{{Wikipedia subcat guideline|naming conventions|Manuscript names|WP:NCCAT}}
{{Guideline in a nutshell|Category names should be specific, neutral, inclusive and follow certain conventions, such as "Natural history of Venezuela", "Hospitals in Denmark" or "Australian journalists".}}
'''{{PAGENAME}}''' is a list of guidelines for how to appropriately name categories. Standard article naming conventions also apply; in particular, do not capitalise regular nouns. If you wish to propose a new or modified category related '''naming convention''', please do so on Wikipedia_talk:{{PAGENAME}}, whilst also publicising the proposal at Wikipedia_talk:Naming_conventions, Requests for comment, and the Village Pump, as well as at any related pages.
==General naming conventions==
*For a pre-existing category, the article of the same or similar name and (rarely, or) on the same topic should be added to that category. When creating an article one should, only if appropriate (especially horizontally), create a category of the same or similar name on the same topic .
*Articles should be placed in the most specific categories possible. Categories should be more or equally as broad as the articles they contain; articles should be more or equally specific as the categories they are in.
*Avoid Abbreviations. Example: "World War II equipment", not "WW2 equipment". However, former abbreviations that have become the official name should be used in their official form where there are no other conflicts.
*Don't hard-code the category structure into names. Example: "Monarchs", not "People - Monarchs".
*Choose category names that are able to stand alone, independent of the way a category is connected to other categories. Example: "Wikipedia policy precedents and examples", not "Precedents and examples" (a subcategory of "Wikipedia policies and guidelines").
*Topical category names should be singular. Examples: "Law", "Civilization"
*As with lists avoid descriptive adjectives such as ''famous'', ''important'', or ''notable'' in category titles.
==Special conventions==
===Special conventions for lists of items===
*If a category contains pages which are each about a kind of X or an individual X, the name of the category is Xs ('''plural'''), e.g. if a category contains pages which are each about a river and/or a kind of river, the name of the category is "rivers", and similarly for "writers". Such a category may additionally contain subcategories with similar, more restricted content. It is also possible that the category exclusively contains subcategories.
*In instances where a list page simply contains an alphabetical list of items with no other information (for example "List of The Beatles songs") it could be replaced by a category (such as "Category:The_Beatles_songs").
*If the list contains extra information (in this example that could include writing credits, date of release, etc.), or is non-alphabetical (for example sorted by date) it should remain as a list page, rather than a category.
*Categories can only list articles that exist and have been assigned to the category. Therefore, comprehensive lists, (such as "List_of_Prime_Ministers_of_the_United_Kingdom"), which must include all items regardless of whether an article already exists for them, should not be replaced by categories. Similarly, in an area that is not yet well-covered, lists can effectively indicate articles that still need to be written; categories cannot do this.
*If there are a lot of lists regarding a particular subject area, it might be useful to have a category to hold them, (such as "Category:Lists_of_countries"). These categories should only contain list pages (for example "List_of_Soviet_Republics", "List_of_countries_by_population"). Please use the pipe trick for category sorting, or all properly named lists will appear under the letter "L".
See also: Category:Lists, Category:Lists_that_should_be_categories.
Note that there are a growing number of instances where both the singular category (listing topics relating to) and plural category (listing instances of) exist, for example, Category:Opera and Category:Operas. Be careful to choose the right one when categorizing articles.
*When including the United States in a list of countries, do not abbreviate the United States. (for example "France and the United States", not "France and the U.S.").
===Special conventions for stub categories===
Naming guidelines for sub-categories of Category:Stub_categories are listed at Wikipedia:WikiProject_Stub_sorting/Naming_guidelines#Categories.
===Special conventions for some Wikipedia-related categories===
*All User categories should have "Wikipedian" (or "Wikipedians") as part of the name.
*All Project categories should have "WikiProject" (or "WikiProjects") as part of the name.
*All Administrative categories should have "Wikipedia" (without a colon) as part of the name, and placed in the Category:Wikipedia_administration tree.
== Categorization of people ==
{{details|Wikipedia:Categorization of people}}
*Avoid abbreviations. Exceptions should be rare, and explained in all member pages.
*Avoid names that are too long or too short. Short, simple names are preferred for categories. It is possible to deviate from this principle for clarity and neutrality, but don't exaggerate on length or complexity of category names.
