Which one is more correct, "White-eye Man" or “White-Eye Man”？

Question

My son loves a kind of bird called white-eyes, very much. He wants to call a character in his storybook 'white-eye man,' similar to 'spider man' or iron man. He also wants to use the name as his book's title.

I am not quite sure which one is correct between "White-eye Man" and “White-Eye Man.” Which one should he use, and does it make a difference depending on whether it is placed in the title or based on the context?

There is an argument that only the first letter of each word is subject to capitalisation and that “eye” isn’t a separate word in this context. But I think I’ve seen both forms. One can argue for a bit of artistic license as well, with -Eye capitalised so it doesn’t look left out. But this isn’t an authoritative answer, so I’ll leave it as a comment here. — Lawrence, Sep 16 '21 at 04:40
This is about titles not character names: Do you capitalize both parts of a hyphenated word in a title? Conclusion is, it's a matter of style. — Stuart F, Sep 16 '21 at 09:26
Generally: White-eye Man. By the way, a terrible name for a character, imo. — Lambie, Mar 15 '22 at 19:47

score 0 · Answer 1 · answered Sep 16 '21 at 04:38

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Interesting! As this is a given title of a person or being, the dash should be treated like a space, and all first letters should be capitalized: i.e. White-Eye Man.

I found another thread related to this: Capitalization of words with dashes in titles

answered Sep 16 '21 at 04:38

Wiser2k1

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The other question is about dashes, not hyphens. Could you give a reference for your assertion about treating hyphens as spaces? – Andrew Leach Sep 16 '21 at 07:11
I think Stuart F and Wiser2k1 have been misled about titles and character names. In cases like this, anyway, the usage in a title would always follow the usage in the character name… and I echo Andrew Leach's request for clarification… – Robbie Goodwin Oct 16 '21 at 22:20
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'dash' and 'hyphen' are interchangeable, just speak with some EN speakers from around the world – Wiser2k1 Oct 18 '21 at 14:57

G. Rem laughs at the MonicaC's · Answer 2 · 2022-07-13T20:18:46.127

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Spider-Man comes with a hyphen. So, I think, it should be White-eye-Man, to avoid confusion. There's also the point symmetry of the W and M.

Or, White-Eye Man, on the model of Iron Man, without a hyphen before the word, man, and, on the model of Spider-Man, with the capitalization of such words about a hyphen.

edited Jul 13 '22 at 20:18

answered Jul 13 '22 at 20:11

G. Rem laughs at the MonicaC's

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Greybeard · Answer 3 · 2022-02-13T18:20:58.363

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White-eye is the name of a species and has a hyphen. Like all other species (lion, penguin, shark) it is not capitalised. It is spelled with a hyphen. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-eye)

White-eye man, is simply a noun1 + noun2 construction with white-eye acting attributively.

However, White-Eye Man is a name, and names are capitalised.

edited Feb 13 '22 at 18:20

answered Feb 13 '22 at 18:06

Greybeard

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I think with the dash, I would forgo capitalizing eye. – Lambie Mar 15 '22 at 19:49
@Lambie - But you capitalized "I"? – Hot Licks Aug 12 '22 at 21:17

Which one is more correct, "White-eye Man" or “White-Eye Man”？

3 Answers3