IFLA Cataloguing Section

Names of Persons

Introduction:

According to the International Cataloguing Principles (ICP)[1] the Form of Name for Persons as an authorized access point should be constructed following a standard: "When the name of a person consists of several words, the choice of first word for the authorized access point should follow conventions of the country and language most associated with that person, as found in manifestations or reference sources". Thus, this set of documents summarizes the conventions for each country, established by each national cataloguing agency, to help other cataloguing agencies creating authority data worldwide.

Please access IFLA Names of Persons[2] to submit updates from your country and to access more information.

Country name in English: Federal Republic of Germany

Country name in official language(s): Bundesrepublik Deutschland

Language in English: German

Language name in official language(s): Deutsch

Last updated: December 2009

Note: The name of the country as used in catalogue records is Deutschland. Before the reunification the official names were Deutsche Demokratische Republik (German Democratic Republic) and Bundesrepublik Deutschland (Federal Republic of Germany).

NAME ELEMENTS

Elements normally forming part of a name

Element / Type / Examples
1. Forename / simple / Catharina
Kathrin
compound / Karl H.
Karl Heinz
Karl-Heinz
Karlheinz
Maria Elisabeth
2. Surname / simple / Morgenstern
Schmidt
-- with feminine ending / Welserin
with prefixes
-- a preposition / von Goethe
van Beethoven
-- a preposition and an article written separately / von der Hagen
von le Fort
-- a contraction of a preposition and an article / aus’m Weerth
vom Berg
-- a preposition and a contraction of a preposition and an article / von zur Mühlen
-- more than one prefix linked by a conjunction / von und zu Urff
compound
-- consisting of two surnames / Meyer-Hofmann
-- consisting of a surname and a place name / Meyer zu Selhausen
Müller-Meiningen
-- consisting of a surname with the attributive prefix Sankt / Sankt Goar
-- consisting of two surnames linked by a conjunction / Strauß und Torney
-- consisting of two surnames joined by the word genannt / Gnevkow genannt Blume
Böckenförde gen. Schüngel

Additional elements to names

Element / Use / Examples
Titular prefix, e.g., Baron, Baronesse, Baronin, Freifrau, Freiherr, Freiin, Fürst, Fürstin, Graf, Gräfin, Prinz, Prinzessin / after the forename(s) and usually followed by the preposition von or zu or by a contraction of a preposition and an article and the surname, simple or compound / Adolf Friedrich Graf von
Schack
Karl Freiherr vom Stein
zum Altenstein
followed by the preposition and a separate article or by a contraction of a preposition and an article / Franz Clemens Ulrich Prinz
zur Lippe-Weissenfeld
before the forename(s) without any difference in significance / Prinz Louis Ferdinand von
Preußen
in rare cases within a compound / Julia Rau- Gräfin von der
Schulenburg
Note: Titular prefixes are generally omitted in German library practice.

