What Are Prefixes And Suffixes For Names? (Mr., Mrs., Snr, Jnr)

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If you ever hear someone getting called Mrs. or Mr., that means they’re getting a prefix added to their name. There’s also suffixes like Jr. and Sr. However, these names can get confusing and hard to keep track of. What exactly are prefixes and suffixes for names?

Prefixes and suffixes for names are there to provide additional information about who the person is. For example, a prefix like Mrs. tells you that the woman being called Mrs. is married. The same applies to the prefix Mr. As for suffixes, if you hear Jr., it means the person has the same name as their father, or it’s their work position. Prefixes and suffixes for names can also be called “honorifics”.

The rest of this article will cover prefixes for names, and suffixes for names.

Learn how to list names in a sentence here.

Prefixes For Names

The most common prefixes in America are Mr. and Mrs. Mrs. refers to a married woman. Mr. is the abbreviation of mister, which is given to men whether they are married or unmarried. Anyone can use this prefix, and it’s used to show respect to who you are speaking to.

Prefixes go before the name. You can remember this by thinking of the word ‘pre’. Prefix – ‘pre’. The word pre means previous, or previous to. If you remember pre as previous, then you know that name prefixes come before the rest of the name.

You can use prefixes in any given situation, but especially in professional settings, or a setting where you need to be respectful. Many professors, bosses, and doctors will introduce themselves with their prefix. For example, ‘Doctor (Dr.) Smith’. Dr. is a prefix you can use.

Read more about how to use Mrs. Miss and Ms here.

Suffixes For Names

Suffixes are less common than prefixes, but are still used daily. You’ll see Jr., Sr., I, and II very often. I and II are used to represent a generation. For example, in history, there’s plenty of historical figures that have been I or II, like King George II.

There’s also academic suffixes. For example, your degree is an academic suffix. Bachelor’s, master’s, professional doctorates, etc. can all be used as suffixes. The written out versions of these would look like this: BA, BFA, BS, MA, MS, MFA, JD, MD, DO, etc.

Suffixes are used in many scenarios. Not only are they used to show the different generations, or the academic standings, but they’re also used in professional settings to describe a person’s position. For example, you can have the suffix CA, which represents a chartered accountant.

Conor
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