Commas with Titles, Degrees, and Designations After Names
The Comma
Rulebase Summary
Use a pair of commas to set off titles, academic degrees, and corporate designations (CEO, Esq., Ph.D., Inc., Ltd., Jr., Sr.) that follow personal names or company names. When Jr., Sr., or a numerical designation follows a name, the commas may be omitted per individual or company preference. In the possessive form, use only the first comma. When 'senior' or 'junior' distinguishes a father from a son, either the word or abbreviation is acceptable.
Examples
A. The report was prepared by Alan Marsh Ph.D. and submitted to the board.
A. The report was prepared by Alan Marsh, Ph.D., and submitted to the board.
Pair of commas around the degree after the name.
A. I contacted Waverly Industries Inc. about the shipment.
A. I contacted Waverly Industries, Inc., about the shipment.
Commas set off 'Inc.' from the company name.
Style Guides Disagree
Morson's omits commas around Jr. and Sr. (Mr. Reeves Jr. was present). BGGP uses commas to set off Jr. and Sr. (Mr. Reeves, Jr., was present). Pick one style and be consistent.
Transcript Notes
Roman numeral titles after names (II, III, IV, VIII) are an exception — they do not take a comma. When a Roman numeral is spoken as an ordinal (e.g., 'the eighth'), transcribe it as the Roman numeral, not the word. If the sentence continues after a non-Roman-numeral title, surround the title with commas. Roman numeral titles do not take punctuation even if the sentence continues.
Abbreviate 'esquire' as Esq. with a period after it and commas around it when used as a title after a name. Do not use both a title before and after the same name (e.g., Mr. and Esq.). Use periods for degrees and professional titles after names (M.D., R.N., P.A.).
When a possessive is added to a title abbreviation after a name, add apostrophe s and omit the comma after the title.
Style Guide References (9)
Morson's
BGGP
BGGP
BGGP
BGGP
BGGP
BGGP
BGGP
Morson's