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         

Robert Hickey's Blog on
Names, Titles & Forms of Address
Invitations, Introductions, Precedence, Flags, etc.

Answers to Questions From On-Line Users (like you)

Robert Hickey is Deputy Director of The Protocol School
of Washington® and has been conducting protocol
trainings since 1988.

Welcome To My Website.
     I’ve been teaching at The Protocol School of Washington® for 24 years and spent a decade collecting what I've learned on names, titles and forms of address into my book that has become the standard reference on the topic.
     Since the book was published in 2008, thousands of people and organizations have acquired and use it. Browse around this site, learn how to flawlessly interact with those who are high on the pecking order, and you too can become an ambassador of honor and respect.
      -- Robert Hickey

Something You Are Looking For?
    If you have a question on how to address a particular office/official more than 150 are listed below and to the right and on the On-Line Guide To Forms Of Address,
   You can also browse all the previously asked questions. They are saved by category, with a list of those categories at the bottom of this page. I've answered hundreds of questions, so your question may be covered there.

Here Are The Six Most Recently Asked Questions
After they've been here, I move them to a page with related questions
A list of those topics appears at the bottom of this page.

Should I Use Dr. or Ph.D. on an Invitation?
      If a person holds a Ph.D., should his or her name be Dr. (name) a wedding invitation? Or (Name), Ph.D.? 
      Is this true for the father of the bride?
      The groom?
      Is the rule for names on wedding invitations and wedding envelopes different that the guidelines for social correspondence?
     -- Beverly Russell, Winchester, Virginia

Dear Ms. Russell:
     Wedding invitations and their envelopes are social correspondence. Post-nominal abbreviations (Ph.D. is a post nominal abbreviation) aren't used on social correspondence:
                DON'T use Ph.D.
                DO use Dr. (Name).
     Another question that typically comes up is whether to use Doctor or Dr. (spelled out or abbreviated) on the invitation or on the mailing envelope? The rule is to spell out everything and not to use abbreviations.
     But, Mr., Mrs., Dr., and Ms. (for which there is no spelled-out version) are typically used on invitations and when addressing invitations in even the most formal circles. I think Doctor (Name) looks oh-so-highly precious, but I know some wedding planners who would wrestle me to the mat on that one.
            -- Robert Hickey

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

Is a Woman a Chairwoman, Chairman, or Chair?
          How would a woman board chair's title be listed? Would it be chairman or chairwoman or just board chair? Last year a man held the position and, of course, the program read, Chairman of the Board.
          -- Sarah

Dear Sarah,
          I don't think there is just one way to do this.
          Typically the position is Chairman of the Board. That's the terminology used when you discuss the position.
          But a woman holding the position can be a Chair, Chairwoman or even a Chairman. Often the term used is at her personal preference. She gets the one she likes.
          If you are looking for a precedent, The United States Senate's website refers to a heads of the political parties' conferences and committees as Chairs. So the parties have abandoned the gender-specific terminology.
          However in contrast, on that same page the Senate also lists the heads of Standing Committees as Chairmen. When the office appears next to the name of the office holder, the word Chairman is used when the position is held by a man and the word Chairwoman is used when the position is held by a woman.
          -- Robert Hickey

How to Address a Seventh Day Adventist Minister?
          My pastor is a Seventh day Adventist and I have never heard anyone refer to him, or any other SDA pastor, as The Reverend (Name).  He does not have a doctorate, so how do I address an envelope to him?
          -- Ruth

Dear Ruth,
          Even if he did have a doctorate, Dr. is not typically used as an honorific by Adventist ministers holding a doctorate.
          The spokesperson for the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists in Silver Spring, Maryland says Elder is the preferred honorific in the USA.  
          Their suggested style for Adventists ministers in writing is:
                    Elder (Full Name)
                    Address
          And in the salutation is:
                    Dear Elder (Surname),
          Outside the USA the spokesperson says Pastor (Name) is also very frequently used.
          I have all the forms of address for Adventist clergy (letters, salutations, invitations, introductions, place cards, conversation) in my book (in the chapter on Clergy) if this sort of thing comes up often.
          -- Robert Hickey

