This policy describes what kinds of usernames are acceptable on the English Wikipedia and how

unacceptable or doubtful usernames can be dealt with. It also specifies that a user account should
be used only by one person, and that in most cases one person should use only one account.
You choose your username when creating a user account. All contributions made using that account
will then be attributed to the chosen username (contributions made while not logged in to any
account are attributed to the user's IP address). It is also possible to request a change of username,
and have your past contributions re-attributed to the new name.
This policy applies to usernames on English Wikipedia. However, in most cases you will be able to
use the same username and password to log in to other language Wikipedias and other Wikimedia
Foundation supported projects. See Wikipedia:Unified login.

Introductory clip on usernames

Contents

 1Guidance for new users

 2Inappropriate usernames

o 2.1Misleading usernames

o 2.2Disruptive or offensive usernames

 2.2.1Usernames violating the BLP policy

o 2.3Promotional names

o 2.4Usernames implying shared use

o 2.5Confusing usernames

o 2.6Non-script usernames

o 2.7Exceptions

 3Dealing with inappropriate usernames

 o 3.1Consider leaving well enough alone

o 3.2Talk to the user

o 3.3Request for comment

o 3.4Report blatant violations

o 3.5Report other problems

o 3.6Usernames for administrator attention guidelines

 4Other particular types of username

o 4.1Real names

o 4.2Stage names

o 4.3Usernames with non-Latin characters

o 4.4Similar usernames

o 4.5Commonly misspelled usernames

 5Shared accounts

 6Using multiple accounts

 7Changing your username

o 7.1Deleting and merging accounts

 8Unified login

 9Notes

 10See also

Guidance for new users

English Wikipedia username policy summary
Your username must represent you as an individual person

 Usernames that only contain the names of companies, organizations, websites,

musical groups or bands, teams, or creative groups are not allowed
 Usernames that imply that your account is for shared use, or usernames that only
describe a role, title, or position within an organization that can be represented or
held by different people are not allowed
Your username must be truthful and appropriate

 Usernames that are offensive, profane, violent, threatening, sexually explicit,

libelous, or disruptive are not allowed

 Usernames that are deliberately deceptive, confusing, long, similar to other accounts
or users, or try to impersonate or falsely represent yourself as someone else are not
allowed

 Usernames that imply the intent to troll, vandalize, disrupt, harass, advertise, spam,
or use Wikipedia for purposes that it is not created forare not allowed
Your username is a nickname that will identify your account and thereby all of
your contributions to Wikipedia. It can be your real name, if you so choose, but
you should be aware of the risks involved in editing under your real name.
Wikipedia usernames are case sensitive, but the first letter is always
automatically capitalized. By default, your username appears in your signature
on posts to discussion pages; for details on signatures and how to customize
them, see Wikipedia:Signatures.
Bear in mind that, once chosen, a username cannot be easily changed. If you
choose "Dr. Franz Schröder", then your doctorate will be evident on history
pages and, unless you change your signature, on all posts to talk pages. If you
prefer to be less formal, leave off the title. However, you should read the section
on using your real name as your username.
You specify your username when creating an account, and subsequently use it
(together with your secret password) to log in to that account. Once you have
an account, you may create a user page, titled "User:XXXX" (where "XXXX" is
your username), to provide relevant information about yourself to other
Wikipedians. You or any other editor may also create a user talk page, titled
"User talk:XXXX", that people can use to contact you.
The software will not allow you to register with a username that is already in
use, or one that appears too similar to one that is already in use. In the latter
case, however, you may still request permission to use that name (see § Similar
usernames below).
Your username can be virtually any string of characters (subject to a
few technical limitations). However, it should be a name which other users will
be comfortable with and which does not interfere with the project. A
controversial name may give a bad impression to other users, and avoiding this
is in your own interest. This page describes certain types of usernames that are
specifically disallowed, primarily because they can be
considered offensive, misleading, or promotional, or imply that the account
does not belong to an individual.

Inappropriate usernames
Policy shortcut
  WP:IU
This section lists the types of usernames that are considered inappropriate. The
same criteria also apply to signatures.
These lists are not necessarily exhaustive. Use common sense in applying
these rules (such as a word that may seem offensive in one context may have
another, more benign meaning in another context). For guidance on how to deal
with inappropriate names if encountered, see § Dealing with inappropriate
usernames below.

Misleading usernames
Policy shortcut

 WP:MISLEADNAME
The following types of username are not permitted because they may
be misleading in a way that disrupts the project:

 Usernames that impersonate other people (see § Real names and § Similar
usernames below).

 Usernames that give the impression that the account

has permissions which it does not have; e.g., by containing the terms
"administrator", "bureaucrat", "steward", "checkuser", "oversight", or similar
terms, such as "admin", "sysop", or "moderator".

 Usernames which could be easily misunderstood to refer to a "bot" (which

is used to identify bot accounts) or a "script" (which alludes to automated
editing processes), unless the account is of that type.

 Usernames including phrases such as "wikipedia", "wikimedia",

"wiktionary", "(WMF)", or similar if they give the incorrect impression that
the account may be officially affiliated with the Wikimedia Foundation or one
of its projects.

