This article is within the scope of WikiProject Biography, a collaborative effort to create, develop and organize Wikipedia's articles about people. All interested editors are invited to join the project and contribute to the discussion. For instructions on how to use this banner, please refer to the documentation.BiographyWikipedia:WikiProject BiographyTemplate:WikiProject Biographybiography articles
This article is within the scope of WikiProject England, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of England on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.EnglandWikipedia:WikiProject EnglandTemplate:WikiProject EnglandEngland-related articles
This article is within the scope of WikiProject London, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of London on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.LondonWikipedia:WikiProject LondonTemplate:WikiProject LondonLondon-related articles
A fact from Charles Chaplin Sr. appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page in the Did you know column on 11 February 2013 (check views). The text of the entry was as follows:
Yes I've seen his name given as Charles Spencer in some sources as well. But David Robinson is considered the authority on all things Chaplin, he conducted extensive research into their family tree, and he just writes of Charles Chaplin. I'm quite sure that if this CC definitely had a middle name, Robinson would have found it. He gives his brother's full name as Spencer William Chaplin, so he obviously could find this information. And that brings up another point - it's pretty unlikely that CC Sr would have had the middle name Spencer when he already had a brother called Spencer.
While siblings don't tend to share a name with one as the middle name and one as the first name, it has happened at times. For instance, the children of John Winthrop Chanler and his wife Margaret Astor Ward include Winthrop Astor Chanler, Elizabeth Astor Winthrop Chanler, and Robert Winthrop Chanler. Another example is Bouvier Beale and his sister Edith Bouvier Beale. So even if unlikely, it still is possible.
I figured that this Chaplin would likely have the same middle name as the comic actor, because suffixes such as Sr., Jr., II, III, etc. imply that the relatives share the exact same full name. If he has no middle name, I would suggest this article have a title like "Charles Chaplin (1863—1901)" or "Charles Chaplin (singer)". If he has a different middle name than his son (such as "Thomas"), the article could have a title like "Charles T. Chaplin" (or whatever the middle initial is). Thesomeone987 (talk) 00:30, 14 February 2013 (UTC)Reply
Well...like I said, he is almost always referred to as "Chaplin Sr" in the sources. And WP:NAME says, "Generally, article titles are based on what the subject is called in reliable sources." --Lobo(talk)07:41, 14 February 2013 (UTC)Reply