WikiNames:Manual of Style

This is the Manual of Style for name articles on WikiNames. It documents current style guidelines and is subject to change.

Layout
Complete name articles should follow this style. However, nicknames or uncommon variants may be written in one lead section. See the Small articles section below.

Lead
All articles should start out with a lead section that is not contained in any header. The lead section should normally contain only one sentence, indicating the pronunciation, type, gender, and language (or origin) of the name. An additional sentence may be added if the name is an equivalent of an English name.

Example:


 * James (jamz) is an English masculine given name.


 * Sarah (SEHR-ruh) is an English feminine given name of Hebrew origin.


 * Juan (hwohn) is Spanish masculine given name. It is the Spanish equivalent of John.


 * Brown (broun) is an English surname.


 * Chris (krihs) is an English unisex name of Greek origin.

Origin
Give the origin (etymology) of the name. List the time and place that the name was developed in. Also give the meaning of the name or its parts, whichever is applicable. All information in this section should be reliably sourced (see Sources).

Popularity
Give current information regarding its popularity in different places and time periods. Current ranking in certain countries is highly recommended. Some countries publish a list of the most popular names of people born in a particular year. The following is a list of online government resources of popular names — feel free to add more:


 * United States: http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/
 * England and Wales: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/datasets-and-tables/index.html?pageSize=50&sortBy=none&sortDirection=none&newquery=Baby+Names%2C+England+and+Wales%2C+2012

All information in this section should be reliably sourced (see Sources).

Nicknames
List nicknames in the language of the name. Make a list by using bullet points, and sort the list alphabetically. Be sure to link to them by using double square brackets.

Related names
List the languages in alphabetical order, with English always at the top. After the language name, list related names, separated by commas.

Example:


 * English: 1, 2, 3
 * French: 4, 5

produces


 * English: 1, 2, 3
 * French: 4, 5

People
This section lists notable, real (not fictional) people with the name as their given name or surname. "Notable" is defined as having an article on the English Wikipedia.

Within this section, sections Given name and/or Surname may be added, if applicable. Make a list by using bullet points, and sort the list alphabetically. Use the template Template:Person to list a notable person, which links to the person's article on the English Wikipedia.

Only list notable, real people. If a non-notable or fictional person is added to the list, it may be removed.

Locations
This section lists notable, real (not fictional) locations that have the name in part or full. "Notable" is defined as having an article on the English Wikipedia.

Make a list by using bullet points, and sort the list alphabetically. Use the template Template:Location to list a notable location, which links to the location's article on the English Wikipedia.

Only list notable, real locations. If a non-notable or fictional location is added to the list, it may be removed.

Small articles
Some articles are about names that are nicknames or uncommon variants of another name. If there is not enough information about a name, it may be created as (or converted to) a small article. The small article should still contain the standard first sentence, indicating the pronunciation, type, gender, and language (or origin) of the name. The second sentence should contain the relationship of the name to another one, such as nickname or variant.

Example:


 * Smyth (smihth) is an English surname. It is a spelling variant of Smith.

The article does not need to include any sections. However, it should still include relevant categories.

Spelling and grammar
For the sake of consistency, the following spelling and grammar guidelines should be followed in articles, templates, categories, project pages, and help pages. These guidelines do not apply to the user space.

English varieties
American English should be used for spelling, grammar, dates, etc.

Ordinal numbers
For aesthetic purposes, use Template:2nd, Template:3rd, and Template:th where needed.


 * 10th becomes 10.