 Usernames which resemble IP addresses (as these are expected to

designate non-logged-in users), timestamps or other names which would be
confusing within the Wikipedia signature format.

 Usernames that appear similar to naming conventions used by community

administrative processes, such as those starting with Vanished
user (see Wikipedia:Courtesy vanishing).
Disruptive or offensive usernames
Policy shortcuts

 WP:ATTACKNAME

 WP:DISRUPTNAME
The following types of usernames are not permitted because they
are disruptive or offensive:
 Usernames that are likely to offend other contributors, making harmonious
editing difficult or impossible; e.g., by containing profanities or referencing
controversies.

 Usernames that contain or imply personal attacks.

 Usernames that seem intended to provoke emotional reaction ("trolling").

 Usernames that otherwise show a clear intent to disrupt Wikipedia.

Note that usernames that are inappropriate in another language, or that
represent an inappropriate name with misspellings and substitutions, or do so
indirectly or by implication, are still considered inappropriate.
Usernames violating the BLP policy
See also: Wikipedia:Biographies of living persons § Remove contentious
material, and Wikipedia:Biographies of living persons § Usernames
Shortcut

 WP:BLPABUSE
Certain disruptive and offensive usernames (such as those containing
contentious material about living persons, or those that are clearly abusive
towards any race, religion or social groups) should be immediately blocked by
administrators and suppressed from logs by Oversighters to protect Wikipedia
and the subjects involved from harm. Requests for removing attack usernames
from logs should be reported to the global Stewards team for evaluation and
private removal from all WMF projects.

Promotional names
Policy shortcuts

 WP:ORGNAME

 WP:SPAMNAME

 WP:CORPNAME
See also: Category:Wikipedians who are indefinitely blocked for promotional
user names

The following types of usernames are not permitted because they are
considered promotional:

 Usernames that unambiguously represent the name of a company, group,

institution or product (e.g. TownvilleWidgets, MyWidgetsUSA.com,
TrammelMuseumofArt). However usernames that contain such names are
sometimes permissible; see under § Usernames implying shared
use below.

 Email addresses and URLs (such as "Alice@example.com" and

"Example.com") that promote a commercial web page and don't simply
identify a person. While plain domain names (without .com , .co.kr , etc.)
are sometimes acceptable, such as when the purpose is simply to identify
 the user as a person, they are inappropriate if they promote a commercial
Web page.
A user who both adopts a promotional username and also engages
in inappropriately promotional behaviors in articles about the company, group,
or product, can be blocked. In such cases, administrators should examine the
user's edits to decide whether or not to allow them to create a new username. If
there is evidence that the user would continue to edit inappropriately under a
new username, the blocking administrator should enable the "autoblock" and
"prevent account creation" features. Otherwise, the user should be offered the
opportunity to create a new account. (Before blocking, disagreements as to
whether a particular username is acceptable should be discussed
at WP:Requests for comment/Usernames.) Users who adopt such usernames,
but who are not editing problematically in related articles, should not be
blocked. Instead, they should be gently encouraged to change their username.

Usernames implying shared use

Policy shortcut

 WP:ISU
See also: Wikipedia:Sock puppetry § Role accounts

Because Wikipedia's policy is that usernames should not be shared between

more than one individual, usernames that imply the likelihood of shared use are
not permitted. This means that:

 Usernames that are simply names of companies or groups are not

permitted (these also fall under § Promotional names above).

 Personal usernames that imply shared access, such as "Jack and Jill", are
not permitted.

 Usernames that are names of posts within organizations, such as

"Secretary of the XY Foundation", are not permitted, as such a post may be
held by different persons at different times.

 However, usernames are acceptable if they contain a company or group

name but are clearly intended to denote an individual person, such as
"Mark at WidgetsUSA", "Jack Smith at the XY Foundation", "WidgetFan87",
etc.
Remember that promotional editing is not permitted regardless of username.
The conflict of interest guideline advises all users to exercise caution if editing
articles about businesses, organizations, products, or other subjects that they
are closely connected to. If you choose to edit articles that are in any way
related to your company or group, you will need to carefully follow
Wikipedia's advice on editing with a conflict of interest.

Confusing usernames
Policy shortcut

 WP:UNCONF
Some usernames appear problematic without fitting clearly into any of the
above categories. This is often the case with confusing or extremely lengthy
usernames, which are highly discouraged but which are not so inappropriate on
their own as to require action.
Confusing usernames can often be a red flag for other problems. An editor with
a confusing username or signature may be blocked sooner than usual for other
inappropriate behavior such as disruption or vandalism, if their confusing
username contributes to the disruption.

Non-script usernames
Policy shortcuts

 WP:SCRIPTPLEASE

 WP:NOEMOJI
Due to the difficulty with some web browsers in viewing non-language unicode
characters and emoji, as well as concerns regarding the suitability of these
characters as names, users registering after 6 November 2017 are not allowed
to have the following usernames:

 Usernames containing emoji

 Usernames that are considered to be emoticons or otherwise "decorative"

usernames

 Usernames that use any non-language symbols. This includes:

 Symbols and characters unr