Capitalize Titles of Prominent Persons
Capitalization
Rulebase Summary
Capitalize the titles of nationally or internationally prominent persons — governors, senators, cabinet officers, chief justices, the President, monarchs, the Pope — whether the title appears before or after the name or is used in place of the personal name. Do not capitalize titles after names for persons who do not hold prominent positions. Do not capitalize the words ex-, -elect, former, or late when added to a title. Do capitalize Acting when it precedes a prominent title.
Examples
A. The president addressed the nation at 8:00 p.m.
A. The President addressed the nation at 8:00 p.m.
The President is a nationally prominent title and is capitalized even without a name.
A. I met Ex-Governor Delgado at the fundraiser.
A. I met ex-Governor Delgado at the fundraiser.
Do not capitalize ex- or former when added to a title.
Transcript Notes
The court reporter should use capitals only for high government and international positions. This avoids having to determine whether to give more status to the judge than to the superintendent of schools or the physician.
If governor, congressman, or senator has a, any, every, some, or any other indefinite word before it, do not capitalize it. Adjectives formed from these proper nouns are usually not capitalized: gubernatorial, congressional, senatorial, presidential.
Capitalize 'Speaker' when it refers to the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Style Guide References (9)
Morson's
Morson's
Morson's
BGGP
BGGP
BGGP
BGGP
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