Wikipedia:Naming conventions (fictional elements)

This naming convention covers titles of articles about characters, locations, and other elements from works of fiction (collectively, fictional elements), as well as lists of fictional elements. This does not cover articles about elements in mythology.

For characters, the full name, if known, is typically used for the title of the article except when an alias or other name is much more common. For all other elements, the most common name in reliable sources is used. Titles should use an out-of universe perspective; for example, Sesame Street (fictional location) is preferred to Sesame Street (location) or Sesame Street (street).

Disambiguation

Note that real-world topics do not automatically take precedent over fictional elemets as the primary topic. For an example of a fictional element that is the primary topic for an ambiguous name, see Luigi.

Specific elements

• If a fictional element is to be disambiguated from another topic with the same name, including real-world topics and characters from other works, it should be disambiguated by work. Examples: Spike (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Bender (Futurama)
  • If the work is not the primary topic for its title, (TBD).
  • Articles about elements in shared universes may instead be disambiguated by author or publisher. Example: Krypton (DC Comics)
• If a fictional element has the same name as its work and only one work has that name they may be disambiguated generically. Use (character) for fictional characters, (fictional location) for settings. Examples: The titular main character of SpongeBob SquarePants is located at SpongeBob SquarePants (character); the setting of Sesame Street is titled Sesame Street (fictional location).
• Fictional elements not tied to a particular work, author, or franchise should be disambiguated as generic fictional elements. Example: Ripton (fictional town)
• If a fictional element additionally has the same name as another element in the same work, use the appropriate disambiguator, if possible, in addition to the work title if needed.
  • Different elements with the same name should be disambiguated by an alternative name, if possible.
    • If multiple characters share a codename, the base article should overview all the characters with that codename, while individual holders should be disambiguated by their civilian name. Example: The different Green Lanterns have the respective titles Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), Green Lantern (Guy Gardner), Green Lantern (John Stewart), and Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner).
    • Versions of a character from different continuities/parallel universes should be disambiguated by continuity unless they also have different names, with the main continuity taking precedence as the primary topic. Examples: Batman (Earth-Two), Guardians of the Galaxy (Marvel Cinematic Universe team)

Lists of fictional elements

• For non-work-specific lists of fictional elements, use List of fictional X. Examples: List of fictional African countries, List of fictional doomsday devices.=
• If a large list is subdivided into articles by medium, they should be disambiguated as List of fictional X in (medium).
• For work-specific lists of fictional elements, use List of X in (work). If such a list is more of an overview of the group of elements in a work, use the format X in (work) instead. Examples: List of characters in SpongeBob SquarePants and List of planets and moons in Star Wars, but Characters in the Super Smash Bros. series