Wikipedia:Remember the reader
 | This is an essay. It contains the advice or opinions of one or more Wikipedia contributors. This page is not an encyclopedia article, nor is it one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, as it has not been thoroughly vetted by the community. Some essays represent widespread norms; others only represent minority viewpoints. |
 | This page in a nutshell: Wikipedia is written for the general public, and sometimes we need to use the less technical terms in order to aid the general public to a greater understanding of the topic. |
The thinking behind
WP:COMMONNAME
show the common name, not the scientific name.
It is understood that specialists prefer to have the "correct" terminology for the name of an article; however, the name of the Wikipedia article will show up on Google and other searches, and it is the name which navigates people to an article. Using the most common name is the most helpful thing for the common reader, and for the article, as it will deliver more readers to the page. Bear in mind that the specialist will know both the specialist/"correct"/scientific name and the common name; the general reader will likely know only the common name, so a reader looking for an article on
principle of least astonishment
, we want people to be in a position of understanding information without a struggle; and, when they arrive at an article, to be able to quickly identify they are in the right place.