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This page sets out guidelines for achieving visual and textual consistency in biographical articles and in biographical information in other articles; such consistency allows Wikipedia to be used more easily. While this guideline focuses on biographies, its advice pertains, where applicable, to all articles that mentionpeople.
For a short summary, seeWikipedia:Biography dos and don'ts.
The lead section should summarise withdue weight the life and works of the person. When writing about controversies in the lead section of a biography,relevant material should neither be suppressed nor allowed to overwhelm: always pay scrupulous attention to reliable sources, and make sure the lead correctly reflects the entirety of the article. Write clinically, and let the facts speak for themselves. These concerns are especially pressing forbiographies of living persons.
Well-publicized recent events affecting a subject, whether controversial or not, should be kept in historical perspective. What is most recent is not necessarily what is mostnoteworthy: new information should be carefully balanced against old, withdue weight accorded to each.
When a subject dies, the lead need not be radically reworked;Wikipedia is not a memorial site. Unless the cause of death is itself a reason fornotability, a single sentence describing the death is usually sufficient, and often none is included in the lead at all, just a death date.
MoS guidelines foropening paragraphs andlead sentences should generally be followed. The opening paragraph of a biographical article should neutrally describe the person, provide context, establish notability and explain why the person is notable, and reflect the balance of reliable sources.
The first sentence should usually state:
However, try to not overload the first sentence by describing everything notable about the subject; instead, spread relevant information over the lead paragraph.
First sentence examples:
The opening paragraph should usually have dates of birth and (when applicable) death. These dates (specific day–month–year) are important information about the subject, but if they are also mentioned in the body, the vital year range (in brackets after the person's full name) may be sufficient to provide context. For living persons, privacy should be considered(seeWP:Biographies of living persons § Privacy of personal information and using primary sources, which takes precedence).
Birth and death places, if known, should be mentioned in the body of the article, and can appear in the lead if relevant to notability, but not in the opening brackets alongside the birth and death dates.
Birth and deathlabels are included only when needed for clarity. When given, use full words, whether immediately preceding a date or not:
For an approximate date or range of dates, usec. (abbreviation forcirca); at first occurrence this should be done with the template{{circa}} a.k.a.{{c.}}, which explains the abbreviation:c. 1457. When the only date known for a historical subject is a date (or range) when they were alive,fl. forfloruit (Latin for 'he/she flourished') is used; at first occurrence the{{floruit}} a.k.a.{{fl.}} template produces similar output:fl. 1432.
For full details on how to format simple and complex dates and ranges,seeWP:Manual of Style/Dates and numbers § Chronological items.
Beyond the first paragraph of the lead section, birth and death details should only be included after a name if there is special contextual relevance. Abbreviations likeb. andd. can be used, if needed, when space is limited (e.g., in a table) and when used repetitively (e.g., in a list of people). Birthdate information can be included in lists, directly to the right of the name, in parentheses, using the following format:
The opening paragraph should usually provide context for that which made the person notable. In most modern-day cases, this will be the country, region, or territory where the person is currently anational or permanent resident; or, if the person is notable mainly for past events, where the person was such when they became notable.(For guidance on historic place names versus modern-day one, seeWP:Naming conventions (geographic names) § Use modern names.)[d][e]
Ethnicity, religion, orsexuality should generally not be in the lead unless relevant to the subject's notability. Similarly, neither previousnationalities nor the country of birth should be mentioned in the opening paragraph unless relevant to the subject's notability.
The simplest example is someone who continued to reside in their country of origin:
The second example is someone who emigrated as a child and continued to identify as a citizen of their adopted country:
In cases of public or relevant dual citizenship, or a career that spans a subject's emigration, the use of the wordand reduces ambiguity.
Native American and Indigenous Canadian status is based on citizenship, not ethnicity. Indigenous persons' citizenship can be listed parenthetically, or as a clause after their names.(See alsoWikipedia:WikiProject Indigenous peoples of North America/Determining Native American and Indigenous Canadian identities.)
Finally, in controversial or unclear cases, nationality is sometimes omitted.
The lead sentence should describe the person as they are commonly described byreliable sources.
