The National Archives Catalog

Person Name

Mandatory Repeatable Data Type Authority Public Element
Yes No Variable Character Length (700) None Yes

 

Definition: The authorized form of a person's name.

 

Purpose: Controls the name of a person and serves to differentiate persons with identical names from one another.

 

Relationship: Person Name is the element on which all other elements used to describe persons are dependent. To have any other element about a person, Person Name must be created. Person Name is an independent element.

 

Guidance:

Person names are cataloged according to RDA (Resource Description and Access).

If a person's name has any variants (pseudonyms, name changes, transliterations), enter that information in Variant Person Name.

 

Examples:

 

Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984

Dulles, John Foster, 1888-1959

Elizabeth, Queen, consort of George VI, King of Great Britain, 1900-2002

Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963

Washington, George, 1732-1799

Whitman, Walt, 1819-1892

 

 


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