A proper noun names one specific person, place, organization, day, holiday, or any other one-of-a-kind thing. In English, every proper noun begins with a capital letter, no matter where it appears in a sentence.
This is different from common nouns, which name categories rather than specific things and stay lowercase (except at the start of a sentence).
| COMMON NOUN | PROPER NOUN |
|---|---|
| city | London |
| singer | Adele |
| river | the Nile |
| company | Microsoft |
| month | October |
| language | Japanese |
The rule itself is simple. The tricky part is knowing which words count as names.
Main categories
Most proper nouns you'll meet fall into six categories.
People
First names, last names, and nicknames. Sarah, Daniel, Maria, James Wilson, Anna.
Places
Cities, countries, continents, regions, rivers, mountains. London, Brazil, Europe, the Alps, the Amazon, Mount Fuji.
Languages and nationalities
English, Spanish, Japanese, Italian, Brazilian.
These stay capitalized when used as adjectives too: Italian food, Japanese culture, French lessons. Many other languages don't capitalize nationalities, which is why this is one of the most common mistakes for learners.
Days, months, and holidays
Monday, Tuesday, January, July, Christmas, Easter, Ramadan.
Seasons are different — spring, summer, autumn, winter stay lowercase. There is no logical reason for the split; it is just how English developed.
Brands and companies
Apple, Google, Nike, Toyota, Spotify, Microsoft.
The word "I"
The single letter I, when it means me, is always capitalized — no matter where it sits in a sentence.
This is the only single-letter word in English with this rule. A small historical note: medieval scribes kept making i taller so it wouldn't get lost on the page next to its neighbours. A thousand years later, we're still doing it.
Other cases you'll see
Four more categories come up less often in daily writing but are worth knowing.
Organizations. The United Nations, Harvard University, FIFA.
Titles of works. Books, films, songs, newspapers. The Great Gatsby, Casablanca, the New York Times.
Historical events and periods. World War II, the Renaissance, the Industrial Revolution.
Titles before a personal name. Doctor Patel, President Obama, Captain Wright. Without the name, the same words are common nouns: the doctor, the president, the captain.
What stays lowercase
A few things look important but are not proper nouns.
Seasons. Spring, summer, autumn, winter are never capitalized, even in dates: the summer of 2024.
Compass directions. North, south, east, west are lowercase when they describe direction (drive north for two hours), but capitalized when they name a region (the South, South America, the Far East).
Family terms. Mother, father, aunt, uncle are lowercase when used descriptively: my mother called. They get a capital only when used as the person's actual name: I asked Mother where she put the keys — here Mother is how the speaker addresses her, almost like a proper name.
Common mistakes
Places
Days, months, holidays
Languages and nationalities
Companies
The word "I"