Workbook on Digital Private Papers > NCA Rules

Constructing corporate names using NCA Rules

The NCA Rules define a corporate body as "an organisation or group of persons that is identified by a particular name and that acts, or may act, as an entity". Corporate bodies may be clearly or informally defined and can include government agencies, universities, exhibitions and conferences. A corporate name may include some or all of the following components and should contain as many as are required to precisely identify the body described:

Name of corporate body

The name by which the corporate body is commonly known should be used. 'Words of substance' should be capitalised, and the name should be constructed in natural language. If initials or acronyms are commonly used to represent the name, these should be used. If a corporate body changes its name, a new form of the name authority record should be created. NCA Rules recommend cross-referencencing different forms of the names. Include 'Ltd' for relevant companies, and exclude the definite article for names such as 'University of Oxford'.

Name of jurisdiction or territorial authority

NCA Rules recommend that a national level should be included if required to distinguish a corporate body from another with a similar name (e.g. Great Britain, Admiralty).

Name of subordinate body

Subordinate bodies should generally be entered directly under their own name if they have an identity separate from the parent institution.

Additions and qualifiers

Sometimes it is necessary to use qualifiers to identify corporate bodies with ambiguous names or to distinguish between corporate bodies which have similar or identical names. NCA Rules allows the use of date, place and status/function/sphere of activity designation for this purpose.


Examples

Manchester Men's League for Women's Suffrage

Oxford University Association Football Club

Sun Mill Company Ltd.

William Turner and Son -- Wheelwrights


Note: for consistency amongst repositories, it is advisable to check the entry in the National Register of Archives before constructing new personal, family and corporate names.