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This is a failed proposal. Consensus for its implementation was not established within a reasonable period of time. If you want to revive discussion, please use the talk page or initiate a thread at the village pump.

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This is the latest version (F) of the proposal for a guideline for choice of geographic names used in the articles. Version F is an attempt to summarise E-3 in a shorter form (avoid instruction creep). The previous versions A1, B1-5, C1-4, D1-3 and E1-3 are archived here.

This page in a nutshell: Use modern English names for titles and in articles. Historical names or names in other languages can be used in lead if popular and important enough that they are valuable to readers, should be avoided in titles unless no English version exists and should be used in articles with caution.

Proposal for convention regarding geographical location names.

1. The title: The single widely accepted English name in modern context (swaEn) is to be used when possible. If there is no swaEn, the modern local official name should be used. If there is no modern local official name (the place does not exist anymore) the widely accepted historical English name (wahEn) should be used. If there is no wahEn then the modern local historical name should be used. All applicable names can be used in the titles of redirects.
2. The lead: The title can be followed in the first line by a list of alternative names in parenthesis: {name1, name2, name3, etc.}. Any archaic names in the list (including names used before the standardization of English orthography) should be clearly marked as such, i.e.: (archaic: name1) Relevant foreign language names are permitted and should be listed in alphabetic order of their respective languages, i.e.: (Armenian: name1, Belarusian: name2, Czech: name3). Alternatively, all alternative names can be moved to and explained in a names section immediately following the lead. In this case, the redundant list of the names in the article's first line should be replaced with the following text: (known also by several alternative names). Once such a section or paragraph is created, the alternative English or foreign names should not be moved back to the first line.
3. The contents (this applies to all articles using the name in question): The same name as in title should be used consistently throughout the article. Exceptions are allowed only if there is a widely accepted historical English name (wahEn) for a specific historical context. In cases when the wahEn is used, it should be followed by the modern English name (swaEn) in parentheses on the first occurrence of the wahEn in all applicable sections of the article i.e.: historical name (modern name). If more then one wahEn is applicable for that historical context, those other names should be added after the modern English name, i.e.: historical name (English name, other historical names). Foreign names can be used only if there are no established English names. Rationale for historical usage should be explained on the article's talk page and in the name's section of the article about the geographical place in question.

Dispute resolution:

1. Avoid revert wars: If there is a dispute regarding the naming convention in the contents of the article, to prevent revert wars the name from the title of the relevant article should be used in all occurrences until a consensus is reached on the relevant talk page(s). If the dispute is affecting many pages, in order to pull all the disputants into one talk page a template may be created. See Template:Gdansk-Vote-Notice for an example of such a notice.
2. Ask for help: If a consensus cannot be reached, it is recommended to ask for help at the Misplaced Pages:Requests for comment/History and geography.

Definitions:

1. The geographic location is considered to have a single widely accepted English name in modern context (swaEn) if the following two conditions are satisfied simultaneously:
   1. The English-language encyclopedias (Encyclopedia Britannica, Columbia Encyclopedia and Encarta, each published after 1993) consistently use this name in all articles where the corresponding location is mentioned in modern context.
   2. This name obtains the largest number (75% or more of total hits considering all possible variants) of Google Scholar and Google Books hits (count only articles and books, not number of times the word is used in them) when searched over English language articles and books where the corresponding location is mentioned in modern context. If the name of the location coincides with the name of another entity, care should be taken to exclude inappropriate pages from the count.

   If either condition is unsatisfied, the location is considered as not having a single widely accepted English name in modern context.

2. ^ The geographic location is considered to have a widely accepted historical English name (wahEn) if the following two conditions are satisfied simultaneously:
   1. The English-language encyclopedias (Encyclopedia Britannica, Columbia Encyclopedia, Encarta, each published after 1993) consistently use this name in all articles when the corresponding location is mentioned in relation to the historical period in question.
   2. This name obtains the largest number (75% or more of total hits considering all possible variants) of Google Scholar and Google Books hits (count only articles and books, not number of times the world is used in them) when searched over English language articles and books where the corresponding location is mentioned in relation to the historical period in question. If the name of the location coincides with the name of another entity, care should be taken to exclude inappropriate pages from the count.

   If either condition is unsatisfied, the location is considered as not having a widely accepted historical English name.

3. A relevant foreign language name is the one used by at least 10% of sources in English language or is used by a group of people which used to inhabit this geographical place.

Examples:

• Gdańsk or Danzig? Discussion at Talk:Gdansk/Vote determined that Gdańsk is the single widely accepted English name in modern context, but Danzig is its widely accepted historical English name for certain historical contexts. There is no city of Danzig at present, but this term can be used in various historical contexts as described on the discussion page.
• Volgograd or Stalingrad? Volgograd is the single widely accepted English name in modern context but Stalingrad is a widely accepted historical English name for certain historical contexts. Therefore during the Second World War there was a Battle of Stalingrad, not a Battle of Volgograd, and when referring to the city during the Stalinist era, the term Stalingrad is more correct than Volgograd.
• Istanbul or Constantinople? Istanbul is the single widely accepted English name in modern context, but Constantinople is a widely accepted historical English name. Now Constantinople is a separate article covering the history of Istanbul until 1453 and the term used to refer to the city in historical context before 1453.
• Vilnius or Wilno? Vilnius is the single widely accepted English name in modern context, but Wilno is the widely accepted historical English name in historical contexts where the Polish language was more popular than the Lithuanian language (during the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth).

See related Misplaced Pages:Naming conventions (toponyms)

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