Abbreviating and Capitalizing Titles with Names
Abbreviations
Rulebase Summary
Abbreviate and use a period with Mr., Mrs., Ms., and Dr. as titles before a name. Miss is not an abbreviation and takes no period. Write out and capitalize Honorable and Reverend before a name. Write out and capitalize other titles (Sergeant, Senator, Counsel, Officer) before names and in direct address; do not capitalize them when used in context without a name. The word 'the' before Honorable or Reverend may or may not be capitalized — capitalized is more formal.
Examples
A. I sent the results to Doctor Palmer at the clinic.
A. I sent the results to Dr. Palmer at the clinic.
Abbreviate 'Doctor' as Dr. when used as a title before a name.
A. I spoke with the Sergeant about the incident.
A. I spoke with the sergeant about the incident.
Lowercase when used in context without a name.
Transcript Notes
When someone says 'mister' without a name (not as a title), write it out lowercase. 'Missus' referring to someone's wife is spelled out lowercase. When 'Doctor' is used in direct address, write it out and capitalize it. The plural forms of title abbreviations: Messrs. (Mr.), Mmes. (Mrs.), Mss. (Ms.), Misses (Miss), Drs. (Dr.).
Style Guide References (9)
BGGP
BGGP
BGGP
BGGP
BGGP
Morson's
Morson's
Morson's
BGGP