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| 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, Goodwill Ambassador of one country to another country Ambassador of the U.S. to another country by a U.S. citizen Ambassador of the U.S. to the U.K. American Indian Chief Assemblyman U.S., State / or Assemblywoman Assistant Secretary 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 Awards, Name on an
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 Certificate, Name on a 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 U.S. Military U.S. Officials Private Citizens Same Sex Curator
Dalai Lama Deacon Dean, academic Dean, clergy Deceased Persons Degree, honorary Delegate, U.S., State Dentist Deputy Chief of Mission Deputy Marshal Deputy Secretary Designate, Elect, Pro Tempore Diploma, Name on a Diplomats Director District Attorney Doctor, Chiropractor Doctor of Dentistry Doctor of Medicine Doctor, Military Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Doctor, Optometrist Doctor of Osteopathy Doctor, Other Disciplines Doctorate Doctorate, honorary
Earl Elect, Designate Pro Tempore Emeritus/emerita Eminence Emperor Engineer Esquire, Esq. Excellency
Family Fiancee Firefighter First Names, Use of Formal / Informal 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 U.S. Governor or Lt. Gov. First Lady, Spouse of a U.S. Mayor First Lady of a Church First Lieutenant Former Officials Freeholder
Gay Couple Geshe General USA, USAF, USMC Girl Goodwill Ambassador 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 Ambassador Honorary degrees Honorary doctorate Honourable, The Indian Chief Inspector General Interim Official Introductions Invitations Writing & Addressing Invitations Military: Writing & Addressing
Judge, former Judge of US City County or State 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
Ma'am Major USA, USAF, USMC Major General, USA, USAF, USMC Man, business Man, social Marquess / Marchioness Married Women Marshal for a Judicial District, U.S. Mayor, U.S. City Mayor, Canadian City Mayor Pro Tempore Mayor, Vice Medic Minister, Protestant Clergy Miss Monk, Christian Orthodox Monsignor Most Reverend, The Mother Superior Mr. (Social) Mr. (Business) Mrs., Ms. (Use, Social Forms) Mrs. vs. Ms. Mr. & Mrs. / Couples
Name Badges or Tags Nobility, UK/British Nobility, Other & Former Nun, Catholic Nun, Orthodox Nurse
Officer, Police Optometrist Pastor, Christian Clergy Patriarch, Christian Orthodox Patriarch, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople People with Two Titles Permanent Representative Petty Officer Pharmacist Physician PhD Place Cards Plaque, Name on a Police Chief Police Officer Pope, Catholic Pope, Coptic Postmaster General Post-Nominal Abbreviations Presbyter, Orthodox President, corporate President of College or University President of a Secondary School President of a US State Assembly President (current) of the U.S.A. President (former) of the U.S.A. President of the U.S.A., spouse of President-elect of the U.S. Priest, Catholic Priest, Christian Orthodox Priest, Episcopal Prime Minister Principal Professionals & Academics Professor Pro Tempore, Elect, Designate Psychologist
Queen Rabbi Ranger, Texas Representative, U.S., Federal Representative, U.S., State Reservist, Military Resident Commissioner Retired Military 1. Formula For How to Address 2. Use of Rank by Retired Military 3. Q&A on How to Address Retired Military Retiree Reverend, The Right Reverend, The
Same Sex Couple Salvation Army School Board Member Second Lieutenant Secretary, U.S. Department, Member of the Cabinet Secretary of Defense, U.S. Secretary, Assistant Secretary General of the U.N. Senator, U.S., Federal Senator, U.S., State Senator, Canadian Senior, Junior, I, II, III, etc. Senior Judge Sergeant Sergeant at Arms Seventh Day Adventist Minister Sheriff Sister, Catholic Sir Solicitor General Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. Specialist Spouse of the President of the U.S. Spouse of the Vice President of the U.S. Spouse of an Elected Official State Attorney Surgeon General Texas Ranger Titles & Forms of Address, Useless? Tombstones, Names on Town Justice Town Manager The Honorable Tribal Officials Two Titles, Person With Under Secretary US Attorney US Federal Officials US State Officials US Municipal Officials
Venerable, The Veteran (not Retired) Veterinarian Very Reverend, The VFW Officer/Official Vice Mayor Vice President of the U.S. Spouse of the Vice President of the U.S. Vice President-elect of the U.S. Viscount and/or Viscountess Warrant Officer Widow White House Staff Woman, business Woman, social Yacht Club Officer
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| How to Write Names on Place Cards Questions & Answers, Frequently Asked Questions, and Blog
Site updated by Robert Hickey on 4 December 2019
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| How to Write an Official's Name on a Place Card? Can you tell me how to write a mayor's name on a formal place card? Do I refer to him as: The Honorable Mayor Darr or is it: Mayor Mark A. Darr -- Nicole in Little Rock I am hosting a dinner for a U.S. Senator. How should her place card be written? Is it Senator Dianne Feinstein? – or – Diane Feinstein, U.S. Senator ? -- Debbie in Corporate Affairs Can you help me with the proper form to use on a place card for the following person?: H.E. Sheikh Khalid Bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani, Minister of Foreign Affairs in Qatar. -- William at the Statehouse
