Member-only story
Our Quest for Titles and Labels
The silly way we adorn and decorate our names with letters and abbreviations
When I first began my teaching career, one of the more difficult things I had to adjust to was being called “Mr. Egelkrout.” No one ever called me that before unless I was in trouble, and in my mind, Mr. Egelkrout was my dad. There was something awkward and ill-fitting about being called that.
In time I got used to it, sort of. I’m still not particularly fond of being called that though. My name is John, not Mister.
I’ve never understood why people feel it’s necessary to add things to their name, whether at the beginning such as Mr., or at the end, such as M.D. It has always seemed like unnecessary decoration, as though they needed to call attention to either their gender, occupation, or level of educational attainment. The funny part is that these add-ons don’t even do that, not very well anyway.
For example, for the longest time, Mr. was put at the beginning of an adult male’s name, regardless of the man’s marital status. Not so with women. A young unmarried woman called “Miss,” while her married counterpart bore the title “Mrs.” A person could immediately tell whether or not a particular woman was married by her title.