=== Neutrality ===
*Use gender-neutral category names, unless there is a distinct reason and consensus to do otherwise. In that case, please specify the reason on the category page, and record the consensus on its associated discussion page.
*:'''''Example''': instead of a category for "Kings" and a different category for "Queens", use Category:Monarchs.''
*Always try to use the most generic neutral name. Some categories can be used in a stigmatizing way.
*:'''''Example''': "Prostitutes" is a better name for a category than "whores". "Sex workers" might work even better for a category name, as more gender-neutral and better approaching Business Card style.
=== Occupation ===
*People are usually categorized by their nationality and occupation, such as Category:Ethiopian_musicians.
**The template {{tl|Fooian fooers}} is used to provide navigation on each category page.
**Please note that this template may need to be modified for some categories, because some nationalities are listed as "People of Foo" instead of "Fooian", such as Category:Musicians_from_Bosnia_and_Herzegovina and Category:Musicians_of_the_Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo.
*Occupation categories should not be divided into "current" or "former" categories. For example, Category:Former_child_actors and Category:Current_Minnesota_Twins_players should not exist.
=== Heritage ===
*People are sometimes categorized by notable Ancestry, Culture, or Ethnicity, depending upon the common conventions of speech for each nationality. A hyphen is used to distinguish the word order:
*#'''Fooian Barians''', nationality followed by heritage, such as Category:British_Asians.
*#'''Barian-Fooians''', heritage followed by nationality, such as Category:Irish-Americans.
*The heritage should be combined with the occupation, replacing the nationality alone (for example, Category:African-American_actors).
*Concurrent citizenship may be reflected by duplicating the occupation (for example, Category:Jewish_American_actors and Category:Israeli_actors).
*In addition to the requirement of verifiability, living people must have self-identified as a particular heritage, while historical persons may be identified by notable association with a single heritage.
**Heritage categories should not be used to record people based on deduction, inference, residence, surname, nor any partial derivation from one or more ancestors.
**The place of birth is rarely notable.
=== Residence ===
*People are sometimes categorized by notable residence, in the form '''People from Foo''' (not "Natives of Foo"), regardless of ethnicity, heritage, or nationality.
**Residential categories should not be used to record people that have never resided in that place. Nationality is reflected by the occupation category (above), not country or county or city of residence.
**The place of birth is rarely notable.
*Where the commonly used English name for residents of a place is well-known globally (usually the original place of that name), '''Fooite''' Demonym categories should be {{tl|category redirect}}ed to '''People from Foo''', assisting in automated categorization (for example, Category:New_Yorkers).
==Categories by country==
All categories whose subcategories are categories by country (roughly all categories that are members of Category:Categories_by_country) shall have a per-category naming convention which will apply to all of their subcategories. These naming conventions, their guidelines and their exceptions are listed here. Non-conformance to these naming conventions shall be treated as a criterion for "speedy category renaming" as defined on WP:CFD. Changing these conventions shall require a consensual discussion either directly at WP:CFD or publicized there.
===Man-made objects===
Categories of permanently located man-made objects by country are named "... in country". This guideline applies to:
Airports
- American football venues
- Amusement parks
- Archaelogical sites
- Art museums
- Athletics (track and field) venues (mostly named "athletics" as per non-U.S. usage)
- Baseball venues
- Basketball venues
- Bridges
- Buildings and structures
- Casinos
- Castles
- Cathedrals
- Cemeteries
- Churches
- Cities
- Cricket grounds
- Football (soccer) venues
- Forts
- Gardens
- Ghost towns
- Golf clubs and courses
- Horse racing venues
- Hospitals
- Hotels
- Indoor arenas
- Libraries
- Monasteries
- Motor racing venues
- Mosques
- Museums
- Palaces
- Parks
- Prisons
- Railway stations
- Roads
- Rugby union stadiums
- Schools
- Shopping malls (or shopping centres, based on local usage)
- Skyscrapers
- Sports venues
- Theatres
- Theme parks
- Towns
- Universities and colleges ("Universities" categories are also legitimate in countries where universities and colleges are distinct, ie. most countries, and are often a subcategory)
- Villages
- World Heritage Sites
- Zoos
===Landforms===
Categories of landforms by country are named "... of country". This guideline applies to:
Islands
- Lakes
- Mountain ranges
- Mountains
- Mountain passes
- Peninsulas
- Rivers
- Volcanoes
- Beaches
===Companies===
By-country subcategories of all '' by country'' categories are named ''... of country''. This guideline applies to:
Airlines
- Banks
- Book publishing companies
- Companies
- Defunct companies
- Engineering companies
- Financial services companies
- Insurance companies
- Manufacturing companies
- Retailers
===State-based topics===
Categories of topics usually in the domain of the state are named "... of country".
