Post-nominal letters, also called post-nominal initials or post-nominal titles, are letters placed after the name of a person to indicate that the individual holds a position, educational degree, accreditation, office, or honour. An individual may use several different sets of post-nominal letters. The order in which these are listed after a name is based on the order of precedence and category of the order.
Examples of post-nominal letters:
- A Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire is authorized to use the postnominal KBE.
- A Fellow of the American Institute of Architects is authorized to used the postnominal FAIA.
- A Doctor of Philosophy is authorized to use the postnominal DPhil (or, in some cases, PhD).
- A Franciscan friar (the Order of Friars Minor) uses the postnominal OFM.
- A graduate of the University of Cambridge can add Cantab. after their name, a graduate of the University of Oxford can add Oxon., a graduate of the University of London can add Lond., a graduate of the University of Exeter can add Exon., and a graduate of the University of Durham can add Dunelm.; all will usually be added after specifying the type of degree: For example, John Smith BA (Cantab).
Post-nominal letters are one of the main types of name suffix.
Usage
The order in which post-nominal letters are listed after a person's name is dictated by standard practice which may vary by region. In the UK, the Ministry of Justice recommends the following ordering:[1]
- Bt/Bart or Esq.
- Decorations and honours and decorations (in descending order of precedence)
- Appointments (for example, QC for Queen's Counsel, MP for member of parliament)
- University degrees
- Religious orders (for example, SSF)
- Fellowship or membership of learned societies, academies or professional institutions (for example, RA, FRCP)
- Membership of the Armed Forces
According to the University of Oxford,[2] university degrees should be listed in ascending order: bachelor's degrees first, followed by master's degrees, then doctorates. However, when the awarding university is listed, and the degrees are from different institutions, the lower degrees are included if they are not surpassed by a degree in the same faculty from the awarding university (such as John Smith, BA Wales MA London, but Jane Doe, MA Virginia).
See also
- List of post-nominal letters
- Suffix (name)
- Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom
- Pre-nominal letters
- Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council
- Roman Catholic religious order
References
- ^ "Honours and Decorations". Ministry of Justice. 2008-12-04. http://www.justice.gov.uk/guidance/foa-hons-and-decs.htm. Retrieved 2008-12-06.
- ^ "Oxford University Calendar: Notes on style". Oxford University Gazette. 2008-07-04. http://www2.ox.ac.uk/gazette/calendar/style.pdf. Retrieved 2008-12-12.
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