Abbess,
    Christian Orthodox       
Abbot,
    Christian Orthodox        
Accountant        
Acting Official       
Adjutant General     
Admiral         
Admiral, Texas Navy   
Adventist Minister       
Alderman         
Archbishop, Catholic        
Archbishop,
   Christian Orthodox        
Archdeacon, Episcopal        
Archimandrite        
Architect
Archpriest        
Ambassador to the U.S.
   from a foreign country      
Ambassador of the U.S.        
American Indian Chief        
Assemblyman
   U.S., State / or           
   Assemblywoman            
Associate Justice,
   U.S. Supreme Court          
Associate Justice of a
   State Supreme Court
Astronaut      
Attorney         
Attorney General           
Attorney General,
       Assistant   
Attorney, U.S.         
Australian Officials    

Baron, Baroness           
British Officials,
   Royalty, Nobility     
Brother, Catholic         
Brother,
   Christian Orthodox          
Bishop, Catholic            
Bishop,
   Christian Orthodox         
Bishop, Episcopal        
Board Member     
Boy        
Brigadier General       
Business Cards      

Canadian Officials    
Candidate    
Captain,
   USA, USAF, USMC     
Cardinal             
Chairman
    Federal Reserve      
Chairwoman      
Chancellor      
Chaplain in the
    Armed Services        
Chaplain of Congress          
Chargé d’Affaires         
Chief Executive Officer 
Chief Judge          
Chief Justice,
      U.S. Supreme Court 
Chief Justice, of a State
      Supreme Court             
Chief of Police          
Chief of Staff     
Chief Operating
   Officer          
Child            
Chiropractor     
City Manager    
Clergy & Religious
    Officials     
Club Official          
Colonel, Kentucky      
Colonel, USA, USAF,
    or USMC     
Commandant       
Commissioner, Court     
Commissioner         
Commodore of a         
      Yacht Club         
Congressman, U.S.               
Congresswoman, U.S.   
Consul and or
   Consul General    
Consultant      
Corporate Executive         
Councilman
    Councilwoman      
Counselor (Diplomat)      
Countess     
County Officials       
Couples     
Curator        

Dalai Lama          
Deacon         
Dean, academic            
Dean, clergy            
Deceased Persons        
Delegate, U.S., State            
Dentist             
Deputy Chief of Mission      
Deputy Marshal          
Designate, Elect,
    Pro Tempore      
Diplomats      
District Attorney           
Doctor, Chiropractor     
Doctor of Dentistry           
Doctor of Medicine              
Doctor, Military           
Doctor of
   Veterinary Medicine          
Doctor of Osteopathy            
Doctor, Other Disciplines     
Doctorate        
Doctorate, honorary      

Earl            
Elect, Designate
   Pro Tempore      
Emeritus/emerita      
Eminence     
Emperor    
Engineer    
Etiquette    
Excellency           

Family     
Fiancee      
Firefighter    
First, Second,
   Third, etc.        
First Lady, Spouse
   of the President of
   the United States 
First Lady, Member
    of Her   
    White House Staff      
First Lady, Spouse
   of a Governor
   or Lt. Gov.    
First Lieutenant   
Flag Protocol     
Former Officials    
Freeholder       

Gay Couple      
Geshe
General
    USA, USAF, USMC
Girl
Governor General         
Governor, Lieutenant 
Governor, Lt., Spouse   
Governor, Tribal Council          
Governor, U.S. State       
Governor, Former    
Governor
    Spouse of     
Governor's Staff,
    Member of      
Governors, Board of 

High Commissioner    
Honorable, The          
Honorary degrees    
Honourable, The       

Indian Chief         
Inspector General    
Interim Official   
Introductions       
Invitations  
   Writing &  
   Addressing  
Invitations
    Military:
    Writing &
    Addressing

Judge, former     
Judge of US City or
        US Count     
Judge, US Federal            
Junior, Senior,
    I, II, III, etc.       
Justice, Associate
     Federal
     Supreme Court
Justice, Associate
     State
     Supreme Court

King     
Knight      

Late, The
   (deceased persons)        
Lawyer      
Lesbian Couple    
Lieutenant      
Lieutenant Colonel,     
   USA, USAF, USMC          
Lieutenant General,
   USA, USAF, USMC      
Lieutenant Governor         

How to Write A Name On A
Plaque, Award, Diploma, Certificate
or Tombstone
Questions & Answers, Frequently Asked Questions, and Blog

How to Write an Official's Name
On a Plaque or Certificate?
       How would I engrave a name on a plaque for someone who was a governor?
               -- Norma @ Midway

      We are giving our mayor a certificate.  How should we would write his name on the certificate?
               -- Norma @ Midway

Dear Norma,
     It's done different ways. The basic way to do it is just to list their full name:
                (Full Name)
     Don't include an honorific such as Mr./Mrs./Ms./Dr.  
     When you inscribe a plaque, award or certificate to just their name it emphasizes that the award is for them without reference to any office or position they might have held.
     When you include other information -- honors, academic post-nominal abbreviations, courtesy titles, and personal ranks -- it shifts the emphasis to their role / professional activities.
               Vincent Esposito, MD
              The Reverend John Magisano
               The Honorable Albert Arnold Gore, Jr.
               Major General Jeffrey Buchanan
              Sir Edmund Percival Hillary
     If you want to use the formal name of his or her name, go to the On-Line Guide page on this site (if you don't have a copy of my book!) and choose the office the person holds.
      -- Robert Hickey

