FamilySearch Wiki:Naming Conventions

This page offers best practices in naming articles, categories, images, files, and templates on FamilySearch Wiki.

= Policies specific to FamilySearch Wiki =

The following policies were vetted in the FamilySearch Wiki contributor forum and arrived at by a vote ratio of at least 2:1.

Use ascending order of jurisdictions in naming a place
When adding place names to article titles, add jurisdictions in ascending order (smallest to largest).

Correct: "Rockville, Montgomery County, Maryland"

Incorrect: "Maryland, Montgomery County, Rockville"

Example: "Cemetery Records of Rockville, Montgomery County, Maryland"

Avoid abbreviations
Do not use abbreviations in naming a place.

Correct: "Montgomery County, Maryland"

Incorrect: "Montgomery Co., MD"

Example: "Cemetery Records of Montgomery County, Maryland"

Use the word "County" in identifying counties
Use the word "County" in identifying a county in an article title.

Correct: "Montgomery County, Maryland"

Incorrect: "Montgomery, Maryland"

Example: "Cemetery Records of Montgomery County, Maryland"

Do not use all uppercase letters
Use initial caps on each word in a title except when this conflicts with place naming standards or grammar rules.

Correct: "Census Records of the United States"

Incorrect: "CENSUS RECORDS OF THE UNITED STATES"

= Resources =

General
Category:Wikipedia naming conventions Wikipedia:Naming conventions Wikipedia:Naming conflict Wikipedia:Naming conventions (technical restrictions)

Special rules for templates
Spaces in the name are allowed, e.g.  . The first character (only) is not case-sensitive, so   and   are the same template, but   and   are not. The template name in general should be short. Many on Wikipedia are abbreviations.

Special rules for namespaces
Only a system admin can create a namespace. Namespaces should be created only after much discussion. The name should be a single word. Headings: Wikipedia:Manual of Style - Section headings Help:Section - Creation and numbering of sections Categories: Wikipedia:Naming conventions &amp; categories