Battles
- Foreign relations
- Government
- Military
- Military equipment
- Municipalities *
- National parks
- Postal systems
- Protected areas
- Subdivisions
- Wars
*Adminstrative divisions take the "of" form and settlements take the "in" form. Municipalities are usually found in non-English speaking countries as third tier administrative divisions covering the whole country including rural areas. In most cases, there are separate designations for ''settlements'' such as cities and towns. However where the designation "municipality" is used solely for urban settlements (example, Romania) or where it is the only official designation for cities and towns (example, Spain), the category takes the "in" form. ====Political office-holders==== By country subcategories of '' by country'' categories are named:
*''... of country'' for those concerning holders of a specific office with jurisdiction over a ''country''
*''... in country'' for those that group offices of a certain type, operating within a ''country''
This guideline applies to:
Political office-holders
- Heads of government
- Heads of state
- Legislators
- Government ministers (or "cabinet secretaries" if that is local usage)
- minister lists
- Presidents
- Prime ministers
*''... of places in ...'' for specific jurisdictions within a ''country'', ''province'', ''state'', or equivalent
*''... of place'' for the specific jurisdiction
This guideline applies to:
Mayors
===Sport===
By-country subcategories of all '' by country'' categories are named ''... in country''. This guideline applies to:
Athletics
- Baseball
- Basketball
- Cricket
- Cycle racing
- Football
- Golf
- Horseracing
- Ice hockey
- Motorsport
- Rugby league
- Rugby union
- Sport (or sports if that is local usage)
- Tennis
===Miscellaneous "of country"===
Subcategories of these categories are named "... of country".
Cinema
- Demographics
- Economies
- Environment
- Geography
- History
- Languages
- Natural history
- Politics
- Ships
- Trade unions
- Weapons
===Miscellaneous "in country"===
Subcategories of these categories are named "... in country".
Aviation
- Business
- Capital punishment
- Communications
- Conservation
- Crime
- Disasters
- Education
- Ethnic groups
- Health
- Healthcare
- Human rights
- Landmarks
- Law enforcement
- Political parties
- Public holidays
- Rail transport
- Religion
- Science and technology
- Tourism
- Transportation (or transport if that is local usage)
===Miscellaneous "nationality x"===
Subcategories of these categories are named "nationality ...". Considerable discussion has already occurred on this naming convention. Many may still be relocated.
===Miscellaneous===
Aircraft ("manufactured by Foo") - Charities ("based in Foo") - Environmental organizations ("based in Foo") - Newspapers ("published in Foo") - Organizations ("based in Foo")
===Undecided by country===
The convention for these categories is yet to be decided. See the talk page for details. These will be moved up as consensus develops.
Animals
- Films
- Magazines
- Media
- Law (currently mostly "Fooish law")
- Television
===Technical categories===
*Images use the form "Images of ''country''".
*Lists use the form "''Country''-related lists"
*Stubs use the form "''Country'' stubs".
===How to name the country===
For "of country" and "in country" categories, the name of the country should appear '''as it does in the name of the article about that country''', with a lowercase "the" if needed for grammatical purposes. Non-sovereign, disputed, supranational, and historical countries and geographic equivalents may be included if the articles to be categorized require it. For reference, see List_of_sovereign_states, List_of_dependent_territories, and the following list.
In category naming, country names should not be abbreviated.
(Note: Links to articles are shown only for reference; links obviously cannot appear in the actual title of a category.)