Should I Put An Official's Office On a Plaque?
        I sit on the board of a local community organization and am preparing appreciation plaques for several Virginia State Senators and members of the Virginia House of Delegates. Is it appropriate to just use their names (without titles) on the plaques, or should we use the name of their office as well?
        If we should use the names of their offices if they hold more than one, which one(s) are appropriate? 
        We have always used some sort of title/office in the past.
         -- Karen Snell, M.D. / in Central Virginia

Dear Dr. Snell:
       If you have always presented your plaques with the office listed, I say stay consistent. Since you are honoring them for actions taken while in office ... exercising powers or privileges that might accompany their office .... and it's consistent with your style to write their name & office, use something like this:
                   The Honorable (Full Name)
                   (Name of Office)
       If they hold two offices -- include only the office or offices pertinent to the award. 
        -- Robert Hickey

How to Write the Name of a Deceased Person
On a Certificate of Recognition?
       Our parish is celebrating its 50th Anniversary. We are giving Certificates of Recognition to honor our Founding Parishioners.  My question is how to list a couple when one person is deceased?  The committee recommends putting the living person’s name first, following by the deceased spouse.
        Example:
                If the husband is deceased: Mary & Joseph Smith
                If the wife is deceased: Joseph & Mary Smith
        After reading your online information under “Deceased,” I don’t think this is correct.
        Should it be:
               Mary & the late Joseph Smith (if the husband is deceased)
                        and
              The late Mary & Joseph Smith (if the husband is deceased)
        Or can it be:
               Mary & Joseph (cross) Smith (if the husband is deceased);
                        and
               Mary (cross) & Joseph Smith (if the wife is deceased).
       It is common in our Church to designate someone is deceased by placing a small cross after their name.
              -- Powell Dean

Dear Mr. Dean:
       The committee's suggested style is something I have never heard of, and don't think makes much sense.
       If you are honoring the founding parishioners -- I would list their names without reference to whether the are alive or dead: they were alive when they were founding to the parish!
              Thomas James Smith and Mary Wilson Smith
              Mary and Thomas Smith
      I question why it's necessary to note who is living and who is dead -- how is this pertinent? Does the committee want historians to be able to look back and know who was alive at the 50th Anniversary Celebration?
       -- Robert Hickey

May One Add Post-Nominals to One's Name Retroactively?
         Can a person who is awarded an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) in 2010, put the post-nominal MBE after his name on ''winners'' boards showing that he won golf competitions, prior to him receiving the award of the MBE?  This has generated a lot of discussion in the Golf Club and your advise would be warmly welcomed.
        -- Jeff Hardison

Dear Mr. Hardison:
        It would be odd to rewrite history to include honors and decorations received later in one's life. It makes me wonder if an Nobel Laureate can go back and have himself listed as such as the presenter of his high school valedictory speech?
        I think you are located in the UK, and the British tradition is to include more post-nominals ... in more situations ... than we do in the US. But including the post-nominal abbreviations on a golf record in any circumstance is an odd policy to me. Are the post-nominals of MDs and others holding graduate degrees and certifications included on list?
        In the US post-nominals are used with official situations (regarding one's work) -- but not in personal/social situations.
        And even in official situations post-nominals are included just when PERTINENT: E.g., a person with masters in library science would include the post-nominal on a business card if working as a librarian, but if working as an interior decorator ... would not ... because the degree does not support their performance of the activity.  
        For example, even though MDs tend to use MDs all the time, my Uncle Robert was an MD -- won his country club's championship and was listed simply as (First Name) (Last name) on the plaque in the clubhouse. No. "Dr."  No "MD"
        Let me know if this approach makes sense to you.
        I'd like to be a fly on a wall during your golf club discussions!
        -- Robert Hickey

Dear Robert,
        Thank you for your prompt reply which I find most illuminating. It is not the policy of the Club to use post-nominal abbreviations, as one of my playing partners is also an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) and he does not have this after his name on the Honour's board. Naturally he started the conversation, as he keeps the award rather discreet. I feel that your last comment makes eminent sense to me and will keep you appraised of the situation (out of curiosity) if you so wish.
         -- Jeff

Do I Use Rank and Post-nominals on a Tombstone?       Daughters of a deceased United States Air Force Colonel, who was a dentist and was retired when he died, have asked for my help arranging the wording on a headstone/gravestone. They also need to include the USAF Dental Corps Badge and the USAF Coat of Arms.      How should all the information be arranged?  I am thinking of:.                                                              John Patrick Delaney                                            Colonel (Ret.) D.D.S. - USAF Dental Corps                                                                  January 7, 1935                                                                  October 2, 2012 Or:                                                           Dr. John Patrick Delany                                                   Colonel (Ret.) USAF Dental Corps                                                                 January 7, 1935                                                                 October 2, 2012             -- Betty Dear Betty:      If you'd like to be similar to other military tombstones, then here is the forumula. Deceased persons are referred to by just their NAME ... Honorifics, Ranks, Courtesy titles, and post nominals are not included. Even in life, post-nominals are never used with a rank. All officers are addressed by rank ... with the USAF, or USAF Dental Corp if you prefer, after their name.  So no DDS.      Military tombstones in military cemeteries are just NAME followed by rank and branch of service.      "Retired" is not included. So, in that style it would be:           John Patrick Delaney           Colonel - USAF Dental Corps      See the photos below.           -- Robert Hickey