How Do I Address a Spouse in Conversation?
I was wondering if you could help me with the distinction between use of “Miss,” "Ms.," and “Mrs.” We have a visitor coming to visit our headquarters with his spouse and we are told that we should call her either Mrs. (Husband's first name and last name) or (Her first name and his last name). e.g. Mrs. Paul Smith or Carla Smith ... but not to call her Mrs. Carla Smith as that would imply she is divorced.  Is that right?
            -- Wondering about Married Women

Dear Wondering,
   Here are some things to consider: If she is coming as the "wife of" a visitor, then in writing she would traditionally be:
             Mrs. (Husband's complete name)
   And in conversation use:
            Mrs. (Husband's last name)
   Women who are included as a spouse are typically O.K. with being Mrs. (Husband's Full Name). They are being included because they are a spouse, not on their own.
    In an oral introduction you could May I introduce Mrs. (Surname) or May I introduce (Woman's first name) (Surname) .... no honorific .... either is O.K.
    This is how it is done for First Ladies. For instance the wife of "Bush-43" was either Mrs. George W. Bush, Mrs. Bush or Laura Bush.
    Hillary didn't mind Mrs. Clinton, but did not want to be addressed as Mrs. William J. Clinton .... and requested to be addressed as Mrs. Clinton and referred to as First Lady, Hillary Rodham Clinton.
    If she chose the form of address many working women use, she likely would have used Ms. Hillary Clinton, (... or perhaps Ms. Hillary Rodham if when practicing law if she wanted to continue use of her maiden name.)
        Yes ... Mrs. (woman's first name) (surname)  ... is the format traditionally used by divorced women in the U.S.
    Widow's traditionally continue to be "Mrs. (Deceased husband's full name)" .... as long as they don't remarry.
                       -- Robert Hickey

Does it Matter How You Stand When You Shake Hands? It seems it does -- if anyone is looking. Or, if there are cameras present.        I am confident Bill Gates meant no disrespect when he greeted the President of the Republic of Korea in Seoul with one hand in his pocket. But some members of the Korean press had a different opinion: "Cultural difference or act of disrespect?" Others said "Please, people ... don't think your Confucian mindset is a universal norm elsewhere in the world."       The Protocol School of Washington teaches that there are seven ingredients to a perfect introduction and Mr. Gates got most of them right. But he missed stand up straight (a hand in your pocket is not standing up straight) and perhaps also missed extend your hand.  It looks as if the President is doing most of the extending.       Here's a link to a story about the issue as covered in the Korean press in the Telegraph.      And here is how the story appeared in The Washington Post . South Korean newspaper front pages show coverage of the meeting between South Korean President Park Geun-Hye and Microsoft founder Bill Gates. Some papers cropped out that he kept his hand in his pocket while greeting the Chief of State. (AFP/Getty images)

How to Include the Mother's Given Name on the Host Line?
The bride's parents are married but have always maintained different last names. Both have PhD's. So I think we just list us both with Dr. and list the woman (me) first. That's the social rule.
          That's the easy part. The part I am struggling with is with the groom's parents. They are married with same last name: the father has a Ph.D., groom's mother does not.  The groom's mother wants her first name mentioned. So Dr. & Mrs. John Minton doesn't work.
         How do I make the program's two sets of names look consistent as they will be right next to each other?
          Parents of the Bride:
                    Dr. Jean Wennick and Dr. David Dexter
          Parents of the Groom:
                    Mrs. Suzanne and Dr. John Minton
                    Mrs. Suzanne Boss and Dr. John Minton
                    Dr. & Mrs. John and Suzanne Minton
          Or just list us all, one name at a time:
                    Dr. Jean Wennick
                    Dr. David Dexter
                    Mrs. Suzanne Minton
                    Dr. John Minton
          Or what? Thank you for your help!!!
          -- Jean W. 