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* "of the Republic_of_the_Congo" for Congo-Brazzaville
* "of the Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo" for Congo-Kinshasa (formerly Zaire):
* "of the People's_Republic_of_China" (commonly known as "China")
* of the Republic_of_China (commonly known as "Taiwan")
** See also: Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(Chinese)#Political_NPOV
* of the Republic_of_Ireland (for the modern-day country)
* of Northern_Ireland (for the modern-day country)
* of Cyprus (Greek and Turkish Cyprus usually have combined categories)
* of Samoa (independent country)
* of American_Samoa (U.S. territory)
* of Russia (for the modern-day country)
* of the Bahamas
* of Bosnia_and_Herzegovina
* of the British_Virgin_Islands
* of the Cayman_Islands
* of the Central_African_Republic
* of Cote_d'Ivoire
* of the Cook_Islands
* of the Czech_Republic
* of the Dominican_Republic
* of the European_Union
* of the Falkland_Islands
* of the Faroe_Islands
* of the Federated_States_of_Micronesia
* of The_Gambia
* of Georgia_(country)
* of the Isle_of_Man
* of Kosovo
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* of the Maldives
* of Malta
* of the Marshall_Islands
* of the Netherlands
* of the Netherlands_Antilles
* of the Philippines
* of the Pitcairn_Islands
* of the Republic_of_Macedonia
* of Saint_Kitts_and_Nevis
* of the Solomon_Islands
* of Ukraine
* of the United_Arab_Emirates
* of the United_Kingdom
* of the United_States
* of the United_States_Virgin_Islands
* of Vatican_City
* of Wallis_and_Futuna
* of the Western_Sahara
* of Azerbaijan
* of East_Timor
* of Yemen (the modern-day country that unified former North and South Yemen in the 1990s)
* of North_Korea
* of South_Korea
* of Slovenia
* of Croatia
* of Serbia
* of Montenegro
* of the Republic_of_Macedonia
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{{col-begin}}
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Supranational:
* of Serbia_and_Montenegro
* of the European_Union
* of Ireland (island-wide)
* etc., on a case-by-case basis
{{col-break}}
Historical:
* of the Irish_Free_State (historical material only)
* of the Soviet_Union (former country only)
* of Yugoslavia (former country only)
* etc., on a case-by-case basis
{{col-end}}
===Dealing with overlaps===
When historical and political complexities (such as mergers and splits) create articles that belong to two countries, do '''not''' create a "Foo of X and Y". Instead, list articles in both "Foo of X" and "Foo of Y". For example, "Foo of Russia" and "Foo of the Soviet Union", not "Foo of Russia and the Soviet Union".
==Categories by nationality==
All categories whose subcategories are categories by nationality (roughly all categories that are members of Category:Categories_by_nationality) shall have a per-category naming convention which will apply to all of their subcategories. These naming conventions, their guidelines and their exceptions are listed here. Non-conformance to these naming conventions shall be treated as a criterion for "speedy category renaming" as defined on WP:CFD. Changing these conventions shall require a consensual discussion either directly at WP:CFD or publicized there.
===Biographies===
Subcategories of these categories are named "nationality ...".
Murderers
- Musical groups
- Nationalities by occupation
- Occupations by nationality (75 subcats)
- People
===Socio-cultural topics===
Subcategories of these categories are named "nationality ...".
Art
- Architecture
- Classical music
- Cuisine
- Culture
- Folk music
- Heavy metal
- Hip hop
- Jazz
- Literature
- Music
- Opera
- Plays
- Popular music
- Radio
- Rock music
- Society
===How to name a nationality===
A List_of_adjectival_forms_of_place_names is available on Wikipedia. In situations where multiple adjectives are possible, please note that no official policy exists as to which one is favoured. Note that the singular-form Demonym and adjective for many nationalities are '''not''' interchangeable. (i.e. Icelander vs. Icelandic)
Some states do not posess unambiguous (i.e. Democratic_Republic_of_Congo) or universally-applicable (i.e. Bosnia_and_Herzegovina) adjectives. In these circumstances, users should use the format "Foo of country", such as Category:Society_of_the_Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo and Category:Art_of_Bosnia_and_Herzegovina.
*Adminstrative divisions take the "of" form and settlements take the "in" form. Municipalities are usually found in non-English speaking countries as third tier administrative divisions covering the whole country including rural areas. In most cases, there are separate designations for ''settlements'' such as cities and towns. However where the designation "municipality" is used solely for urban settlements (example, Romania) or where it is the only official designation for cities and towns (example, Spain), the category takes the "in" form. ====Political office-holders==== By country subcategories of ''