Template:Mcn2
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wikipedia's Manual of Style, which defines the styles and contents used in articles, lays down a simple rule for deciding what name an article should be under. It is called most common name. In other words what is the form of name used principally by English speakers to refer to a topic, country, or person?
The reason for this is simple: we need to use names that most users will recognise instantly, and will be able to find easily. Once the most common name is accurate, then it is the form we are required to use.
Note: It does not mean that the English language name is used, merely the name most used by English speakers. If a foreign name is used and recognised by English speakers, then that is used.
The main exception to using MCN is in the area of royal names. That is because royalty often have a complex hybrid of names and titles which change over time so following the MCN rule is in practice impossible. But elsewhere the golden rule is simple: use the most common name used by English speakers on English Wikipedia.
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