Design Nomenclature / Systems & Spec
Accessible name
Also called accname, computed name, a11y name
This entry has not been translated yet and is shown in English.
The string assistive technology announces for an element, computed by the accessible name specification from a fixed precedence: `aria-labelledby`, then `aria-label`, then native sources such as an associated `label` or the element's own content, then `title`. It is computed, not authored — you influence it, you don't set it.
In practice
Assumed to be the visible text. When it isn't, voice control breaks — a user saying “click Submit” needs the name to contain the words they can see.
Not to be confused with
- LabelThe visible text naming a control, and in HTML the `label` element that binds that text to an input — so clicking it focuses the field and assistive technology can find it. It is one source among several for the accessible name, and a low-precedence one: `aria-label` silently overrides it.
- ARIAA W3C specification of roles, states, and properties that supply or override accessibility semantics where native markup can't express them. It changes only what assistive technology is told — never appearance, focus order, or keyboard behaviour, all of which remain yours to build.