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Wikipedia:Name pages

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This how-to guide for name pages discusses articles about surnames and given names and articles containing lists of people sharing a surname or given name. It also differentiates these articles from disambiguation pages that include lists of people.

Introduction

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Scope

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This guide explains common editorial practice for name pages with reference to accepted Wikipedia policy and points to example Wikipedia pages. However, it is neither an exhaustive treatment of the topic of personal names nor a complete review of policies and community standards.

Further information: Wikipedia:WikiProject Anthroponymy/Standards

Nomenclature

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A surname page refers to an article about a surname or to a kind of set index article (SIA), a surname index article, that lists people who share a common surname. Similarly, a given name page refers to an article about a given name or to a given name index article listing people who share a common given name.

For purposes of this guide, surname pages, given name pages, and articles that are a combination of surname and given name pages (or about a name used more broadly) will be collectively referred to as name pages. Set index articles listing people sharing a surname or given name will be referred to as name index articles.

Content

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Name pages may include summary information about the name or detailed encyclopedic content, as names are a subject of study in the field of anthroponymy and often have cultural and historical significance.

Name index articles include one or more embedded lists of notable people with a common surname or given name. They often include only a brief description of the name (as in Cross or Gretel), but they may also feature additional non-list prose in the article body (as in García or Jack).

In many cases, name pages include pronunciation, etymology, historical information and images. As with other articles, they may contain references and external links.

Lists of people

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Name index articles include embedded lists of people who share a common surname or given name.

Further information: WP:Stand-alone lists § Lists of people

Introductory phrase

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It is standard practice in name index articles to include a short introductory phrase prior to the first embedded list (e.g., "Notable people with the surname include:").

Organization

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Generally, names should be listed in alphabetical order, but where the page includes a large number of people it may be helpful to categorize them (as in Khan or Elizabeth).

Fictional characters are usually listed separately from real people to avoid confusion (as with Elsa).

List entries

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Names of people do not need to adhere to the policy for entries in disambiguation pages, since name pages are articles and not disambiguation pages. However, when several people have the same or very similar full names, it may be helpful to distinguish them in a similar manner, such as by including their birth and death years (see MOS:DABPEOPLE).

Name index articles should only list notable people bearing the name. Therefore, inclusion of red links on name index articles should be limited to individuals who are otherwise clearly notable, but are missing an article.

Including entries from other lists

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It is fairly common with name index articles to include entries that are also included in other similar lists, either explicitly or by reference, such as by linking to human name disambiguation pages.

Human name disambiguation pages

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People who share a surname or given name may also share their full name, in which case the full name needs disambiguation. Pages that disambiguate people with the same full name are referred to as human name disambiguation pages.

It is common practice to included entries in name index articles that are links to human name disambiguation pages, in which case the entry may include clarifying text such as "multiple people" (as in Thomas, which has an entry for Aaron Thomas (disambiguation), multiple people).

Using a separate section

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Properly speaking, such links should be listed in a separate section (as in List of people with surname Brown or List of people with surname Smith). It is more appropriate to list disambiguation pages separately, because disambiguation pages are navigational aids and are not meant to be included as entries in standalone lists. Also, disambiguation pages might include entries for meanings other than individuals (as with Samuel Adams (disambiguation), which includes an entry for Sam Adams (beer)).

Explicitly listing distinct individuals

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The alternative, and arguably the more proper approach, is to list people with the same full name explicitly as distinct entries in the name index article instead of referencing human name disambiguation pages.

Titles

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Primary topic

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It is common for a name page to be entitled the name itself (as with Johnson or Susan). If the name is the primary topic of an ambiguous term, other meanings may be included in a disambiguation page (as with Johnson (disambiguation) or Susan (disambiguation)).

Qualifiers

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If another topic can be considered primary, name pages are usually titled with a qualifier, e.g., name, surname and given name.

Generic name qualifier

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Name pages about the name used broadly are often titled with the generic name qualifier (as with Jackson (name)).

The name qualifier is also commonly used when a name is used primarily in a narrow sense as a surname or given name and there is only one article about the name (as with Miller (name) or Sally (name)). In such cases, it is appropriate to tag the article according to its primary use.

Narrow qualifiers

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Name pages are often titled using a narrow qualifier (as with Hill (surname) and John (given name)), especially when the name is used in multiple senses and distinct articles exist. Other more specific qualifiers are sometimes used (as with Rhun (Welsh given name)).

Descriptive

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When a name index article is long, it may make sense to split it from the article page discussing the name as a topic. In such cases the index article can be titled descriptively (such as with List of people with surname Carpenter or List of people named Marie).

Compared to disambiguation pages

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See also: WP:Set index articles § Set indexes and disambiguation

Most surnames and given names are ambiguous in the sense that they are shared by multiple persons, and people are often referred to and even recognized by their first or last name.

Regardless, name index articles are fundamentally articles. As with other set index articles, name index articles are not considered disambiguation pages, because the combination of a given name and surname would generally be considered a partial title match for disambiguation purposes.

In contrast, human name disambiguation pages are navigational aids disambiguating articles about people having the same full name (as with Johnny Miller (disambiguation)).

Disambiguation pages with names of people

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Disambiguation pages are not search indexes, and they should not include lists of people sharing a common surname or given name who are not otherwise ambiguously named.

