Wikipedia:You can be named after your son

This is an essay.

It contains the advice or opinions of one or more Wikipedia contributors. This page is not an encyclopedia article, nor is it one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, as it has not been thoroughly vetted by the community. Some essays represent widespread norms; others only represent minority viewpoints.

This page in a nutshell: What was named after what counts for zot.

Martin Luther King was named after his father Martin Luther King Sr., so why does the base name Martin Luther King redirect to the son, not to the father or the DAB? Simply because Martin Luther King Jr. is the primary topic of Martin Luther King.

People are not (normally) named after their sons.^[1] (^[globalize]; see Ab (Semitic) and the list-quality Umm (given name) for a cultural custom of naming people after their sons).

But that counts for nothing in Wikipedia. We choose our primary topics according to some (normally) clear criteria, and what was named after what ain't one o' them.

So if topic A(1) was named after topic A(2) and both share the common name A, A(1) can still be the primary topic for A. And often is.

For example

Pluto was named after Pluto (mythology), but the (former)^[2] planet gets the base name.

But people don't seem to get it

Origin of the phrase, clear primary topic after which all other topics are named. [1] Right conclusion, wrong reason. Common mistake. Add others below!

Notes and references

^ Perhaps they might be in a sufficiently bizarre set of circumstances, as Tom Lehrer observed in his introduction to The Elements.
^ Save the Planet Pluto

[1] Perhaps they might be in a sufficiently bizarre set of circumstances, as Tom Lehrer observed in his introduction to The Elements.

[2] Save the Planet Pluto

[1]

[2]