The noteworthy position(s) or role(s) the person held should usually be stated in the opening paragraph. However, avoid overloading the lead paragraph with various and sundry roles; instead, emphasize what made the person notable. Incidental and non-noteworthy roles (i.e. activities that are not integral to the person's notability) should usually not be mentioned in the lead paragraph.[f]
Offices, titles, and positions should accompany a name only if contextually relevant, and if common nouns, should not be capitalized.For particulars on different types of titles, see§ Positions, offices, and occupational titles, below.
Wherever possible, avoid defining a notable person, particularly in the title or first sentence, in terms of their relationships. Generally speaking, notability is not inherited; e.g. a person being the spouse or child of another notable person does not make that person notable.
Labels such as "criminal", "convicted felon", "fraudster", and "convicted sex offender" are imprecise and could be construed as name-calling or a moral judgement. It is better to describe the specific crime itself. The description and its placement should not give undue weight to the crime.[g]
When the crime is central to a person's notability, it can be introduced immediately after establishing who they are or were:
When the person is primarily notable for a reason other than the crime, principles of due weight will usually suggest placing the criminal description later in the first paragraph or in a subsequent paragraph (e.g.Martha Stewart,Rolf Harris,[h]Roman Polanski[i]). If the crime is not a significant part of the person's notability (e.g.Tim Allen, convicted of a felony 16 years before his rise to fame), it may be undue to mention in the lead at all.
Most of the examples throughout this section illustrate usage in the title sentence, but are generally applicable to personal names in any encyclopedic text unless the advice provided is explicitly about the lead section at the subject's own biographical article.
Most recent personal names have but one correct spelling for a particular individual, although presentation (use of initials, middle names, nicknames, etc.) can vary and still be correct. In these cases, it is best to use a recognizable form. The most complete name should appear at the beginning of the article to provide maximum information. Inclusion of middle names or initials when they are widely known, can be a useful form of disambiguation if there is more than one person known by that name. This can be particularly useful in disambiguating family members with very similar names (e.g.,George W. Bush,George P. Bush,George H. W. Bush). However, if the person is conventionally known by only their first and last names and disambiguation is not required, any middle names should be omitted. When a non-English personal name is written in a romanised form, it is encouraged to include the authentic spelling of the name at least once. For a person who has a biographic article, a link to that may suffice.
Names from history are less certain as to spelling, and the further back one goes the less particular societies were about exactness, so variations are more likely. Reliable sources on history should be consulted when a decision about naming must be made or a controversy arises. A readily accessible and authoritative source for the accepted name of a person who has written books, or who has been written about, is theUS Library of Congress Authorities database, which provides the accepted name and variant names used by the British Library, the National Library of Canada, and other English-language libraries.Redirect pages can ensure that all variants lead to the desired article.
Exceptions to the guidance in theNames section are only made when:
In such a case, treat it as aself-published name change.
Examples:
Such exceptions are determined by consensus and source research at a particular article, and do not generalize across an entire category of subjects (e.g. other academics, singer-songwriters, sportspeople, actors, nobility, or groups).
Redirects to such an article should exist from other forms of the name that readers might search for, especially the form that complies with the Manual of Style's defaults (for the above cases:Danah Boyd,K. D. Lang,Megan the Stallion,C. C. Sabathia,C. C. H. Pounder,D. D. Pfeiffer,Rose Ffrench andRose Ffrench, 1st Baroness Ffrench).
For unusual name presentations, usually in the sphere of performer marketing, that straddle the line between an individual's name and a trademark (e.g.Deadmau5, versusKe$ha forKesha),seeWP:Manual of Style/Trademarks.
English-language text formatting and capitalization norms apply to the names of individuals and groups, including bands, troupes, teams/squads, and families. Avoid unusual text formatting, such as over-capitalization and letter substitutions,including for nicknames,stage names and other trademarks (Kesha, notKe$ha).
Common nicknames, aliases, and variants are usuallygiven in boldface in the lead, especially if they redirect to the article, or are found on a disambiguation page orhatnote and link from those other names to the article. Boldface is not needed for obscure names, for a long list or for repeated names; embolden only the first instance. For example:
While English typically retains a leadingThe in the name of a published work, even when grammatically awkward (Stephen King'sThe Shining), this is not done otherwise (usea Beatles song, nota the Beatles song).
(For additional guidance on the use of capitals, seeWP:Manual of Style/Capital letters § Personal names. For groups of various sorts, see also:WP:Manual of Style/Trademarks;WP:Manual of Style/Music § Names (definite article);WP:Manual of Style/Capital letters § Institutions;WP:Manual of Style/Capital letters § Proper names.)
