Common titles •
Mr. – All males •
Mstr. - Optional for young men and boys •
Ms. – Adult women •
Mrs. – Married women (includes widows and divorcées) •
Miss – Unmarried women and girls (form of address) •
Madam (also Madame and Ma'am) – Formal form of address for an adult woman. Also used with an official position, similar to "Mister" for men, e.g. "Madam/Mister Ambassador"
Controversy around usage of common titles Some people object to the usage of titles to denote marital status, age or gender. In 2018, a campaign named GoTitleFree was launched to encourage businesses to stop requesting, storing and using marital status titles in their registration forms, and when speaking with customers, launched on the grounds that titles often lead to assumptions about a woman's age or availability for marriage, and exclude non-binary people (though various titles, such as Mx., are increasingly used in some countries). This is in line with established practice advocated by the World Wide Web Consortium and the Government Digital Service, which sets the standard for UK government online services. This in turn means that titles are optional on UK passports and driving licences.
Familial Family titles in English-speaking countries include: •
Uncle – one's parent's brother (may also include great uncles) •
Cousin – son or daughter of either parent's brother or sister •
Aunt or Aunty – one's parent's sister (may also include great aunts) • Granny, Gran, Grandma or Nana – one's
grandmother (may also include great-grandmothers) • Pop, Grandpa, Gramps or Grandad – one's
grandfather (may also include great-grandfathers)
Legislative and executive titles • Hon. (
Honourable), for younger sons and daughters of
barons, and Rt. Hon. (
Right Honourable), for
Privy Councillors, used in the
United Kingdom Some job titles of members of the legislature and executive are used as titles. • MP, for members of the Parliament (usually the
lower house) • MYP, for members of the
UK Youth Parliament • MSYP, for members of the Scottish Youth Parliament •
Representative •
Senator, for members of the American or Australian
upper house •
Speaker, for speaker of Parliament •
President (from which comes such titles as
Deputy President,
Executive Vice President,
Lord President of the Council, and
Vice President) •
Councillor, for member of a council • Youth Councillor (YC) •
Alderman/
Selectman • Delegate •
Mayor and related terms such as
Lady Mayoress and
Lord Mayor •
Governor and
Lieutenant Governor •
Prefect •
Prelate •
Premier •
Burgess •
Ambassador •
Envoy •
Secretary,
Cardinal Secretary of State,
Foreign Secretary,
General Secretary,
Secretary of State, and other titles in the form "Secretary of..." in which Secretary means the same thing as Minister •
Attaché •
Chargé d'affaires •
Provost • Minister (from which comes such titles as Prime Minister and Health Minister)
Aristocratic titles •
Prince/
Princess – From the
Latin , meaning 'first person' or 'first citizen'. The title was originally used by
Augustus at the establishment of the
Roman Empire to avoid the political risk of assuming the title ('King') in what was technically still a republic. In modern times, the title is often given to the sons and daughters of ruling monarchs. Also a title of certain ruling monarchs under the
Holy Roman Empire and its subsidiary territories until 1918 which is still used in
Liechtenstein (
Monaco still uses the title Prince to this day, even though it was not a part of the Holy Roman Empire), and in
Imperial Russia before 1917. The German title is ('first'), a translation of the Latin term; the equivalent Russian term is (). •
Archduke/
Archduchess – A title derived from the
Greek ('ruler; higher') and the Latin ('leader'). It was used most notably by the
Habsburg Dynasty, who ruled
Austria and
Hungary until 1918. •
Grand Duke/
Grand Duchess – 'Big; large' + Latin ('leader'). A variant of
Archduke, used particularly in English translations
Romanov Dynasty Russian titles. Also used in various Germanic territories until
World War I. Still survives in
Luxembourg. •
Duke/
Duchess – From the Latin , a military title used in the
Roman Empire, especially in its early
Byzantine period when it designated the military commander for a specific zone. •
Marquis,
Marquess/
Marquise, or
Marchioness – From the French , literally 'ruler of a border area' (from the Old French meaning 'border'; exact English translation is 'March Lord', or 'Lord of the March'. •
Count/
Countess - From the Latin meaning 'companion'. The word was used by the Roman Empire in its Byzantine period as an honorific with a meaning roughly equivalent to modern English
peer. It became the title of those who commanded field armies in the Empire, as opposed to , which commanded locally based forces. •
Earl (used in the
United Kingdom instead of
Count, but the feminine equivalent is
Countess) – From the Germanic , meaning 'chieftain', the title was brought to the British Isles by the Anglo-Saxons and survives in use only there, having been superseded in Scandinavia and on the European continent. •
Viscount/
Viscountess - From the Latin ('Deputy; substitute'. Hence
vicar and prefix
vice-) appended to Latin . Literally translates as 'Deputy Count'. •
Baron/
Baroness - From the
