Design Nomenclature / Systems & Spec
Accessible name
Also called accname, computed name, a11y name
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.