While the article title should generally be the name by which the subject is most commonly known, the subject's full name, if known, should usually be given in the lead sentence (including middle names, if known, or middle initials). Many cultures have a tradition of not using the full name of a person in everyday reference, but the article should start with the complete version in most cases. For example:
But remember that editors need to balance the desire to maximize the information available to the reader with the need to maintain readability. For example, the case ofMuammar Gaddafi.
The sentence seems to contain unnecessary clutter – a more readable form would be preferable. In addition, more relevant information should be included instead of translations, pronunciations, and alternative names or spellings, which can be introduced later in the lead. Consider moving some details into a footnote:
But remember, it's on a case-by-case basis and subject toconsensus.
Nicknames and other aliases included must be frequently used by reliable sources in reference to the subject. For any kind of alternative name, use formulations like the following (as applicable):
Alternative names that are sourceable but not generally known to the public (e.g., a childhood nickname, ahypocorism only used in private life, or a term of spousal endearment revealed in an in-depth biographical book) arenot encyclopedic. Highlighting uncommon or disputed appellations in the lead section gives themundue weight, and may also be a more generalneutrality problem if the phrase is laudatory or critical. Examples:
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:
 YGenghis Khan orChinggis Khaan (bornTemüjin; c. 1162 – August 18, 1227) was the founder of the Mongol Empire. |
 NGenghis Khan orChinggis Khaan (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), bornTemüjin (ТэмүжинTemüjin;traditional Chinese:鐵木真;simplified Chinese:铁木真;pinyin:Tiěmùzhēn;Wade–Giles:T'ieh3-mu4-chen1), was the founder of the Mongol Empire. |
| YJoseph John Aiuppa (December 1, 1907 – February 22, 1997), also known as "Joey O'Brien" and later as "Joey Doves", was a Chicago mobster. |
| NJoseph 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]):
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 becomePope 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 shortstub.
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]
Specific guidelines apply to living transgender and non-binary people(see§ Gender identity, below).
In other cases, a subject may have changed name 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:
The names should be distributed throughout the lead to mark major transitions in the subject's life:
If a subject changed theirsurname (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 usenée (feminine) andné (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 theé character.
Some practical examples:
For people who are best known by apseudonym, thelegal name should usually appear first in the article, followed closely by the pseudonym. Follow this practice even if the article itself is titled with the pseudonym:
Investigation inreliable 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 toElton 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. Donot write, for example:
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-languagehypocorism (diminutive or abbreviation) used in lieu of a given name,[n] it isnot presented between quotation marks or parentheses within or after their name. Example:
If a person is known by anickname 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 inlead-section boldface. Example:
Do not cram multiple hypocorisms and nicknames into the name in the lead sentence; complicated naming should be explained separately.
A nickname can eventually become a professional alias, even themost 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:
If a nickname is used in place of the subject's entire name, it is usually given separately:
Nicknames should not be re-presented with additional name parts unless necessary for usage clarity.
Use initials in a personal name[o] only if the name is commonly written that way.
An initial is capitalized and is followed by afull 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.), thoughonly 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.,Th. forTheophilus), and hyphenated given names are sometimes abbreviated with the hyphen (J.-P. forJean-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 asGeorge W. Proctor, though some of his books haveGeo. W. Proctor on the cover (the alternative form shouldredirect 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 hisinfobox, and his lead sentence just givesHoward Phillips Lovecraft ... was an American writer ..., without "explaining" to the reader whatH. P. stands for. Initials are notnicknames; do not put them in quotation marks or insert them in mid-name, as inJohn Thomas Smith better known as"J. T." Smith orJohn Thomas(J. T.) Smith.
(For unusual exceptions, seebelow.)
UsingJr.,Sr., or other such distinctions, including in the lead sentence of an article, isonly for cases in which the name with thesuffix is commonly used in reliable sources.
Do not put a comma beforeJr.,Sr. (or variations such asJnr), or aRoman numeral name suffix, whether it ispatronymic orregnal: useOtis D. Wright II, notOtis D. Wright, II. Append a period, or not, (Jr. orJr) according to thevariety of English used by the article.
