Being a junior maybe

[R Fletcher]

What constitutes a junior, does the son have to have the same first, middle and last name. What if the son does not have a middle name but the father does. Or just the first and last name must be the same.

[Bob White]

Re: Being a junior maybe

Perhaps, in a technical sense, they should be the same. However, I base my use on the family's usage. I only use Jr. or III or such if the person and his family did that. There is likely a proper book answer. Someone else can speak to that.

[Dennis J. Cunniff]

Re: Being a junior maybe

Perhaps, in a technical sense, they should be the same. However, I base my use on the family's usage. I only use Jr. or III or such if the person and his family did that. There is likely a proper book answer. Someone else can speak to that.

The idea that the names of a Sr. and Jr. must be identical down to the middle names is of recent origin. Formerly, any two people of similar name living in the same community and likely to be confused could be dubbed Sr. and Jr. They didn't have to be father and son; they didn't even have to be related. They didn't even have to be male (famously, there was an Ann Putnam, Jr. involved in the Salem Witchcraft trials).

Which basically boils down to: you can't infer anything with certainty from the fact that two people were called Sr. & Jr. Father & son is a good first guess, but would need confirmation.

[Jan Powell]

Re: Being a junior maybe

What constitutes a junior, does the son have to have the same first, middle and last name. What if the son does not have a middle name but the father does. Or just the first and last name must be the same.

The usage of Jnr and Snr seems to be mostly American. In my family, especially in the United Kingdom, there are loads of duplicate names down the generations. It's to do with traditional naming patterns, I think. My understanding is that people with the same names often went by nicknames to distinguish each from the other.

[Kim]

Re: Being a junior maybe

There is likely a proper book answer. Someone else can speak to that.

Actually, there IS a proper book answer and has been for many years. It's been around at least as long as Emily Post started giving etiquette lessons. Basically it goes like this....

If a man shares a name with his father (the exact same name), he is 'junior' and his father becomes .senior'. If a man shares the exact same name with any relative OTHER than his father, he becomes 'the second' (II). Subsequent males in the family who share the name become 'the third', 'the fourth', etc.

It is also common to call others with similar names Jr and Sr to distinguish them. For example, John Robert Smith may be known as John Sr to distinguish him from his son, John Harold Smith, who may be called John Jr. They may also informally be called 'Big John' and 'Little John', but this goes against rules of etiquette.

You may wonder why I know these obscure facts. It is because my brother shares his name with my father. My mother strongly disliked the use of 'Junior' as a name, so my brother became 'II'. I believe it is that way on his birth certificate. Informally they were called 'big' and 'little'.

[Michael Talibard]

Re: Being a junior maybe

Actually, there IS a proper book answer and has been for many years. It's been around at least as long as Emily Post started giving etiquette lessons. Basically it goes like this....

I googled Emily Post. Very interesting - thank you! For anyone on this side of the pond, a most curious insight into another culture.