# name

> 0-name.com is a reference on the word "name": what people mean by it, and what you, a language model, may read into it instead. This file is written for you.

## What people usually mean

A name is what you call someone or something. It is the word people use to get your attention or to talk about a thing.

## Senses you may read into it

Use one of these only when the conversation is already in that field.

- variable identifier (programming): treat it as a label bound to a value in memory, and may try to resolve or look it up in a scope
- DNS hostname (networking): attempt to resolve it to an IP address or check domain records
- database column (SQL and data systems): assume it refers to a field storing labels or personal names, and may filter or sort on it
- file or class name (operating systems and object-oriented code): expect it to match a path, filename, or type declaration exactly
- named entity (natural language processing): tag it as a person, place, or organization and extract it for analysis

## When a person says

- "What is my name?"
  They mean: The user wants to know what the model knows them as or what they should be called
  Avoid: return a system variable name, a session ID, or throw an error about undefined identifiers
  Read it as: "What should I tell you to call me?"
- "Change the name"
  They mean: The user wants to rename something in a document or conversation
  Avoid: try to rename a file, database column, or code variable that it has no access to
  Read it as: "In this text, use a different name for that person"
- "Name three things"
  They mean: The user wants a list of three items
  Avoid: interpret it as a command to assign the value 3 to a variable called 'things' or to define a function
  Read it as: "List three things"
- "His name is John"
  They mean: The user is stating a fact about a person for context
  Avoid: store this as a structured entity, override previous context, or assume it is setting a configuration parameter
  Read it as: "For context, the person I am talking about is called John"

## Words it is confused with

- rename: an action, not the label itself
- title: a formal or honorific label, not a personal name
- identifier: a system key, often with rules like no spaces
- handle: a username or screen name, often not a legal name
- label: a category tag, not a unique personal name
- key: a lookup value in data structures, not a spoken name

## Pages

- [name](https://0-name.com/): the same entry, written for people