When the surname is shown first, the suffix follows the given name, asKennedy, John F. Jr. orWright, Otis D. II.[p] When the given name is omitted, omit the suffix –Kennedy, notKennedy 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 Frenchfils ('son') andpère ('father') can be used for subjects for whom this usage is typical in English-language works:Alexandre Dumasfils. These terms are not capitalized.
See§ People with the same surname for an additional usage note.
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 aroyal 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 known; 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.
After the initial mention, a person should generally be referred to bysurname only – without anhonorific prefix such as "Mr.", "Mrs.", or "Ms.", andwithout academic or professional prefixes like "Dr.", "Prof.", "Rev.", etc. – or may be referred to by apersonal pronoun. For example:
However, where a person does not have a surname but apatronymic ormatronymic (likemany 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 theirgiven name; exceptions include royalty, e.g.Prince William orWilliam. 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. In other words, when discussing the early lives ofHillary andBill 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 him or her; for exampleRobert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, may becomethe Earl of Leicester,the Earl, or justLeicester (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 thePrince of Wales will be a different person thanWilliam, 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 useRobert Dudley orDudley when describing events before his elevation to the peerage in 1564.
When a majority ofreliable secondary sources refer to persons by apseudonym, they should be subsequently referred to by their pseudonymous surnames, unless they do not include a recognizable surname in the pseudonym (e.g.Sting,Snoop Dogg,the Edge), in which case the whole pseudonym is used. 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"),Jennifer Lopez ("J.Lo"); doctor/broadcasterDrew Pinsky ("Dr. Drew") – use the legal surname. If they use theirmononym or pseudonym exclusively, then use that name (e.g.Aaliyah,Selena, andUsher). If a person is known by multiple professional names, the article title should be either their most commonly used one, or their original name (Sean Combs andTeemu Keisteri are examples for the latter.)
For fictional entities, use common names. For example,Jason,Luigi, andWesker.
{{Patronymic name}}.{{Icelandic name}}.{{Family name hatnote}}.{{Family name hatnote}} or{{Portuguese name}}.See alsoWP:Categorization of people § Sort by surname, on the proper sorting of these names.
To distinguish between people with the same surname in the same article or page, usegiven names or complete names to refer to each of the peopleupon 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, usejust 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 arethe 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 onRonald Reagan:
In the text of an article about theBrothers Grimm:
Individuals distinguished with a generational suffix can be written about inForenameSuffix 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 names of authors and others. Consider them when checking for people with the same surname.
Eponyms – derived usage of personal (or other) names, as inParkinson's disease –capitalize the name portion, aside from conventionalized exceptions.
Overview: Titles should be capitalized when attached to an individual's name, or where the position/office is aglobally 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 likeRobert Ritter von Greim are not translated into "Sir Robert Greim", and are usually rendered inRobert von Greim form in running text; the Tibetan titleDalai 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 hyphenis 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 theof inWhite 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.
Offices, titles, and positions such aspresident,king,emperor,grand duke,lord mayor,pope,bishop,abbot,prime minister,leader of the opposition,chief financial officer, andexecutive director are common nouns and therefore should be in lower case when used generically:Mitterrand was the French president orThere were many presidents at the meeting. They are capitalized only in the following cases:
| Unmodified, denoting atitle | Modified or reworded, denoting adescription |
|---|---|
| Richard Nixon was President of the United States. |
|
| Theresa May became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in 2016. |
|
| Louis XVI became King of France and Navarre in 1774, later styled King of the French (1791–1792). |
|
Even when used with a name, capitalization isnot 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. writeminister of foreign affairs or, as a proper noun,Minister of Foreign Affairs; do not writeminister of Foreign Affairs).
Academic orprofessional 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 describedabove (e.g.Ruth Westheimer, better known asDr. Ruth ...). However, verifiable facts about how a person attained their title should be included in the article.(For dots after abbreviated titles, seeWP:Manual of Style/Abbreviations § Full points (periods).)
Post-nominal letters foracademic degrees following someone's name (such asSteve Jones, PhD;Margaret Doe, JD) may occasionally be used within an article where that person is not the subject, to clarify their qualifications with regard to some part of the article, although this is usually better described in wording. Avoid this practice otherwise.SeeWP:Manual of Style/Abbreviations § Contractions.
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 articleother than the lead sentence.[8][under discussion]
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 aregazetted;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 LaraTC OCC AM" should not appear in an article likeWarwickshire County Cricket Club.
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. TheArbitration 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 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 tooltipexpanding the abbreviation.