Late Latin , meaning 'man, servant, soldier'. The title originally designated the chief feudal tenant of a place, who was in vassalage to a greater lord. In the
United Kingdom, Lord and Lady are
used as titles for members of the nobility. Unlike titles such as Mr and Mrs, they are not used before first names except in certain circumstances, for example as courtesy titles for younger sons, etc., of peers. In
Scotland,
Lord of Parliament and Lady of Parliament are the equivalents of Baron and Baroness in
England. •
Lord – From the Old English , , meaning, literally, 'bread-keeper', from ('bread') + ('guardian, keeper') and by extension 'husband, father, or chief'. (From which comes modified titles such as
First Sea Lord and
Lord of the Manor.) The feminine equivalent is
Lady from the related Old English meaning, literally, "bread-kneader", from ("bread") + ("maid"), and by extension wife, daughter, or mistress of the house. (From which comes
First Lady, the anachronistic
Second Lady, etc.) •
Emperor/
Empress – From the Latin , meaning 'he/she who holds the authority to command ()'. •
King/
Queen – Derived from
Old Norse/Germanic words. The original meaning of the root of
king apparently meant 'leader of the family' or 'descendant of the leader of the family', and the original meaning of
queen meant 'wife'. By the time the words came into English they already meant 'ruler'. •
Tsar/
Tsarina (Tsaritsa) – Slavonic loan-word from Latin. •
Caesar – The name of
Julius Caesar taken by his heir
Augustus and thereafter by Augustus' successors as
Roman Emperor through the
fall of Constantinople in 1453. Loaned into German as . •
Leader – From Old English , meaning "to guide". The head of state of
North Korea is titled Great Leader. The
de facto head of state of
Iran is titled
Supreme Leader. •
Chief – A variation of the English "Prince", used as the short form of the word "Chieftain" (except for in
Scotland, where "Chieftain" is a title held by a titleholder subordinate to a chief). Generally used to refer to a recognised leader within a
chieftaincy system. From this come the variations
paramount chief,
clan chief and
village chief. The feminine equivalent is
Chieftess.
Titles used by knights, dames, baronets and baronetesses •
Sir – Used by
knights and
baronets •
Dame – Used by dames and
baronetesses Both the titles "Sir" and "Dame" differ from titles such as "Mr" and "Mrs" in that they can only be used before a person's first name, and not immediately before their surname. Neither "Sir" or "Dame" confer nobility upon the titleholder. • (French) • (Italian)
Judicial titles •
Advocate •
Advocate General (AG) •
Attorney •
Bailiff •
Barrister •
Chancellor (C) (of the
High Court) •
Judge and
Admiralty Judge •
Justice (J) •
Chief Justice or
Lord Chief Justice (CJ) (of the
judiciary) •
Lord Justice Clerk •
Lord Justice of Appeal (LJ) (of the
Court of Appeal) •
Justice of the Peace •
Magistrate and
Promagistrate •
Master of the Rolls (MR) (of the
Court of Appeal) • Member and Chairman, for members of quasi-judicial boards •
Mufti and
Grand Mufti •
Notary •
President (P) (of the
Queen's/King's Bench Division) or
President (P) (of the Family Division) •
Lord President of the Court of Session •
Privy Counsellor (or
Privy Councillor) (PC) (of
Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council) •
Queen's Counsel (QC) (King's Counsel (KC) when
monarch is male) •
Solicitor Historical •
Lictor •
Reeve •
Seneschal •
Tribune Ecclesiastical titles (Christian) Titles are used to show somebody's
ordination as a priest or their membership in a
religious order. Use of titles differs between
denominations.
Religious •
Abbess •
Abbot •
Brother – also for
monks •
Friar •
Mother,
Mother Superior, and Reverend Mother •
Reverend • Sister – for
religious sisters and
nuns
Priests Christian priests often have their names prefixed with a title similar to
The Reverend. •
Bishop (from which come
Archbishop,
Boy Bishop,
Lord Archbishop,
Metropolitan Bishop, and
Prince Bishop) •
Presbyter •
Priest (from which comes
High Priest. The feminine equivalent is
Priestess.) •
Father (Fr.) •
Patriarch •
Pope •
Catholicos •
Vicar •
Chaplain •
Canon •
Pastor •
Prelate •
Primate •
Dom – from , 'Lord'. Used for
Benedictine monks in solemn
religious vows, but reserved for
abbots among the
Trappists. In Brazil, it is used for bishops. •
Cardinal •
Ter (title) – Used by Armenian priests.
Used for deceased persons only •
Servant of God •
Venerable •
Blessed •
Saint (abbreviated S. or St.)
Other •
Christ – Greek translation of the Hebrew (or '
Messiah'), commonly used to refer to
Jesus of Nazareth •
Deacon and
Archdeacon •
Acolyte •
Dean •
Elder •
Minister •
Monsignor •
President (in
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) •
Reader •
Almoner and
Lord High Almoner (Christian) •
Apostle •
Prophet •
Teacher •
Seventy •
Evangelist •
High Priest • Great (Lord) Father of all churches
Academic titles • Dr. – Short for
doctor, a title used by those with doctoral degrees, such as
PhD,
DPhil,
MD,
DO,
DDS,
EdD,
DCN,
DBA,
DNP,
PharmD,
DVM, and
LLD. Those with
JD degrees, although technically allowed, do not use this as a title by convention. • Prof. –
Professor • Doc. –
Docent • EUR ING – Short for
European Engineer, an international professional qualification and title for highly qualified engineers used in over 32 European countries.
