Capitalization Conundrum: Is It “Mom” or “mom”?

The capitalization question strikes again. We’ve talked about how the “f” in french fries should be lowercase (even though French is usually capitalized in other contexts), but what about words like “mom” and “dad”? What about professional titles like “president”?

The Rule

Generally, the rule with kinship names like mom, dad, aunt, brother, etc. is that you SHOULD capitalize the first letter when the title is part of the name (e.g., “Look, there’s Uncle Joe!”) or replacing it (e.g., “I asked Mom if she could drive me”).

When used in apposition (e.g., “My brother, Chris, is at college”) or as a common noun (e.g., “I have three aunts”), the first letter should NOT be capitalized.

Here are a few examples to illustrate these rules:

Did you write a thank-you card to Aunt Molly? (In this case, Molly has the title of “Aunt,” so it is capitalized as part of her name.)

During the game, Coach Gregson swapped quarterbacks twice. (“Coach” is a title, so it is capitalized as part of his name.)

Hey, Coach, put me in! (“Coach” is replacing his name, so it should be capitalized.)

Did Dad say you were allowed an extra dessert? (“Dad” is replacing his name, so it should be capitalized.)

I wrote a thank-you card to my aunt Molly. (In this situation, we could remove the word Molly and the meaning of the sentence would not change: “I wrote a thank-you card to my aunt.” That means that aunt is being used in apposition to Molly and should thus be lowercase.)

Laura’s sister Jane helped us get ready for the dance. (Laura’s sister and Jane are the same person, which means sister is being used in apposition to Jane; thus, sister should be lowercase.)

My grandmother lives in Maine. (When used with the possessive My, grandmother functions as a common noun, so it should be lowercase.)

The notice said that moms and dads are invited to parent-teacher night. (Moms and dads are being used as common nouns in this situation—not titles or names—so they should be lowercase.)

The Jones sisters were out selling lemonade today. (Sisters is a common noun in this context, so it should be lowercase.)

Her brother’s coach canceled practice. (Both brother and coach are functioning as common nouns, so they are lowercase.)

What Is Apposition?

The most difficult distinction to make is whether the title is being used as part of the name (and should thus be capitalized) or in apposition to the name (meaning it should NOT be capitalized).

“Apposition” means that two or more words have the same referent as one another. Usually, these words are right next to one another in a sentence.

My dog Toby ran outside.

My dog and Toby are both referring to the same dog.

Charlotte’s brother Percy helped her with her homework.

Charlotte’s brother and Percy are the same person.

A simple way to determine whether you have an apposition on your hand is to remove one of the phrases and see if the sentence still makes sense. The sentence should make sense no matter which phrase is removed.

Charlotte’s brother helped her with her homework.

Percy helped her with her homework.

Both of those sentences make sense, so we know that “Charlotte’s brother Percy” is an apposition.

Let’s try this one: “Uncle Tom wasn’t at the family reunion.”

Tom wasn’t at the family reunion.

It works that way, but what happens if we remove “Tom” instead?

Uncle wasn’t at the family reunion.

This sentence does not make sense. It needs another word in front of uncle (like my) in order to make it correct. So, Uncle Tom is not an apposition; instead, Uncle being used as part of the name and should be capitalized.

As The Chicago Manual of Style puts it, “When a title is used in apposition before a personal name—that is, not alone and as part of the name but as an equivalent to it, usually preceded by the or by a modifier—it is considered not a title but rather a descriptive phrase and is therefore lowercased.”

Here are more examples of apposition:

• my sister Cindy
• Christopher’s uncle Rob
• the basketball coach Eleanor
• the former president Bush

What About Titles Like “President”?

Just like with kinship titles, professional titles like president and general are capitalized when they are used as part of the name.

• President Biden
• Governor Harris
• General Bradshaw

However, unlike kinship titles, professional titles are generally lowercased when they replace a name.

• the president
• the governor
• the general

The only time a professional title may be capitalized when it replaces someone’s name is in special circumstances such as a toast, a formal introduction, or a direct address.

• Thank you for your time, Mr. President.
• Please welcome the General to the podium.

Professional titles are also lowercased when they follow the person’s name.

• Joe Biden, president of the United States
• Florence Harris, governor of Nebraska
• Jordan Bradshaw, general of the U.S. Army

If you have any questions about the capitalization of kinship or professional titles, leave them in the comments and I’ll find an answer for you!

Sources:

• The Chicago Manual of Style. 17th ed. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 2017.
• Ebbitt, D. R., and W. R. Ebbitt. Index to English. 8th ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1990.
• Einsohn, Amy. The Copyeditor’s Handbook. 3rd ed. Berkeley and Los Angeles, California: Univ of California Pr, 2011.
• Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of English Usage. 14th ed. Taunton, MA: QuadGraphics, 2016.