Common name

In biology, a common name is a name of a taxon or organism that is based on the normal language of everyday life. It may happen that the same name is used for different organisms in different regions ("robin" is used for several species of passerine birds), or that the same organism is referred to by different names (cougar, puma, mountain lion, panther); and different languages use different names (cat, gato, chat, 貓 ...) Many, but not all, organisms have a common name. Organisms—viruses, bacteria, plants, animals, etc.—are also given unique Latin-based scientific names, usually unrelated to the common name.

In chemistry, IUPAC defines a common name as one that, although it unambiguously defines a chemical, does not follow the current systematic naming convention, such as acetone, systematically 2-propanone, while a vernacular name describes one used in a lab, trade or industry that does not unambiguously describe a single chemical, such as copper sulfate, which may refer to either copper(I) sulfate or copper(II) sulfate.

Sometimes common names are created by authorities on one particular subject, in an attempt to make it possible for members of the general public (including such interested parties as fishermen, farmers, etc.) to be able to refer to one particular species of organism without needing to be able to memorise or pronounce the scientific name. Creating an "official" list of common names can also be an attempt to standardize the use of common names, which can sometimes vary a great deal between one part of a country and another, as well as between one country and another country, even where the same language is spoken in both places.