Vicipaedia:De nominibus propriis/en

This is the English translation of the parent page (as per revision 2813365^[diff]).

Iohannes Cash, not *Johnny Cash* nor *Iohannes Pecunia*

Official Latin names recensere

Many modern things have official and scientific Latin names. These should be preferred where they exist. Examples:

Catholic dioceses (see Catholic Hierarchy)
Catholic official titles
species and other biological taxa
planets, asteroids, satellites, constellations
planetary and satellite topography
anatomical names
diseases
universities (many but not all: for some already-footnoted names see VP:UNI)

Personal names recensere

See also Latin Names of Historical Figures

If a person already has a Latin name, either by birth or in common use, or used by the person himself, use it; e.g., Cicero, Confucius, Benedictus XVI, Carolus Linnaeus.
If the person does not yet have a usual Latin name, forenames are to be transferred to a Latin equivalent if there is one; surnames are to be left unchanged; e.g., Georgius Bush (Georgius W. Bush), Iohannes Howard, Iohannes Ronaldus Reuel Tolkien.

Place names recensere

See also Sources of Latin place names

If the place has a Latin name, either by Roman use, more recent use, or use by the place itself, use it. e.g. Mare Internum, Chorea Gigantum, Londinium, Minneapolis. Cite a source for the name.
If there is no Latin name for a place yet, it is not to be translated unless it uses ordinary or translatable words in its own language, in which case we translate them. Thus, Pocatello (indecl.), Turris Eiffel, Nova Caesarea. But a compound word is not to be translated here unless in Latin the same compound already exists.
In areas culturally influenced by the Roman Catholic Church many towns are named after saints, for example
San Francisco,
San Diego,
Saint George,
Sankt Anton,
Sankt Moritz,
Sankt Vigil,
Santa Maria,
etc.
If there is no attested Latin name, following the nomenclator [1] such names can be translated thus:
Fanum Sancti Francisci,
Fanum Sancti Didaci,
Fanum Sancti Georgii,
Fanum Sancti Antonii,
Fanum Sancti Mauritii,
Fanum Sancti Vigilii,
Fanum Sanctae Mariae,
Fanum Sanctae Fidei.
If a second town appears to be named after a first (such as Paris, Texas apparently from Paris, France), we do not transfer the Latin name from the first to the second (so [[Paris (Texas)|]] and not <s>[[Lutetia (Texas)|]]</s>) unless a reliable external source has already transferred the name (in that case, cite the source).
If a town or other place has a name which includes the name of the thing itself (such as Baltimore City, which is a city, or Candy Mountain, which is a mountain), then the name shall contain the Latin name of the thing, but not any other Latinization -- and the names shall be in the native language's order (so: Baltimore Urbs, Candy Mons), unless of course there is already a Latin name for the town in an external source (and then you must include the source). If, however, the place has a name which includes the name of something else (for example, College Park, which is not a park but a town, Silver Spring, which is not a spring but a city, or Rising Sun, which is a town, not a sun), then the thing shall not be Latinized. However, note well: if a town has a name which inflates its status, such as Delaware City, which is a small town and certainly not a city, or diminishes its status, such as Lexington, Kentucky, which is a city and certainly not a town, then it is good to translate the thing into Latin: Delaware Urbs, Lexintonia.
In Biology, Botany, Names of Dioceses and Zoology, many places have adjectival forms of their names (often ending in -ensis). Use these but before the type of settlement. For example
Malhamensis Vicus (for Malham, a village)
Tristanenses Insulae (For Tristan da Cunha, a group of islands)
Ebebiyinense oppidum for Ebebiyín, a town.

Companies recensere

Companies, religious societies, etc. are not to be translated unless they have a Latin name or a translated name is usual in other languages. Thus, Apple Computer, Colgate-Palmolive, Mitsubishi, Societas Crucis Rubrae. If you can, give a translation on first mention: Mitsubishi (Iaponice: Tres Rhombi)
Trademarks are not to be translated. Here too, if you can, give a translation.
Names of cultural institutions (schools, academies, museums, learned societies, etc.) are to be translated if translation is possible. N.B.: Many already have official Latin names, and we use these.

Books and works of art recensere

If there is already a Latin name, use it. If this Latin name is translated from an original in another language, add a source for the Latin name.
If the work is produced in another language or languages and we know of no Latin translation, use the name in the original language. (Give a translation after the first mention if you can.)
If the work does not have linguistic content beyond its title (such as a sculpture, or an instrumental piece of music), translate the original or usual name if you can, and give the original name after first mention.

Acronyms recensere

If a Latin acronym already exists, use it.
If the acronym is language-independent, use it. Thus, NASA, UNICEF.
If the acronym is not language-independent, it's better not to try to translate it, but to say it in full. But, if this becomes inconvenient, use a link to the article or the full expansion of the acronym with first mention: "SIDA" or "syndrome immunitatis defectus acquisiti (SIDA)".

Transliteration of names recensere

If the name is originally in a language that does not use Latin letters, then we use an ISO transliteration, perhaps in a normalized form, as without accents or J. Thus, Victor Juščenko/Victor Iuscenco; ʾUsaʾmaẗ bin Laʾdin/Usamat bin Ladin; Hirohito, etc.
Greek names are to be transliterated the way the Romans did. Thus, Nicolaus Cazantzaces; Aristoteles Onases. But if the subject has personally adopted a modern form of the surname using Roman letters, use it. Thus, Iacoba Kennedy Onassis. In any case Greek surnames should only be transliterated, not translated.