Is it necessary to capitalize the surname if it is used in isolation from the rest of the name (if it is not capitalized within the name itself)?

On the Wikipedia page for Guillermo del Toro, whenever he is referred to as solely "del Toro" (and the name's not at the beginning of a sentence), the "d" in the name is not capitalized:

On May 30, 2010, del Toro left the project due to extend delays brought on by MGM's financial troubles.

However, on the Wikipedia page for Charles-Gaspard de la Rive, his last name is capitalized when used in a sentence by itself:

In addition, De la Rive was politically active.

Is one of these articles incorrect by capitalizing or not capitalizing the "d" in each of their names, or are there separate reasons as to why one is capitalized and the other is not?

Solution 1:

If you want to do it "properly", you need to follow the rules of the nationality of the bearer of the name. These Wikipedia articles are both correct, because in fact they are following the capitalization custom used by their subjects in their native languages.

For example, for Dutch names, the prefix is lowercase if it is preceded by another part of the name, but capitalized in all other cases. So "the painter Van Gogh" but "Vincent van Gogh". See this web page. (Except that in Dutch, some prefixes, like 't, are never capitalized, even at the beginning of sentences. See this web page.)

Prefixes for German names are capitalized only at the beginning of sentences. See this webpage.

This of course leads to great confusion in English, since very few English speakers can sort out all the rules for the different languages. Furthermore, since people move, some people with the same surname may have different capitalization rules, depending on where these people live.

Is this rule the right thing one should follow? I certainly don't believe that it should be wrong to treat the capitalization of somebody's name the way they do it themselves. On the other hand, it is very complicated. I don't think getting a name whose capitalization changes wrong should be considered a mistake in English — so both the paintings of van Gogh and the paintings of Van Gogh should be acceptable.

Did Wikipedia get the capitalization correct for these two cases? Yes.

In Spanish, the rules are different in Spain and Mexico. In Spain, it would be Del Toro. But in Mexico, the correct capitalization is del Toro. Since Guillermo del Toro is Mexican, Wikipedia is using the name the way del Toro would.

I can't find a description of the rules for capitalizing French names with prefixes on the web. Quite possibly, there is no consistent rule for all French names. But in French, De la Rive appears to be capitalized when there is no first name in front of it, and lowercase when used with a first name. (There is a French book with title Trois physiciens genevois et l'Europe savante: les De la Rive, 1800-1920.) So Wikipedia is also treating this name the way it is treated in French.

Solution 2:

This may vary style guide to style guide. APA says that it should stay lowercase except at the beginning of a sentence and after a colon:

Here are two examples of how an author name beginning with a lowercase letter keeps that presentation when written within a sentence:

• To examine the impact of parental and adolescent personality on parenting, de Haan, Deković, and Prinzie (2012) employed a longitudinal methodology.

• Parental and adolescent personality have significant effects on parenting (de Haan, Deković, & Prinzie, 2012).

However, capitalize the name if it (a) begins a sentence or (b) is the first word after a colon when what follows the colon is an independent clause:

• De Haan, Deković, and Prinzie (2012) studied the impact of parental and adolescent personality on parenting.

• Recently, researchers have explored the impact of personality on parenting: De Haan, Deković, and Prinzie (2012) used longitudinal analyses to untangle the effects.

I also checked the Wikipedia Manual of Style. It's not as straightforward, but I think this section is most applicable:

Some individuals do not want their personal names capitalized. In such cases, Wikipedia articles may use lower case variants of personal names if they have regular and established use in reliable third-party sources (for example, k.d. lang). When such a name is the first word in a sentence, the rule for initial letters in sentences and list items should take precedence, and the first letter of the personal name should be capitalized regardless of personal preference.