A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the first and last name (for example, Graf in German, Cardinal in Catholic usage – Richard Cardinal Cushing – or clerical titles such as Archbishop). Some titles are hereditary.
Types
"Honorary title" redirects here. For the term in academia specifically, see Honorary title (academic).
Titles include:
Honorific titles or styles of address, a phrase used to convey respect to the recipient of a communication, or to recognize an attribute such as:
Madam (also Madame and Ma'am) – Formal form of address for an adult woman. Also used to denote a position of power or respect, similar to the usage of "Mister" for men, e.g. "Mister/Madam 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[1] 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. This is in line with established practice advocated by the World Wide Web Consortium[2] and the Government Digital Service[3] 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)
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)
Prince/Princess – From the Latinprinceps, 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 Rex ("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 Fürst ("first"), a translation of the Latin term;[A] the equivalent Russian term is князь (knyaz).
Grand Duke/Grand Duchess – "Big; large" + Latin Dux (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 Dux, 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 or Marquess/Marquise or Marchioness – From the French marchis, literally "ruler of a border area" (from Old French marche meaning "border"); exact English translation is "March Lord", or "Lord of the March".
Count/Countess - From the Latin comes 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 "Dux" which commanded locally based forces.
Earl (used in the United Kingdom instead of Count, but the feminine equivalent is Countess) – From the Germanic jarl, 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 vicarius ("Deputy; substitute". Hence "vicar" and prefix "vice-") appended to Latin comes. Literally: "Deputy Count".
Baron/Baroness - From the Late LatinBaro, 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 Old English hlāford, hlāfweard, meaning, literally, "bread-keeper", from hlāf ("bread") + weard ("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 hlǣfdīġe meaning, literally, "bread-kneader", from hlāf ("bread") + dīġe ("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 Imperator, meaning he/she who holds the authority to command (imperium).
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", "wife". By the time the words came into English they already meant "ruler".
Tsar/Tsarina (Tsaritsa) – Slavonic loan-word from Latin.
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.
There are normal baronies and sovereign baronies, a sovereign barony can be compared with a principality, however, this is an historical exception; sovereign barons no longer have a sovereign barony, but only the title and style
Popess The title of a character found in Tarot cards based upon the Pope on the Roman Catholic Church. As the Bishop of Rome is an office always forbidden to women there is no formal feminine of Pope, which comes from the Latin word papa (an affectionate form of the Latin for father). The legendary female Pope Joan, is also referred to as Popess[5]. Nonetheless some European languages, along with English, have formed a feminine form of the word pope, such as the Italian papessa, the French papesse, the Portuguese papisa, and the German Päpstin.
Titles used by knights, dames, baronets and baronetesses
"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.
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.
EUR ING – Short for European Engineer, an international professional qualification and title for highly qualified engineers used in over 32 European countries.
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.
In North America, several jurisdictions restrict the use of some professional titles to those individuals holding a valid and recognised license to practice. Individuals not authorised to use these reserved titles may be fined or jailed. Protected titles are often reserved to those professions that require a bachelor's degree[6] or higher and a state, provincial, or national license.
"Dear Leader" and "Supreme Leader" referred to Kim Jong-il as chief of North Korea. The title now refers to his son and successor Kim Jong-un. (친애하는 지도자, ch'inaehanŭn jidoja)
Mirza, Persian/Iranian, Indian and Afghanistan and Tajikistan King
Beg (Begzada or Begzadi, son-daughter of Beg), Baig or Bey in Under Mirza & using King or Military title.
Patil – meaning "head" or "chief" is an Indian title. The Patil is in effect the ruler of this territory as he was entitled to the revenues collected therefrom.
Phrabat Somdej Phrachaoyuhua – King of Thailand (Siam), the title literally means "The feet of the Greatest Lord who is on the heads (of his subjects)" (This royal title does not refer directly to the king himself but to his feet, according to traditions.)
Aceh, Brunei, Java, Oman, Malaysia, Sultan is the title of seven (Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Pahang, Perak, Selangor, and Terengganu) of the nine rulers of the Malay states.
Susuhanan – the Indonesian princely state of Surakarta until its abolition
Tengku – Malaysia, Indonesia, Tengku (also spelled Tunku in Johor), Negeri Sembilan, Kedah and Deli Sultanate of Indonesia is roughly equivalent to Prince or Princess
Großbürger/Großbürgerin (English: Grand Burgher) – historical German title acquired or inherited by persons and family descendants of the ruling class in autonomous German-speaking cities and towns of Central Europe, origin under the Holy Roman Empire, ceased after 1919 along with all titles of German nobility.
Kaiser/Kaiserin – Imperial rulers of Germany and of Austria-Hungary
Kniaz'/Knyaginya/Knez/Knjeginja (generally translated as "prince") – Kievan Rus'/Serbia
Rí, Rí túaithe, Ruiri, Rí ruireach, and Ard Rí – King, local king, regional overking, (provincial) king of overkings, and High King in Gaelic Ireland, also Scotland
"Mo'i" – normally translated as King, used by Hawaiian monarchs since unification in 1810. The last person to hold that title was Queen Lili'uokalani.[citation needed]
^Prince of Wales is a title granted, following an investiture, to the eldest son of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom – he is not a monarch in his own right.
^Kirsch, Johann Peter (October 1, 1910). "Popess Joan". Catholic Encyclopedia. New Advent. Archived from the original on May 8, 2023. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