ORDER OF ELEMENTS IN CATALOGUE HEADINGS

General rule

Type of name / Entry element / Examples
1. Surname / surname / MORGENSTERN,
Catharina
SCHMIDT, Karl Heinz
2. Feminine ending of surname / surname without feminine ending / WELSER, Philippine
3. Surname with prefixes
-- a preposition / part following the preposition / GOETHE, Johann
Wolfgang von
BEETHOVEN, Ludwig van
-- a titular prefix followed by a preposition / part following the preposition / SCHACK, Adolf Friedrich
von
-- a titular prefix before the surname and a preposition / part following the preposition / PREUSSEN, Louis
Ferdinand von (i.e.
Preußen, Louis
Ferdinand von)
-- a preposition and an article written separately / part following the article / HAGEN, Friedrich
Heinrich von der
-- a preposition and an article of Romanic origin / prefix, if it is an article in a name of Romanic origin / LE FORT, Gertrud von
-- a contraction of a preposition and an article / prefix / VOM BERG, Fritz
-- a contraction of a preposition and an article elided / prefix / AUS’M WEERTH, Ernst
-- a preposition and a contraction of a preposition and an article / prefix, if it is a preposition and an article combined in one word / ZUR MÜHLEN, Heinrich
von
-- more than one prefix linked by a conjunction / part following the last preposition / URFF, Georg Ludwig von
und zu
4. Compound surname
-- consisting of two surnames (usually hyphenated) / first part of compound / MEYER-HOFMANN,
Ernst
-- consisting of a name and a hyphenated place name / first part of compound / MÜLLER-MEININGEN,
Ernst
-- consisting of a name and a place name linked by a preposition / first part of compound / MEYER ZU
SELHAUSEN, Hermann
-- consisting of the prefix von and two surnames linked by a conjunction / part of compound following the prefix / STRAUSS UND TORNEY,
Lulu von (i.e. Strauß und
Torney, Lulu von)
-- with titular prefix followed by the preposition combined with an article and two hyphenated surnames / prefix starting the compound, if it is a preposition and an article combined in one word / ZUR LIPPE -WEISSENFELD, Franz
Clemens Ulrich
-- consisting of a name and a place name with a prefix contracted of a preposition and an article / prefix starting the compound, if it is a preposition and an article combined in one word / VOM STEIN
ZUM ALTENSTEIN,
Karl
-- consisting of a surname with the attributive prefix Sankt / first part of compound / SANKT GOAR, Rudolph
-- consisting of two surnames joined by the word genannt / first part of surname,
(omit the word genannt) / GNEVKOW BLUME,
Rudolf
Böckenförde Schüngel,
Georg Ernst von
-- consisting of a surname and a place name with title of nobility / first part of compound / RAU- VON DER
SCHULENBURG, Julia

National cataloguing code

Regeln für die alphabetische Katalogisierung in wissenschaftlichen Bibliotheken [Elektronische Ressource] : RAK-WB / Deutsche Nationalbibliothek. - Elektronische Ausg. - Leipzig ; Frankfurt, M. ; Berlin : Dt. Nationalbibliothek. - Online-Ressourcen

Teilw. hrsg. und verl. von Die Dt. Bibliothek

ISSN 1619-7755

[Hauptw.] . - 2., überarb. und erw. Aufl., Stand: April 2006 (einschl. der Aktualisierungen nach der 4. Erg.-Lfg.). - [2007]. - Online-Ressource

ISBN 978-3-933641-88-5

ISBN 3-933641-88-8

URN <urn:nbn:de:101-2007072711>

Online under: http://files.d-nb.de/pdf/rak_wb_netz.pdf

National authority file of names

Personennamendatei (PND).
Online under: https://portal.d-nb.de/

Sources and recommended references

RAK rules have been used since 1972 in the bibliographies of Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Leipzig, Frankfurt am Main, Berlin.

The following bibliographies edited by Deutsche Nationalbibliothek are available:

Online database: https://portal.d-nb.de

Deutsche Nationalbibliografie Series A. Online journal: https://portal.d-nb.de ISSN 1869-3946

Deutsche Nationalbibliografie Series B. Online journal: https://portal.d-nb.de ISSN 1869-3954

Deutsche Nationalbibliografie Series C. Online journal: https://portal.d-nb.de ISSN 1869-3970

Deutsche Nationalbibliografie Series H. Online journal: https://portal.d-nb.de ISSN 1869-3989

Deutsche Nationalbibliografie Series M. Online journal: https://portal.d-nb.de ISSN 1613-8937

Deutsche Nationalbibliografie Series T. Online journal: https://portal.d-nb.de ISSN 1613-8945

Neuerscheinungsdienst. Online journal: https://portal.d-nb.de ISSN 1611-0153

Authority for information provided

Arbeitsstelle für Standardisierung, Deutsche Nationalbibliothek / Office for Library Standards, German National Library (www.d-nb.de)

Checked and approved by: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek, Arbeitsstelle für Standardisierung / German National Library, Office for Library Standards, Barbara Pfeifer, Frankfurt am Main, December 2009.

[1] http://www.ifla.org/publications/statement-of-international-cataloguing-principles

[2] http://www.ifla.org/node/4953