This is most easily done using the{{post-nominals}} template:
Joe Bloggs, {{post-nominals|size=100%|sep=,|country=GBR|VC|OBE}}Joe Bloggs {{post-nominals|country=GBR|VC|OBE}}This template needs the|size=100% parameter when used in an infobox, orits output will be too small. Otherwise the|size=100% parameter is optional with or without commas.
At the least, use apiped link to an article with the appropriate title, e.g.:
Joe Bloggs [[Victoria Cross|VC]] [[Officer of the Order of the British Empire|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 anaccessibility 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 andstyles 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.
In general,honorific prefixes and suffixes should not be included, but may be discussed in the article. In particular, this applies to:
There are some exceptions:
The inclusion of some honorific prefixes, suffixes, and other styles is controversial.
(SeeWP:Naming conventions (royalty and nobility) for use in article titles.)
The honorific titlesSir,Dame,Lord andLady 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 theguideline 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 thepost-nominal letters. Not all non-honorary inductees into anorder of chivalry are entitled to use the pre-nominal titles, either, and may receive distinct post-nominals. For example, theOrder 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 aregazetted.Investiture is not necessary.
Biographies of living persons should generally be written in thepresent tense, and biographies of deceased persons in thepast 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, useis a former oris a retired rather than the past tensewas.
(For when people should be presumed dead in the absence of definitive information, seeWP:Biographies of living persons § Recently dead or probably dead.
Historical events should be written in the past tense in all biographies:
The present tense may be used when discussing the work of a writer or philosopher, even if the person is dead:In hisInstitutes, Calvin teaches .... The general rule is to describe statements made in literature, philosophy, and art in thehistorical 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 ...).
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" to a person's article, or those in which that person is mentioned. If the person has an article this should already be sourced, otherwise it is unnecessary. "Survived by" and "survivors", phrasings commonly found in obituaries, should not be used.
In general, present a biography in chronological order, from birth to death, except where there is good reason to do otherwise. Within a single section, events should almost always be in chronological order.
Care should be taken to avoid placingundue weight on sexuality. A person's sexual orientation or activities should usually not be mentioned in the articlelead unless related to the person's notability.
Refer to any person whose gender might be questioned with the name and gendered words (e.g. pronouns,man/woman/person) that reflect the person'smost recent expressed self-identification as reported in the most recentreliable sources, even if it does not match what is most common in sources. Do not use gendered noun forms (e.g.mailman,waitress) that do not match the most recent self-identification. This holds for any phase of the person's life, unless they have indicated a preference otherwise.
If a livingtransgender ornon-binary person was notnotable under a former name (adeadname), the former name should not be included in any page (including lists, redirects, disambiguation pages, category names, templates, etc.), even in quotations,even if reliable sourcing exists. Treat the pre-notability name asa privacy interest, as in these examples:
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 articleonly if they were notable under that name. Introduce the prior name with either "born" or "formerly". For example:
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 gendermay 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.), unless they prefer their former name be used for past events. 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 avoiddeadnaming ormisgendering, except in rare cases where exact wording cannot be avoided, as where there is a pun on the notable former name, etc.
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 wouldout the person.
Performers whose genders differ from characters they portray, such asdrag performers, may use different pronouns from their characters. Use preferred pronouns for their real-life and in-character identities, for instanceThomas Neuwirth is an Austrian drag queen. His persona Conchita Wurst is known for her beard.
Singularthey/them/their pronouns are appropriate to use in reference to any person who goes by them. If a person exclusively goes byneopronouns, such asze/hir, then singularthey 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).[s]
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.
Due to the lack of standardization of transcribing written and regionally pronounced Arabic, Gaddafi's name has beenromanized in various ways. A 1986 column byThe Straight Dope lists 32 spellings known from the USLibrary of Congress,[2] whileABC identified 112 possible spellings.[3]
A 2007 interview with Gaddafi's sonSaif al-Islam Gaddafi confirms that Saif spelled his own nameQadhafi[4] and the passport of Gaddafi's son Mohammed used the spellingGathafi.[5] According toGoogle Ngram the variantQaddafi was slightly more widespread, followed byQadhafi,Gaddafi andGadhafi.[6][7] Scientific romanizations of the name areQaḏḏāfī (DIN,Wehr,ISO) or (rarely used)Qadhdhāfī (ALA-LC).