Generational titles
[edit] Junior, Senior, and Roman numerals
Generational suffixes are used to distinguish persons who would otherwise share the same name within a family. A generational suffix can be used informally (for disambiguation purposes, or as nicknames), and is often incorporated in legal documents.
The most common name suffixes are senior and junior, limited chiefly to American usage, which may be written with a capital first letter (Sr.) or in lower case (jr.) following the person’s name (with or without an interceding comma). The term 'junior' is correctly used only if a child is given exactly the same name as his or her parent.[1] When the suffixes are spelled out in full, they are always written with the first letter in lower case. Social name suffixes are far more frequently applied to men than to women. In French, the designations for a father and son with the same name are père ('father') and fils (‘son’). In Portuguese, common designations are Júnior (junior), Filho (son), Neto (grandson), and Sobrinho (nephew). In many other nations it is considered highly unusual or even inauspicious to give a son the same first name(s) as his father, removing the need for such suffixes.
Sons with a different middle name or initial may also be called Junior, but this is usually not the case. This notwithstanding, a son may sometimes be nicknamed "Junior" even if he does not use the suffix in formal situations, because "Junior" is a popular familial nickname in the United States. An example of this is WWE chairman Vincent Kennedy McMahon who is sometimes credited as Vince McMahon, Jr. because his own father (Vincent J. McMahon) was credited as Vince McMahon, Sr. Another instance of this is George W. Bush, who is nicknamed Junior by his family. Strikingly, the son of actor Lon Chaney, was billed by Hollywood as Lon Chaney, Jr., to capitalize on his father’s success, even though he had an entirely different birth name: Creighton Tull Chaney. A similar situation exists with singer Hank Williams, whose birth name is actually Hiram King Williams. His son, Randall Hank Williams, is professionally known as Hank Williams, Jr. Randall's son Shelton Hank Williams is known professionally as Hank Williams III.
Although there are instances of daughters who are named after their mothers and thus use the suffix "jr." (such as Winifred Sackville Stoner, Jr., Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, Jr., and Carolina Herrera, Jr.) or after their grandmothers with the suffix "II", this is not common. Usually, the namesake is given a different middle name and so would not need a suffix for differentiation. The title "Jr." is sometimes used in legal documents, particularly those pertaining to wills and estates, to distinguish among female family members of the same name.
A wife who uses the title Mrs. would also use her husband's full name, including the suffix. In less formal situations, the suffix may be omitted. Hence: Mrs. Lon Chaney Jr. on a wedding invitation, but Mrs. L. Chaney or simply Shannon Chaney for a friendly note. Widows are entitled to retain their late husband's full names and suffixes but divorcees may not continue to style themselves with a former husband's full name and suffix, even if they retain the surname.
There is no hard-and-fast rule over what happens to suffixes when the most senior of the name dies: whether the men retain their titles, or they all "move up" one. Neither tradition nor etiquette provides a definitive answer (etiquette expert Judith Martin, for example, believes they should all move up,[2] but most agree that this is up to the individual families).[3][4] Upon the death of John Smith Sr., his son, John Smith, Jr. may decide to style himself John Smith Sr. (causing confusion if his widowed mother and his wife both use the formal style Mrs. John Smith, Sr., and necessitating that his son and grandson change their titles as well) or he may remain John Smith, Jr. for the rest of his lifetime. One effect of moving up one is that it eliminates the extension of Roman numerals over the generations: i.e., a John Smith III, IV, and V. A disadvantage is that it may cause confusion with respect to birth certificates, credit cards, and the like. In practice it is quite uncommon for families to go beyond "III" in naming children, although there are notable exceptions; The legal name of Tom Cruise, for instance, is actually Thomas Cruise Mapother IV, and the oldest sons of U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller (legal name John Davison Rockefeller IV) and former Major League Baseball pitcher Orel Hershiser both have "IV" as their suffix. Former boxer George Foreman named his five sons after himself: George Edward Foreman II through VI.[5]
In cases where a child is given the same name as a relative who is not the child's mother or father, it is considered correct to give the child a numerical suffix. For example, a child named John William Scott, after his uncle John William Scott, would properly be con