A name is a label for a noun, normally used to distinguish one from another. Names can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. A personal name identifies a specific unique and identifiable individual person, and may or may not include a middle name. The name of a specific entity is sometimes called a proper name (although that term has a philosophical meaning also) and is a proper noun. Other nouns are sometimes, more loosely, called names; an older term for them, now obsolete, is "general names".

The use of personal names is not unique to humans. Dolphins also use symbolic names, as has been shown by recent research. Individual dolphins have individual whistles, to which they will respond even when there is no other information to clarify which dolphin is being referred to.

Care must be taken in translation, for there are ways that one language may prefer one type of name over another. A feudal naming habit is used sometimes in other languages: the French often refer to Aristotle as "le Stagirite" from one spelling of his place of birth, and English speakers often refer to Shakespeare as "The Bard", recognizing him as a paragon writer of the language. Finally, claims to preference or authority can be refuted: the British did not refer to Louis-Napoleon as Napoleon III during his rule.

See also:

• Shopping: Recreation: Science and Nature: Astronomy: Space Novelties: Star Names (8)

• Can You Pay to Get a Star Named?
  straightdope.com
  The Straight Dope column on a star naming scheme. (April 1, 1988)
• Star Pronunciation Guide
  earthsky.org
  Phonetic pronunciation and audio files for the names of stars and other astronomical objects.
• Vedic Astronomy
  vedicastronomy.net
  Ancient Indian constellations and stars identified.