This is an explanatory essay about the Wikipedia:Article titles policy. This page provides additional information about concepts in the page(s) it supplements. This page is not one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines as it has not been thoroughly vetted by the community. |
This page in a nutshell: Where other considerations are equal, titles should be consistent with other titles in the same field and other titles about the same type of topic. |
Wikipedia:Article titles states as its fifth naming criterion, after recognizability, naturalness, precision, and conciseness:
“ | Consistency – The title is consistent with the pattern of similar articles' titles. | ” |
Many of these patterns are listed (and linked) in the box of Topic-specific conventions on article titles, to the right. In determining the appropriate title for that article, editors should consult the topic-specific conventions that are relevant to a particular article. This essay collects general examples of applications of title consistency that have been widely accepted by the community in various discussions, as well as exceptions that have also been widely accepted by the community. It should not be read in a way that overrides any topic-specific convention, but it may be helpful where existing conventions do not address consistency.