Help:Name a New Article

Naming new articles is an important part of helping our users locate genealogical research guidance. Please also read about naming conventions.

What does it mean to "name" an article?
Naming an article means that you create a "title" for the article or page. Naming articles usually happens by searching for the combination of words you want to make up the name, and then clicking on the red link for the new article. For additional information about how to create a new article with a new name, see creating a new article. New names may also be created for existing pages by renaming a page.

Guidelines for naming articles
Before creating a new article, take the time to think of a name that clearly explains in a few words the content of the article. Remove any unnecessary words or punctuation. The correct name for a new article can be very helpful to users.

Name a new article (or rename an existing article) with the following concepts in mind:


 * 1) FamilySearch Wiki is international, so any article with a general title such as "Surnames" should really cover the entire globe. If you are writing an article which applies to one locality only, then this should be made clear in the name of the article, such as Surnames in England or Scottish surnames.
 * 2) Make sure that the article name clearly and concisely communicates what a user may find in the article
 * 3) Keep article names short
 * 4) Avoid descriptive adjectives
 * 5) The first letter of proper nouns should be capitalized
 * 6) Do not capitalize regular nouns
 * 7) Avoid the use of pronouns
 * 8) Do not use abbreviations
 * 9) Article names should be gender neutral
 * 10) Do not start article names with "A," "The," or "An" if possible
 * 11) Replace "&amp;" with "and" unless it is part of a formal name
 * 12) Do not include characters such as / + { } [ ]
 * 13) Category names for topics should be singular

Ambiguous titles
On occasion the preferred name for an article while correct may be ambiguous. In these cases the practice is to either extend the article title with more specific information or add a term in brackets after the article title, so that the article name is unambiguous.

The preference for articles about locations is to be more specific by extending the place name, like a postal address. For topics, the preference is to add a location prefix.

Related Content

 * Edit a page
 * Renaming pages
 * Redirecting pages