractions
Post-nominal letters
When the subject of an article has received honours or appointments issued either by the subject's state of citizenship or residence, or by a widely recognized organization that reliable sources regularly associate with the subject, post-nominal letters may be included in any part of the article other than the lead sentence.[8]
The lead sentence should be concise: Academic (including honorary) degrees and professional qualifications may be mentioned in the article, along with the above, but should be omitted from the lead.
Post-nominals for honours awarded by the United Kingdom (e.g. KCB, CBE) may be used as soon as they are gazetted; investiture is not necessary.
Post-nominals should only be mentioned at relevant places in a biography subject's own article (excepting the lead sentence), in an infobox parameter for post-nominals, when the post-nominals themselves are under discussion in the material, and in other special circumstances such as a list of recipients of an award or other honour. For example, "Brian Lara TC OCC AM" should not appear in an article like Warwickshire County Cricket Club.
Formatting post-nominals
Where post-nominal letters are used, commas should be used to separate them from the name and any following text, and to divide each set of letters; alternatively, no commas should be used at all. If a peerage or baronetcy is held, then commas should always be used for consistency's sake, as the noble title is already separated from the name by a comma.
Where this manual provides options, consistency should be maintained within an article unless there is a good reason to do otherwise. The Arbitration Committee has ruled that editors should not change an article from one guideline-defined style to another without a substantial reason unrelated to mere choice of style, and that revert-warring over optional styles is unacceptable.[r] If the discussion cannot determine which style to use in an article, defer to the style used in the first post-stub version of the article to include a post-nominal.
Editors should remember that the meaning of the most obvious (to them) post-nominal initials will not be obvious to some readers. When post-nominal initials are used, the meaning should be readily available to the reader. This may be via a wikilink to an article, or with the {{abbr}} template (or its underlying <abbr>...</abbr> markup) which provides a mouse-over tooltip expanding the abbreviation.
This is most easily done using the {{post-nominals}} template:
- With commas:
Joe Bloggs, {{post-nominals|size=100%|sep=,|country=GBR|VC|OBE}}
gives: Joe Bloggs, VC, OBE
- Without commas:
Joe Bloggs {{post-nominals|country=GBR|VC|OBE}}
gives: Joe Bloggs VC OBE
This template needs the |size=100% parameter when used in an infobox, or its output will be too small. Otherwise the |size=100% parameter is optional with or without commas.
At least, use a piped link to an article with the appropriate title, e.g.:
Joe Bloggs [[Victoria Cross|VC]] [[Officer of the Order of the British Empire|OBE]]
gives: Joe Bloggs VC OBE
This ensures that readers who hover over the initials see the target article's URL as a hint and in the status bar at the bottom of the window. This manual formatting is only needed for cases where {{post-nominals}} does not handle the abbreviation in question. If there is nothing to link to, and a redlink is unlikely to result in eventual creation of an article, use the {{abbr}} template to explain the acronym. Because there is an accessibility issue with relying exclusively on such tooltip cues (touch-sensitive devices and assistive technologies generally do not utilize mouse-cursor hovering), a link is preferred when available.
Honorifics
Honorifics and styles of nobility should normally be capitalized, e.g., Her Majesty, His Holiness. They are not usually used in running text, though some may be appropriate in the lead sentence of a biographical article, as detailed below, or in a section about the person's titles and styles.
Honorific prefixes and suffixes
In general, honorific prefixes and suffixes should not be included, but may be discussed in the article. In particular, this applies to:
- styles and honorifics derived from a title, position or activity, including The Most Honourable, The Right Honourable, The Honourable (Hon.), His/Her Excellency, His/Her Grace, etc.;
- styles and honorifics related to royalty, aristocracy, clergy, and sainthood, such as His/Her Majesty, His Holiness, The Reverend, and The Venerable. Clergy should be named as described in Wikipedia:Naming conventions (clergy).
There are some exceptions:
- Where an honorific is so commonly attached to a name that the name is rarely found in English-language reliable sources without it, it should be included. For example, the honorific may be included for Mother Teresa.
- Where a female historical figure is consistently referred to using the name of her husband and her birth name is unknown. For example, an honorific may be used for "Mrs. Alfred Jones".
- The prenominals Sir, Dame, Lord, and Lady are discussed in § Knighthoods, lordships, and similar honorific titles.
- In Burmese names, honorifics may be preserved if they are part of the common form of address, e.g. U Thant.
- The Turkish honorific suffix Pasha is normally included in a notable person's name.
The inclusion of some honorific prefixes, suffixes, and other styles is controversial.
(See WP:Naming conventions (royalty and nobility) for use in article titles.)
Knighthoods, lordships, and similar honorific titles
The honorific titles Sir, Dame, Lord and Lady are included in the initial reference and infobox heading for the subject of a biographical article, but are optional after that. The title is placed in bold in the first use of the name. Except for the initial reference and infobox, do not add honorific titles to existing instances of a person's name where they are absent, because doing so implies that the existing version is incorrect (similar in spirit to the guideline on English spelling differences). Similarly, honorific titles should not be deleted when they are used throughout an article unless there is consensus. Where the use of an honorific title is widely misunderstood, this can be mentioned in the article; see, for example, Bob Geldof. Honorific titles used with forenames only (such as "Sir Elton", "Sir David", "Dame Judi") should be avoided unless this form is so heavily preferred in popular usage that the use of the surname alone would render the entire name unrecognizable.
