Wikipedia:Article titles: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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:''This policy section should be read in conjunction with the [[Wikipedia:Disambiguation|disambiguation guideline]].''

NameUsually, antitles articleshould asbe preciselyprecise as is necessaryenough to unambiguously define itsthe topical scope of the article, but avoidno more precise than over-precisionthat. For instance, [[Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta]] is inappropriate, as the less detailedprecise and more concise title [[Mother Teresa]] is precise enough to indicate exactlyaccurately the same topic. On the other hand, [[Horowitz]] would not be precise enough to identify unambiguously the famous classical pianist [[Vladimir Horowitz]].

Exceptions to the precision criterion, validated by [[WP:consensus|consensus]], may sometimes result from the application of some other [[WP:NAMINGCRITERIA|naming criteria]]. Most of these exceptions are described in specific Wikipedia guidelines, such as [[WP:Primary topic|Primary topic]], [[WP:Naming conventions (geographic names)|Geographic names]], or [[WP:Naming conventions (royalty and nobility)|Names of royals and nobles]]. For instance:

* [[Bothell, Washington]] is overly precise. However, it is preferred over [[Bothell]], which is precise enough to be unambiguous, but not as commonly used and easily recognizable as [[Bothell, Washington]] (see [[WP:Naming conventions (geographic names)|Geographic names]], and the naturaleness and recognizability [[WP:NAMINGCRITERIA|criteria]]).

* [[Energy]] is not precise enough to indicate unambiguously the physical quantity (see [[Energy (disambiguation)]]). However, it is preferred over "Energy (physics)", as it is more concise, and precise enough to be understood by most people (see [[WP:Primary topic|Primary topic]], and the conciseness and recognizability [[WP:NAMINGCRITERIA|criteria]]).

It is not always possible to use the exact title that may be desired for an article, as that title may have other meanings, and therefore may have been already used for other articles. When additional precision is necessary to distinguish an article title from another, use only as much additional precision as necessary. For example, it would be inappropriate to title an article "Queen (rock band)", as [[Queen (band)]] is precise enough to distinguish the rock band from other uses of the term [[Queen (disambiguation)|Queen]].

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# '''Parenthetical disambiguation''': If natural disambiguation is not possible, add a disambiguating term in parentheses, after the ambiguous name.

#: ''Example'': The word "mercury" has distinct meanings that do not have sufficiently common alternative names, so we use instead parenthetical disambiguation: [[Mercury (element)]], [[Mercury (mythology)]] and [[Mercury (planet)]].

# '''Comma-separated disambiguation'''. With place names, if the disambiguating term is a higher-level administrative division, it is often separated using a comma instead of parentheses, as in [[Windsor, Berkshire]] (see [[WP:Naming conventions (geographic names)|Geographic names]]). Comma-separated disambiguation is sometimes also used in other contexts (e.g., [[Diana, Princess of Wales]]; see [[WP:Naming conventions (royalty and nobility)|Names of royals and nobles]]). However, titles such as [[Tony Blair]] and [[Battle of Waterloo]] are preferred over alternatives such as "Blair, Anthony Charles Lynton" and "Waterloo, Battle of", in which a comma is used to change the natural ordering of the words.

Where there is no set name for a topic, so a title of our own conception is necessary, e.g., [[List of birds of Nicaragua]] and [[Campaign history of the Roman military]], more latitude is allowed to form descriptive and unique titles.