Military titles Military ranks are used before names. •
Admiral (from which come
Grand Admiral,
Fleet Admiral,
Lord High Admiral,
Rear Admiral, and
Vice Admiral) •
Brigadier •
Captain (from which comes
Group Captain) •
Colonel (from which comes
Lieutenant Colonel) •
Commander (from which come
Commander-in-Chief,
Lieutenant Commander, and
Wing Commander) •
Commodore (from which comes
Air Commodore) •
Corporal (from which come
Lance Corporal and
Staff Corporal) •
General is usually used as a sort of shorthand for "general military commander". The term's far-reaching connotation has provoked its use in a very broad range of titles, including
Adjutant General,
Attorney General,
Captain General,
Colonel General,
Director General,
Generalissimo,
General of the Army,
Governor General,
Lieutenant General,
Lord Justice General,
Major General,
Resident General,
Secretary General,
Solicitor General,
Surgeon General and
Vicar General •
Lieutenant (from which come
First Lieutenant,
Flight Lieutenant and
Lord Lieutenant) •
Major •
Marshal (from which comes
Air Chief Marshal,
Air Marshal,
Air Vice Marshal and
Field Marshal) •
Mate, more often titled as
Chief Mate or
First Mate •
Officer, a generic sort of title whose use has spread in recent years into a wide array of mostly corporate and military titles. These include
Air Officer,
Chief Academic Officer,
Chief analytics officer,
Chief Business Development Officer,
Chief Credit Officer,
Chief Executive Officer,
Chief Financial Officer,
Chief Information Officer,
Chief Information Security Officer,
chief knowledge officer,
Chief Marketing Officer,
Chief Operating Officer,
Chief Petty Officer,
Chief Risk Officer,
Chief Security Officer,
Chief Strategy Officer,
Chief Technical Officer,
Chief Warrant Officer,
Corporate officer,
Customs officer,
Field officer,
First Officer,
Flag Officer,
Flying Officer,
General Officer,
Intelligence Officer,
Junior Warrant Officer,
Master Chief Petty Officer,
Master Warrant Officer,
Officer of State,
Petty Officer,
Pilot Officer,
Police Officer,
Political Officer,
Revenue Officer,
Senior Officer,
Ship's Officer,
Staff Officer, and
Warrant Officer. •
Private, and many equivalent ranks depending on regiment. •
Sergeant (from which come
Sergeant at Mace and
Sergeant at Arms).
Maritime titles The names of shipboard officers, certain shipping line employees and
Maritime Academy faculty/staff are preceded by their title when acting in performance of their duties. •
Captain – a ship's highest responsible officer acting on behalf of the ship's owner (Master) or a person who is responsible for the maintenance of the vessels of a shipping line, for their docking, the handling of cargo and for the hiring of personnel for deck departments (Port Captain). • Chief – a licensed mariner in charge of the engineering (
Chief Engineer) or deck (
Chief Mate or Officer) department • Mate – licensed member of the deck department of a merchant ship (see
Second Mate &
Third Mate) •
Cadet – unlicensed trainee mate/officer or engineer under training
Law enforcement The names of police officers may be preceded by a title such as "Officer" or by their rank. •
Constable (from which come
Lord High Constable and
Senior Constable) • Agent • Sergeant •
Officer •
Chief Protected professional titles In several jurisdictions, the use of some professional titles is restricted to people holding a valid and recognised license to practice. Unqualified individuals who use these reserved titles may be fined or jailed. Protected titles may be limited to those professions that require a
bachelor's degree or higher and a state, provincial, or national license. Usage varies between countries. For example, in the United Kingdom
nutritionist and
psychologist, titles protected in many countries, are not protected, and anybody can so describe themselves, while
dietitian and
clinical psychologist (and many specialist
professional psychologists) are protected. An international survey on the different protection of terms for psychologists found wide differences in regulations across different jurisdictions. •
Professional Engineer, Registered Engineer, Engineer (in Quebec) •
Professional Nurse, Registered Nurse, Nurse
Other organizations Some titles are used to show a person's role or position in a society or organization. •
Principal •
Nanny •
Coach • Wizard, such as the
Grand Wizard and
Imperial Wizard of the
Ku Klux Klan • Brother or Sister, often used, in particular, to signify membership of some
religious orders • Father, often used to identify a
priest •
Chief Scout (The Scout Association) – the head of The Scout Association •
King's Scout – title conferred upon a scout upon achieving highest attainable award achievable in the Scouting movement •
Queen's Guide – title conferred upon a guide upon highest attainable award for members of the Girl Guiding movement • Scout,
Eagle Scout •
Grandmaster • Doctor is often used to identify a person as a
physician, but is also an honorific for anyone holding a
doctorate in any field. Some titles are used in English to refer to the position of people in foreign political systems •
Citizen,
First Citizen •
Comrade == Non-English speaking areas ==