Honorary knights and dames are not entitled to "Sir" or "Dame", only the post-nominal letters. Not all non-honorary inductees into an order of chivalry are entitled to use the pre-nominal titles, either, and may receive distinct post-nominals. For example, the Order of the British Empire has five classes, each with different post-nominals; only the senior two are entitled to Sir/Dame.
Titles signifying honours awarded by the United Kingdom (i.e. Sir, Dame) may be used as soon as they are gazetted. Investiture is not necessary.
Pseudo-titles
Editors may choose to use pseudo-titles or not. In the following examples, the word "the" may be used or omitted: [the] historian Jane Doe wrote; [the] Canadian academic Jean Doe concluded; [the] artist John Doe painted; and [the] French philosopher Sartre published. The choice to use pseudo-titles, also called false titles, need not be consistent within an article.
Tense
Biographies of living persons should generally be written in the present tense, and biographies of deceased persons in the past tense. When making the change upon the death of a subject, the entire article should be reviewed for consistency. If a person is living but has retired, use is a former or is a retired rather than the past tense was.
- Correct – John Smith (1946–2003) was a baseball pitcher ...
- Correct – John Smith (born 1946) is a former baseball pitcher ...
- Incorrect – John Smith (born 1946) was a baseball pitcher ...
(For when people should be presumed dead in the absence of definitive information, see WP:Biographies of living persons § Recently dead or probably dead.)
Historical events should be written in the past tense in all biographies:
- Smith played for the Baltimore Orioles between 1968 and 1972 ...
The present tense may be used when discussing the work of a writer or philosopher, even if the person is dead: In his Institutes, Calvin teaches .... The general rule is to describe statements made in literature, philosophy, and art in the historical present. Past tense should be used for news and marketing materials, public statements, and any other quoted or paraphrased material which is not itself a subject of consideration as a lasting work: Trump controversially referred to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as "Little Rocket Man" in a September 23, 2017, tweet. (not ... refers ...).
Out-of-date material
It is best to avoid time-dependent statements, which can often be creatively rewritten anyway. When making any statements about current events, use the "As of" template; for example, "as of April 2011" or "in April 2011". If you're giving a precise date range from the past to the present, as with a living person's age or career, you may use the "Age" template. The article subject's age can also be calculated in the infobox.
There is no need to add "deceased" (or similar euphemisms like "the late") to a person's article, or those in which that person is mentioned. If the person has an article this should already be sourced; it is unnecessary. "Survived by" and "survivors", phrasings commonly found in obituaries, should not be used.
Order of events
"MOS:CHRONOLOGICAL" redirects here. For timelines, see
MOS:CHRONO.
In general, present a biography in chronological order, from birth to death, except where there is a good reason to do otherwise. Within a single section, events should almost always be in chronological order.
Sexuality
Care should be taken to avoid placing undue weight on sexuality. A person's sexual orientation or activities should usually not be mentioned in the article's lead unless related to the person's notability.
Gender identity
When referring to a person whose gender might be questioned, follow the guidance in this section both when referring to them in present tense and in earlier phases of their life, unless they have indicated a preference to the contrary.
Use the name and gendered words (man, woman, person) that reflect the person's most recent expressed self-identification as reported in the most recent reliable sources, even if it does not match what is most common in sources. Do not use gendered noun forms (mailman, waitress) that do not match their most recent self-identification.
Unless a living transgender or non-binary person was notable under a former name, the former name should not appear in any page (including questions, lists, redirects, disambiguation pages, category names, templates, etc.), even if reliable sourcing exists. Treat the pre-notability name as a privacy interest, as in these examples:
- From Laverne Cox:
Laverne Cox (born May 29, 1972) ...
- Avoid phrasing like this:
Jane Doe (formerly John Smith; born May 1, 1980) ...
In the case of a living transgender or non-binary person, their birth name or former name (professional name, stage name, or pseudonym) should be included in the lead sentence of their main biographical article only if they were notable (by Wikipedia's standards) under that name. Introduce the prior name with either "born" or "formerly". For example:
- From Chelsea Manning, notable under birth name:
Chelsea Elizabeth Manning (born Bradley Edward Manning, December 17, 1987) ...
- From Elliot Page, notable under former professional name:
Elliot Page (formerly Ellen Page; born February 21, 1987) ...
Outside the main biographical article, generally do not discuss in detail the changes of a person's name or gender presentation unless pertinent. Where a person's gender may come as a surprise, explain it on first occurrence, without overemphasis. Avoid confusing constructions (Jane Doe fathered a child) by rewriting (e.g., Jane Doe became a parent). In articles on works or other activity by a living trans or non-binary person before transition, use their current name as the primary name (in prose, tables, lists, infoboxes, etc.). If they were notable under the name by which they were credited for the work or other activity, provide it in a parenthetical or footnote on first reference; add more parentheticals or footnotes only if needed to avoid confusion.
