The Proper Format of Writing Names and Title for 2023/2024
I am:
Dr Ibekwe, Ezeakolam ❎
Ibekwe, Ezeakolam, PhD ❎
Dr Ezeakolam Ibekwe ✅
Ezeakolam Ibekwe, PhD ✅
Why?
Once upon a blazing hot afternoon, I was teaching some Final Year Students EST 412: English for Specific Purposes (ESP).
One of the students asked ME:
“In the real world if I’m asked to write my name, which should come first: surname or first name?”
I quickly responded:
“The answer is evident, isn’t it? Your first name is your first name. It’s called a first name because it should be written first.
Surname is called a last name. The simple reason is that it should come last when you’re writing or saying your full name.
In fact, the standard format acceptable the world over for writing your full name is: First name + Any Middle Name(s) + Surname.”
I proceeded to instruct the students to bring out their Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary and look up the meaning of first name and surname/ last name.
The Proper Format of Writing Names and Title for 2023/2024
This is what we saw:
First name (also known as given name) refers to the name that was given to you when you were born, that comes BEFORE your family name.
-Oxford dictionary
In other words, your first name means your personal name, and it usually comes BEFORE your other names such as middle name and surname.
Hello reader!
Get your online dictionary, let’s see how ‘First name’ is explained in Cambridge, Longman, etc.
First name: The name that was given to you when you were born and that comes BEFORE your family name.
The Proper Format of Writing Names and Title for 2023/2024
First name: The name or name(s) that comes BEFORE your family name.
-Longman Dictionary
SURNAME
Surname: (Especially British English) This means a name shared by all the members of a family (written last in English names). It’s also referred to as family name or last name.
-Oxford dictionary
Surname: (US usually last name); (UK also second name) This refers to the name that you share with other members of your family; it’s a synonym for last name.
Surname: This means the name that you share with your parents, or often with your husband if you are a married woman, and which in English comes at the end of your full name. The synonym is last name or family name.
The Proper Format of Writing Names and Title for 2023/2024
Your surname is the name that you share with other members of your family. In English-speaking countries and many other countries it is your last name.
Got any value reading this?
Check the next post section for the continuation of this lesson.
