Comment edit

what on earth is Category:English-language names supposed to be? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Dbachmann (talkcontribs) 17:11, 14 August 2011 (UTC)Reply

"English name":

  • Anglo-Saxon names, such as Alfred, Oswin, Wulfruna, Aethelflaed, etc.
  • names traditionally used in England, such as John, William, Henry, George, Mary, Elizabeth. These "English-language" forms of non-English (Hebrew, German, Greek, etc.) names. Thus: John is "English" just as Eoin is Irish and Iain is Scottish, all forms of the same Hebrew name.
  • anglicized names such as Owen for Owain, Deepak for दीपक, or Haroon forہارون. These will not usually be considered "English names", but anglicized spellings of Welsh/Hindi/Arabic/etc. names.

--dab (𒁳) 17:11, 14 August 2011 (UTC)Reply

Well said. Among other faults, the present article lacks solid premise or structure and needs major rewrite citing reliable sources. Clifford Mill (talk) 17:12, 5 February 2018 (UTC)Reply

Use and spelling of surname prefixes such as de/De la/La edit

A discussion would be helpful, including whether standards exist. 2602:304:CDA6:4260:5512:F81E:FCF5:2CD5 (talk) 22:46, 15 July 2017 (UTC)Reply

Agreed! I've searched in vain for some simple rule like (a) drop 'de' after 1350 or (b) only use 'de' if quoting from documents in French or Latin where there is no English original.Clifford Mill (talk) 17:12, 5 February 2018 (UTC)Reply
Realy, there's no rule for the modern period. Your a and especialy b aren't bad as a general guide, but generaly one has to follow sourses, and of course explain that there are often variant spelings. Johnbod (talk) 17:16, 5 February 2018 (UTC)Reply