Dear Nicole, Debbie & William: I provide complete details on how to write place cards in my book if this sort of question comes up often. A formal place card simply identifies a person's seat. The name is written on one side of the card: the side facing the guest. You write his or her's name as he or she is addressed in conversation: Mr. Hickey Mayor Darr Senator Feinstein Sheikh Mohammed At formal events there's likely a centerpiece/floral arrangement so other guests can't see one another's cards anyway. So there is no functional purpose to putting a name on both sides. At official events, when the guest holds a high office, it is traditional to write just title of the office the official holds. E.g.,: The President The Chief Justice The Mayor of (City) The Minister of Foreign Affairs At less-formal events larger double-sided tent cards or placards (text on both sides, so others at the table can see who is who and network) can have whatever information the host decides is useful: The Honorable Mark A. Darr Mayor or The Honorable Mark A. Darr Mayor of (Name of City) or The Honorable Mark A. Darr Mayor of (Name of City), State, Country or H.E. Sheikh Khalid bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani or H.E. Sheikh Khalid bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani Minister of Foreign Affairs or H.E. Sheikh Khalid bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar So don't ask "what do I put on the card?" Ask -- What is the function of the card? What information will best support that function? Does it only need to show the guest which their seat? To provide 'call-by name' for others to see and use? ... Or does it need to provide identification for networking? -- Robert Hickey
How Do I Write Place Cards for a Formal Event? Dear Robert: I'm putting together place cards for a memorial dinner on April 17. In general, I'm using the form: Mr. Andy Clark I choose to use Andy rather than Andrew because this is a social event (actually a formal dinner). Although the event has business overtones as I have a mix of corporate, government, and guests at our tables. Should I use the Andrew form instead of the Andy form? --- Thanks, Andy
Dear Andy: If you want to use nick names because it's the right tone for the evening -- do it. Just because it's a place card doesn't mean you have to formalize it. I can imagine all the following be the right form for one event or another: Mr. Clark Andy Clark Andy -- Robert Hickey
Do Place Cards Have the Name on One Side, Or on Both Sides? It was decided we would use the informal form of address on the place cards, i.e. John Doe instead of Mr. John Doe or Mr. Doe. Should that go on one side or both sides? -- Marietta Stone
Dear Ms. Stone: Protocol officers typically use the word place card for the small card (maybe flat, maybe folded) ... perhaps 1" x 3" ... with just the name facing the individual. That's just to tell the person which seat is theirs. And use the word tent card or table tent for a larger folded card with the names on both sides to facilitate networking. It needs to be larger so what's on it can be read from across the table. Anyway, that's the way we keep them defined. Both are used all the time ... which style is used is determined by the requirements of the event. On a place card the name is written with the name facing the person ... the 'conversational form" is used .... Mr. Doe. The only time you would use Mr. John Doe on a place card is when you have a Mr. John Doe and a Mr. William Doe BOTH coming and you need to be specific. On a tent card how the name is written: call-by name; full name; name & title; name, title & organization; -- all depends on what's the right for the event. -- Robert Hickey
How to Write a Military Officer's Name on a Place Card? For an U.S. Army General ould you recommend using on the place card General John Doe or LTG John Doe? -- Marietta Stone, again
Dear Ms. Stone: On a formal place card, the form of the name use is the form used in conversation or in a salutation: basic rank + his surname: General Doe If you were going to use slightly less formal place cards and were going to include his full names for everyone (for whatever reason) with a full name you could include his full rank, or use the service-specific abbreviation: Lieutenant General John Doe or LTG John Doe The letters in LTG are capped because it is a Army-specific abbreviation. LTG means he is a US Army Lieutenant General. If he were a Marine Lieutenant General the Marine-specific abbreviation is LtGen. I have all this spelled out in my book in the chapter on place cards. -- Robert Hickey
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| How to Write the Names of a Rabbi & His Dr. Wife? How do I write the names of a Rabbi and his Dr. wife? The names are Rabbi David and Dr. Sarah Schmidt. -- Tonya Krell
Dear Ms. Krell: When people have special honorific such as "Rabbi" or "Dr." you don't combine their name with other names. So you write the name of the person with the higher precedence first, and the name of the person with the lower precedence second. A member of clergy outranks a person with an academic degree. Rabbi David Schmidt and Dr. Sarah Schmidt. The conversational forms of their name ... what you'd also use on a formal place card or in a salutation would be: Rabbi Schmidt and Dr. Schmidt FYI, your question is answered in my book in Chapter Nine: Joint forms of Address. -- Robert Hickey How To Write a Former Ambassador's Escort & Place Cards? I would like to know how to print an escort card and a table place card for a former Ambassador. - Ruthie W.