Where an ambiguous term has many meanings, and one or more of these is the surname or given name of a person commonly recognized by their name (as with Abraham Lincoln or Diana, Princess of Wales), it may be appropriate to include an entry about the individual on the disambiguation page (as in Lincoln (disambiguation) or Diana (disambiguation)). Sometimes prominent people recognized by their first or last name are the primary topic (as with Einstein and Elvis).

People not commonly recognized by their surname or given name, however, should not be listed on the disambiguation page.

Further information: WP:Disambiguation § Names

Name-holder lists

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Despite the narrow policy on including people on disambiguation pages, it has become somewhat common practice to include notable people having a common surname or given name (as in Torn or Bent). This practice should be limited to cases with only a few names and only when a separate name page does not already exist.

Lists of people with a common surname or given name on disambiguation pages are referred to as surname-holder lists and given-name-holder lists. Disambiguation pages containing name-holder lists are included in Category:Disambiguation pages with surname-holder lists and Category:Disambiguation pages with given-name-holder lists.

Disambiguation pages with lengthy name-holder lists should be split into a separate name index article.

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The criteria for including red links for people is slightly different for name index articles and disambiguation pages. Although the person should be notable in both cases, in name index articles red links are appropriate to encourage writing articles about prominent people, whereas in disambiguation pages red links are appropriate only when the person is mentioned in an existing article, in which case the article mentioning the person may already have a red link for that person.

Further information: MOS:DABRED and WP:SETNOTDAB

Tagging and categorizing

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Surname pages

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Place the tag {{Surname}} at the bottom of the surname page. This will automatically include the page in Category:Surnames and will add an advisory note at the bottom of the page.

Immediately following the {{Surname}} tag, you may add surname categories as appropriate (e.g., Category:English-language surnames), after first verifying via reliable sources.

Consider adding the {{surname-stub}} tag at the bottom of the page to encourage further development of a stub article.

Do not place {{Disambiguation}} tags on surname pages.

Given name pages

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Place the tag {{Given name}} at the bottom of the given name page. This will automatically include the page in Category:Given names and will add an advisory note at the bottom of the page.

Immediately following the {{Given name}} tag, you may add given name categories as appropriate (e.g., Category:Russian feminine given names), after first verifying via reliable sources.

Consider adding the {{given-name-stub}} tag at the bottom of the page to encourage further development of a stub article.

Do not place {{Disambiguation}} tags on given name pages.

Combined name pages

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For articles about names used as both surnames and given names (such as Vagner), use {{Given name|type=both}}, in which case there is no need to use the {{surname}} template.

Name index articles

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For name index articles, you may add a name list category as appropriate, e.g., Category:Lists of people by surname, Category:Lists of people by given name, Category:Nicknames.

Disambiguation pages

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For disambiguation pages that include a list of people with a common surname or given name (name-holder lists), place the {{disambiguation}} tag on the page using the surname parameter or given name parameter as appropriate, i.e., {{Disambiguation|surname}}) or {{Disambiguation|given name}}). This will place the disambiguation page in Category:Disambiguation pages with surname-holder lists or Category:Disambiguation pages with given-name-holder lists.

Placing name-holder lists in these categories will facilitate cleanup of these disambiguation pages such as by splitting the list of people into a separate name page.

Do not place the {{Surname}} or {{Given name}} tags on disambiguation pages.

Human name disambiguation pages

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For human name disambiguation pages, place the {{hndis}} tag on the page. For example, Robert Montgomery uses {{hndis|Montgomery, Robert}}. Tagging pages with {{hndis}} adds the pages to Category:Human name disambiguation pages.

Category sorting

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For name pages with descriptive titles, add {{DEFAULTSORT:sortkey}}, where sortkey is the surname or given name, immediately above the line which begins the list of categories. For example, List of people with surname Wilson uses {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson}}. Alternatively, override the default sort of the category. For example, List of people with given name Alan uses [[Category:Lists of people by given name|Alan]] .

Further information: WP:NAMESORT

Talk pages

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Place the {{Anthroponymy}} tag at the top of the talk page of name pages. This will include the page within the scope of WP:WikiProject Anthroponymy.

If a name index article is purely a list, possibly with an introductory sentence or phrase, then use {{Anthroponymy|class=list|importance=NA}}.

Linking

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Because surnames and given names are also encyclopedic topics, it is appropriate to link to a name page when the link intends that topic (as in List of most popular given names, which links to several given name pages, and Normans, which links to Gray as a historical Scottish family name).

Cross-linking with index article

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When there are distinct name topic pages and name index articles they should link to one another.

Place a hatnote on the topic page (as in Smith (surname), which links to List of people with surname Smith). Link the first mention of the surname or given name in the lead of the index article to the topic page (as in List of people with surname Smith, in which "Smith" links to Smith (surname) in the lead).

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As with disambiguation pages (and primary topics for ambiguous terms), name pages are prone to having errant incoming links due to the propensity of editors to link familiar partial terms or because an editor is unsure which person is being discussed in an article.

Therefore, links to name index articles may need to be checked to determine if a specific individual on the page is intended by the link. Such cases should be disambiguated where possible or else tagged using {{siadn}}.

Articles on an individual person should not contain a link to the name page unless the fact that they have that surname or given name is itself the subject of discussion in reliable sources.

From disambiguation pages

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When a surname or given name has other ambiguous meanings, the disambiguation page for the term should include an entry linking to the name page (as in Hope (disambiguation), which includes entries linking to Hope (surname) and Hope (given name)).

See also

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