Dear Jeane W.,
          You are right, what would be traditionally correct is:
                    Dr. Jean Wennick and Dr. David Dexter
                    Dr. and Mrs. John Minton
                    request the pleasure of your company
                    at the wedding of their children
          There is a reason why this is a problem without an elegant solution: Some names in your proposed invitation are formal and presented in the traditional way:
                    Dr. Jean Wennick and Dr. David Dexter
          But the groom's parents names are sort of free style:
                    Mrs. Suzanne Minton and Dr. John Minton
          If the groom's mother wants her name listed as Mrs. Suzanne Minton  (Mrs. (Woman's given name)(Surname) is the traditional form for a divorced woman) … then you are stuck with it.
          Good news is that using "and" between the names indicates they are a couple. When the names of parents on an invitation are presented without an "and" between them, it indicates they are divorced.
          You are stuck with something that is a combination of formal and informal … but if everyone is accepting it … that's probably more important than following the rules?  Right?
          FYI, a more elegant, less formal solution is not to use any honorifics:
                    Jean Wennick and David Dexter
                    Suzanne and John Minton
                    request the pleasure of your company
                    at the wedding of their children
          But, I realize, this may not be acceptable to all the doctors!
           -- Robert Hickey

As a Retired Professor
Am I Still Professor (Name)?
Can you still call yourself Professor after you've retired?  
          -- S.H.W.

Dear S.H.W.,
         In the U.S.: probably not.
         Elsewhere in the world: probably.
         In the U.S., use of Professor (Name) is most often used in oral address — as a courtesy given by others to you — rather than used in writing or used by you when presenting your own name.
         A retired professor with a doctorate would continue to be Dr. (Name), and identified in an introduction or bio as a former professor.  He or she would not present himself/herself as Professor (Name), but a former student might see you and greet you as Professor (Name).
         It's done a bit differently in Commonwealth countries, where names are more of a resume/curriculum vitae, including every honorific, courtesy title, honor, and degree the person has been awarded. The names get very, very, very long, and they would include Professor if they ever were one.
         Around the world, they definitely include Professor with their names if they ever taught a course anywhere. You will see it most often in monarchies (and in South America and the Middle East) where marks of status (special forms of address) are part of the culture and everyone is trying to get their names to be more elevated. They use many specialized honorifics, not limiting themselves to just Mr./Mrs./Ms., using for example Lawyer (Name), Engineer (Name), Architect (Name), Accountant (Name), etc.
      -- Robert Hickey

And finally, from a rather challenging internet surfer:
 
What Authority Do You Have?
Dear Mr. Hickey:
What authority do you have for your answers?
         --- Mary Louise Timmons

Dear Ms. Timmons:
    I'm not sure "what authority I have" but I've been teaching at The Protocol School of Washington® since 1988.
    After researching with the hierarchies of the officials, and answering questions on forms of address for so long, I guess I've gotten good at it!  What I've learned I've put in my book -- which I am pleased to say is used at lots of serious places: See http://www.formsofaddress.info/Collections.html. 
          -- Robert Hickey

USE OF NAMES & HONORIFICS   
Mr., Miss, Jr., III, & Names        
Married Women       
Deceased Persons         
People with Two Titles
Post-Nominal Abbreviations and Initials           
Joint Forms of Address    (How to address a couple?)   

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, Active Duty             
       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
Business Cards       
Etiquette             
Flags and Anthem Protocol             
Introductions            
Invitations: Writing & Addressing         
Invitations: Just Armed Service Personnel        
Name Tags            
Names on Programs, Signs, & Lists            
Naming a Building or Road            
Place Cards            
Plaques, Awards, Diplomas, Certificates    
Precedence: Ordering Officials           
Thank You Notes