Paraphrase, elide, or use square brackets to replace portions of quotations to avoid deadnaming or misgendering, except in rare cases where exact wording cannot be avoided, as where there is a pun on the notable former name, etc.
- Critic X said "Juno needs a fine [actor] to play its pregnant teenage star, and [Elliot] Page has shown [himself] to be the perfect [man] for the job." involves many bracketed changes, so is better paraphrased: Critic X argued that portraying the pregnant teenage lead in the film Juno required a fine acting talent, and said that Page had proved perfect for the job.
In source citations, do not remove names of authors or references to former names in titles of works. If the author is notable, the current name may be given, for example as "X (writing as Y)". Do not replace or supplement a person's former name with a current name if the two names have not been publicly connected and connecting them would out the person.
In the case of a person whose transgender or non-binary status is disputed by reliable sources, use the name and pronoun used by the majority of reliable sources since the dispute emerged.[s]
Performers whose genders differ from those of the characters they portray, such as drag performers, may use different pronouns from their characters. Use preferred pronouns for their real-life and in-character identities, for instance Thomas Neuwirth is an Austrian drag queen. His persona Conchita Wurst is known for her beard.
Neopronouns and the singular they
Singular they/them/their pronouns are appropriate to use in reference to any person who goes by them. If a person exclusively goes by neopronouns, such as ze/hir, then singular they should also generally be used instead of neopronouns when referring to that individual, though their neopronouns should usually be mentioned in their biography (in the main prose or in a footnote).[t]
Authority control
Place {{Authority control}} at the foot of biographies (immediately above {{DEFAULTSORT}}, if present). Add authority control identifiers (VIAF, ISNI, ORCID, etc.) in the subject's Wikidata entry, from where they will be automatically transcluded into the template.
Notes
There is no categorical preference between describing a person as British rather than as English, Scottish, or Welsh. Decisions on which label to use should be determined through discussions and consensus. The label must not be changed arbitrarily. To come to a consensus, editors should consider how reliable sources refer to the subject, particularly UK reliable sources, and whether the subject has a preferred nationality by which they identify.
A 2018 RfC on Spanish regional identity in the lead resulted in consensus to use the regional identity that reliable sources use most often and with which the subject identifies. See also WP:CATLEDE. In general, a position, activity, or role should not be included in the lead paragraph if: a) the role is not otherwise discussed in the lead (per MOS:LEAD, don't tease the reader), b) the role is not significantly covered in the body of the article, or, c) the role is auxiliary to a main profession of the person (e.g. do not add "textbook writer", if the person is an academic). Criminals often use multiple aliases; ones unfamiliar to the public should generally not be in the lead section. Various rulers and other nobility have often had numerous variant names in different languages. Avoid clogging the lead with a boldfaced litany of these; reserve them for an appropriate place in the body of the article, in an infobox or language sidebar, or in footnotes.
Wikipedia may consider that marginally notable living persons (e.g., subjects in the public eye only due to a single event) have privacy interests in their birth names. Such concerns are not raised by biographies of the deceased, nor in most cases those of major public figures who are still living. Wikipedia uses names as reported by reliable sources, without regard to legal status of a name. Numerous professional names are not legal names, and whether a name change has been legally formalized has no bearing on its use in or exclusion from an article. Some effective name changes are retrospective, involving no action on the part of the subjects to whom they refer; e.g., the spelling Rameses now dominates in modern sources over the formerly more common Ramses, in reference to various ancient Egyptian figures. See also: WP:Article titles § Use commonly recognizable names. Consider as a "common" hypocorism one that shortens in a conventionalized way, sometimes also with a diminutive suffix added, and which is derived from a name frequently used in English-speaking countries, e.g. Liz, Beth, Lizzy, Bettie, etc., from Elizabeth. If it is not conventional, it is not "common" (e.g. Nifer from Jennifer). Short forms that differ significantly from the name may be non-hypocoristic nicknames, depending on the particular case. A few such forms are well-known common hypocorisms, such as Bob for Robert and Bill for William, but most are not (e.g. Reba for Rebecca). Assume that most non-English hypocorisms (e.g. Lupita for Guadalupe, Mischa for Mikhail, Sascha for Alexander or Zuzka for Zuzana) are not familiar as hypocorisms to readers of the English Wikipedia, even if well-known in their native culture.
Index-order: Place "Jr." and the like after the given name(s); do not append to the surname (Kennedy Jr., John F.) especially in citations, as this pollutes the surname metadata with extraneous information and will also alter the sorting order, placing the "Kennedy Jr." entry after all simple "Kennedy" entries.
There have been repeated proposals to treat small children, or all minors, differently and to always refer to them by given name. These proposals have not gained consensus. Especially do not refer to notable minors by given name (in their own article or elsewhere) except as necessary to disambiguate from other family members.
References
Pereira, Christophe (2008). "Libya". Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics. Vol. 3. Brill. pp. 52–58.
