diff --git a/docarray/array/mixins/proto.py b/docarray/array/mixins/proto.py
index a38637f4e6d..de9aee858e6 100644
--- a/docarray/array/mixins/proto.py
+++ b/docarray/array/mixins/proto.py
@@ -28,8 +28,8 @@ def to_protobuf(self) -> 'DocumentArrayProto':
             dap.docs.append(doc.to_protobuf())
         return dap
 
-    def _to_nested_item_protobuf(self) -> 'NodeProto':
-        """Convert a DocumentArray into a nested item protobuf message.
+    def _to_node_protobuf(self) -> NodeProto:
+        """Convert a DocumentArray into a NodeProto protobuf message.
          This function should be called when a DocumentArray
         is nested into another Document that need to be converted into a protobuf
 
diff --git a/docarray/document/base_node.py b/docarray/document/base_node.py
index 507511aef56..514d6031523 100644
--- a/docarray/document/base_node.py
+++ b/docarray/document/base_node.py
@@ -10,8 +10,8 @@ class BaseNode(ABC):
     """
 
     @abstractmethod
-    def _to_nested_item_protobuf(self) -> 'NodeProto':
-        """Convert itself into a nested item protobuf message. This function should
+    def _to_node_protobuf(self) -> NodeProto:
+        """Convert itself into a NodeProto message. This function should
         be called when the self is nested into another Document that need to be
         converted into a protobuf
 
diff --git a/docarray/document/mixins/proto.py b/docarray/document/mixins/proto.py
index dea1bc13115..0f4f5fc7a64 100644
--- a/docarray/document/mixins/proto.py
+++ b/docarray/document/mixins/proto.py
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ def to_protobuf(self) -> 'DocumentProto':
         for field, value in self:
             try:
                 if isinstance(value, BaseNode):
-                    nested_item = value._to_nested_item_protobuf()
+                    nested_item = value._to_node_protobuf()
 
                 elif type(value) is str:
                     nested_item = NodeProto(text=value)
@@ -91,8 +91,8 @@ def to_protobuf(self) -> 'DocumentProto':
 
         return DocumentProto(data=data)
 
-    def _to_nested_item_protobuf(self) -> 'NodeProto':
-        """Convert Document into a nested item protobuf message. This function should be
+    def _to_node_protobuf(self) -> NodeProto:
+        """Convert Document into a NodeProto protobuf message. This function should be
         called when the Document is nest into another Document that need to be
         converted into a protobuf
 
diff --git a/docarray/typing/tensor/tensor.py b/docarray/typing/tensor/tensor.py
index cf576ffe3d5..32e14fb1362 100644
--- a/docarray/typing/tensor/tensor.py
+++ b/docarray/typing/tensor/tensor.py
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-from typing import Union, TypeVar, Any, TYPE_CHECKING, Type, cast
+from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Any, Type, TypeVar, Union, cast
 
 import numpy as np
 
@@ -40,8 +40,8 @@ def validate(
     def from_ndarray(cls: Type[T], value: np.ndarray) -> T:
         return value.view(cls)
 
-    def _to_nested_item_protobuf(self: T) -> 'NodeProto':
-        """Convert Document into a nested item protobuf message. This function should
+    def _to_node_protobuf(self: T) -> NodeProto:
+        """Convert Document into a NodeProto protobuf message. This function should
         be called when the Document is nested into another Document that need to be
         converted into a protobuf
 
diff --git a/docarray/typing/url/any_url.py b/docarray/typing/url/any_url.py
index 382a01fca46..c8cf3ed872b 100644
--- a/docarray/typing/url/any_url.py
+++ b/docarray/typing/url/any_url.py
@@ -5,8 +5,8 @@
 
 
 class AnyUrl(BaseAnyUrl, BaseNode):
-    def _to_nested_item_protobuf(self) -> 'NodeProto':
-        """Convert Document into a nested item protobuf message. This function should
+    def _to_node_protobuf(self) -> NodeProto:
+        """Convert Document into a NodeProto protobuf message. This function should
         be called when the Document is nested into another Document that need to
         be converted into a protobuf