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In general, capitalize people’s names.
• At the Smiths’ barbecue, I met Mrs.
Patterson-Smith, Mary Alice Greensilverberg, and the Reverend José
Rodriguez y Ortega.
Capitalize names that are abbreviated to one letter.
• The kids had a hard time pronouncing
Mrs. Bresnahan’s name, so she asked them to call her Mrs. B.
De la and similar
The capitalization of names that include particles
varies from case to case. Consider each such tricky name individually,
and capitalize according to what’s most commonly done. Note that
some particles
(de, le) are lowercased in the
full name and uppercased when the last name is used alone.
• Daphne du Maurier attended the party;
du Maurier drank a glass of champagne.
• Consuela rushed out to purchase the
new John le Carré novel; she always bought Le Carré’s novels in
hardback.
Follow Preference
Some people want their names spelled without capital
letters; it’s best to respect their lowercase wishes.
• Andrew fell asleep while studying the
poetry of e. e. cummings.
Mom and Dad
Don’t capitalize family names unless they’re being
used in direct address or before a proper name.
• My mother and father still act like
teenagers.
• Tina whined, “Can I, Mom? Pleeeeaaase?”
• Kenny visits his grandma every Tuesday.
• Kenny wrote a thank-you note to Grandma
Rose.
Titles
A person may have an academic title (Ph.D.),
a professional title (Col., Atty.),
a social title (Mrs.), or a suffix (Jr.).
Professional titles precede a full name; academic titles
follow a name. Social titles precede a name if there are no professional
titles; suffixes follow a name.
Academic Titles
- Bachelor of Arts B.A.
Doctor of Law J.D.
Doctor of Medicine M.D.
Doctor of Philosophy Ph.D.
Master of Arts M.A.
Master of Business Administration M.B.A.
Master of Fine Arts M.F.A.
Master of Science M.S.
It’s okay to omit the periods from the abbreviations
above. Ph.D., for example, can be written as PhD.
The inclusion or exclusion of periods is a personal decision—omitting
them is less conservative.
In sentences, academic titles that follow
a name should be surrounded by commas.
• Jane Smith, M.B.A., wrote the best-selling Your
Money, Your Self.
• Tina angled for an introduction to
Doogie Howser, M.D., last night.
Professional titles
- Ambassador Amb.
Attorney Attny.
Colonel Col.
Doctor Dr.
Father Fr.
General Gen.
Governor Gov.
Honorable Hon.
Monsignor Msgr.
President Pres.
Professor Prof.
Representative Rep.
Reverend Rev.
Secretary Sec.
Senator Sen.
Sergeant Sgt.
Treasurer Treas.
The abbreviated titles above should be used only when
both the first and last names are given (Dr. is
the one exception).
• At noon, Sergeant Lopez reported for
duty.
• At noon, Sgt. Annalisa Lopez reported
for duty.
Social Titles
Mr. is an appropriate social title
for a man who does not have another professional title. The French
equivalent is M. (“monsieur”). The plural of both Mr.
and M. is Messrs. (“messieurs”).
Ms. is an appropriate social title
for a woman who does not have another professional title. Depending
on context and on the preferences of the subject in question, you
may also use Miss for an unmarried woman or Mrs.
for a married woman. The French equivalents are Mlle (“mademoiselle”)
and Mme (“madame”); neither have a period. The
plural of Ms., Miss, Mrs.,
and Mme is Mmes. (“mesdames”).
The plural of Mlle is Mlles (“mesdemoiselles”).
When one of these words comes before
a proper name, those titles must be abbreviated.
• Mrs. Roberts is a hotshot lawyer.
When one of these words stands alone, it must be spelled
out.
• Hey, Mister!
Jr. and Sr.
The suffixes Junior and Senior should
be abbreviated when used with names and spelled out when used alone.
• John F. Kennedy Jr. died in a plane
crash.
• Duke Senior was unfairly banished by
his usurping brother.
Commas surrounding Jr. and Sr.
are optional these days. SparkNotes doesn’t use them, but more traditional
publishers sometimes do. Just be consistent.
OK:Martin Luther King, Jr.,
inspires Madeline.
Also OK: Jimmy Smith Sr.
had a fight with his son.
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