Dear Ms. W.: Former ambassadors are addressed with the honorific Ambassador at their preference ... and most I've encountered to prefer to be addresses as such. So an escort card could read -- if you are using first and last names ... Ambassador Mary Mel French and a place card should read -- if you are using just last names .... Ambassador French -- Robert Hickey
How to Write an Foreign Ambassador's Place Card? The Ambassador of Japan visiting our agency and having a meeting with our director in a boardroom. For a proper place card which would be correct: The Ambassador to Japan Ichiro Fujisaki Or His Excellency Ichiro Fujisaki -- PM @ Fort Belvoir
Dear PM: I think you have a copy of my book. See page 431 where I give all the forms of address .... letter, invitation, place card, introductions, etc. ... for a foreign ambassador. A traditional social place card might have just enough information for him to find his seat -- name or office. But since you mention it's a meeting and this perhaps will also serve as identification card for other attendees -- then structure it like a formal introduction or how his name would appear on an envelope: His Excellency Ichiro Fujisaki The Ambassador of Japan Name first -- with HE preceding the name, then, the office second. -- Robert How to Write Names on Tent Cards for a Panel? We are preparing place markers for a panel discussion. Among the panel are three attorneys (one of whom is also a state representative) and the Chief Justice of the Wyoming Supreme Court. The only two “civilians” are members of the press. Would we simply list their names on the first line, followed by the title on the second line?? -- Anne Leslie.
Dear Ms. Leslie: I am assuming by place markers -- you mean tent cards with their names on them so the audience can tell who is who? If so, give the elected official and Chief Justice their formal forms: The Honorable (Full Name of State Representative) (Office) Chief Justice (Full name) The Supreme Court of Wyoming Give the attorney the post-nominal used to identify practicing attorneys: (Full Name), Esq. (Office) And since the others are getting a courtesy title, honorific, or post nominal ... give the reporters an honorific too: Mr. James Wilson (Name of newspaper) -- Robert Hickey |
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Not Finding Your Question Answered? (1) At left is a list offices/officials covered and (2) below are other topics covered in my blog. Between the two I probably have what you are looking for. But after checking both lists if you don't see your question answered send me an e-mail. I am pretty fast at sending a reply: usually the next day (unless I am traveling.) If I think your question is of interest to others, I will post the question & answer – but I always change the names and specifics. -- Robert Hickey USE OF NAMES & HONORIFICS Mr., Miss, Jr., III, & Names Married Women Deceased Persons People with Two Titles Post-Nominal Abbreviations and Initials Sequence Post-Nominal Abbreviations: Sr., Jr., etc. Couples: Private Citizens / Joint Forms of Address Couples: U.S. Military / Joint Forms of Address Couples: U.S. Officials / Joint Forms of Address
USE OF SPECIFIC OFFICIAL TITLES Former Officials Professionals and Academics
United States Federal Officials, Currently In Office United States State Officials, Currently In Office United States Municipal Officials, Currently In Office All About The Honorable with U.S. Officials Former United States Officials of all types United States Armed Services Addressing Active Duty Personnel Addressing Retired Personnel Use of Rank by Retired Personnel Use of Rank by Veterans
Tribal Officials Clergy and Religious Officials Canadian Officials Australian Officials British Officials, Royalty, and Nobility Diplomats and International Representatives Foreign National Officials and Nobility SPECIFIC SITUATIONS Author's Name on His/Her Book Business Cards, Names on, Couples Introductions, Names in Invitations: Names on Invitations: Names of Armed Service Personnel on Name Badges & Tags Names on Programs, Signs, & Lists Naming a Building or Road Place Cards Plaques, Awards, Diplomas, Certificates, Names on Precedence: Ordering Officials Tombstones, Names on
Site updated by Robert Hickey on 4 December 2019
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