Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/List of nicknames of historical personages


 * The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review).  No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was   delete. -- Cirt (talk) 07:12, 4 June 2011 (UTC)

List of nicknames of historical personages

 * – ( View AfD View log )

Per WP:NOTDIR, we don't have indiscriminate listings of entities. This list essentially covers anyone ("historical personages") apart from "athletes, criminals, entertainers, monarchs or US. Presidents". Most notable people have a nickname of some sort, and I fail to see why we need a list of the nicknames of "famous people" which is almost entirely open-ended. Anthem of joy (talk) 16:11, 17 May 2011 (UTC)
 * Keep How about for people who've heard of the famous nickname, but not the actual name? Boy Browning, frex, who I've never been able to recall his actual given name... As for "[m]ost notable people have a nickname of some sort", I'd disagree. Doubtless there are legions of notables without one. Doubtless there a legions whose nickname has never become well-enough known to have any chance to make a list like this one. And, BTW, how about just because it's informative & interesting in its own right? You may not be interested in knowing these nicknames, but I'll wager quite a few other people are. Even if they don't actually take the trouble to comment.  TREKphiler  any time you're ready, Uhura  18:12, 17 May 2011 (UTC)


 * Well, the fact that it's interesting is not a valid reason for keeping it. Famous nicknames should redirect to the individual's name, or be placed on a disambiguation page if more than one individual has had them. This list seems entirely indiscriminate, with some entries not even having articles, and the inclusion criteria are laughable. --Anthem of joy (talk) 18:14, 17 May 2011 (UTC)
 * Note: This debate has been included in the list of Lists of people-related deletion discussions.  — • Gene93k (talk) 00:47, 18 May 2011 (UTC)

 Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, Logan Talk Contributions 01:06, 25 May 2011 (UTC)
 * Delete, unless someone goes to the trouble of cleaning this up with an inline citation to a reliable source for every nickname on the list. This is a topic that can be notable -- third-party reliable sources do write about the phenomenon of nicknames. However, in its current form, this article is a mess of original research that holds some good-quality nuggets of information, but it's impossible to tell which is the good content and which is original research. Having worked on cleanup, development and maintenance of similar articles (for example, List of city nicknames in the United States and List of people who adopted matronymic surnames), I know that this cleanup will be a lot of work, but it can be done if someone is interested enough -- and the article will be far easier to maintain once the sourcing has been cleaned up. --Orlady (talk) 00:57, 18 May 2011 (UTC)
 * Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion so a clearer consensus may be reached.


 * Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion so a clearer consensus may be reached.


 * Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, Crisco 1492 (talk) 00:33, 2 June 2011 (UTC)


 * Delete - This is an unsourced mess of OR, and I personally don't really think it would even be notable with reliable sources. If the person has an article, then their nickname belongs there. If they do not, then their nickname doesn't belong anywhere.  Nolelover  Talk / Contribs  23:29, 2 June 2011 (UTC)
 * Delete A person who has a well known and verified nickname can have a redirect to help readers of Wikipedia find his bio article. This is and is likely to remain an unreferenced pile of original research. It also is a target for those who dislike some former public figure to add defamatory nicknames which once appeared in some critique. Lincoln was called "King Ape" by opposition newspapers, and "Honest Abe," "The Railsplitter" and "The Great Emancipator" by supporters. A giant mishmash list of well known nicknames and rarely heard nicknames of persons notable enough to have a Wikipedia article is just not in itself an encyclopedic list. It is likely to be cluttered with initials, "nicknames" the person never answered to, and descriptions or joke punchlines. It is  full of "nicknames" that do not even appear in the bio articles of the person. It is a likely target for vandalism, since the practice has not included providing any reference to validate the nickname. Edison (talk) 19:35, 3 June 2011 (UTC)
 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.