I know I saw it somewhere here, but I cannot find it now. How do you address a 7 year old girl? I need to know the correct form to put on an envelope. I know it is not just Ms. or Miss, just as when you address a young man it is not Mr. (I dont know what the proper title is for that, either).

Any helo is appreciated.

Thanks,
Nkk

Young girls are addressed as "Miss" -- you would not use "Mistress"

Young boys are addressed as "Master"

This is hopelessly old-fashioned, but I believe it is still scrupulously correct.

Thank you.

Scrupulously correct is what I need. Although the master would seem really out of place in today's society, the Miss would be nice.

Thank you again
Nkk

I agree with the above. Sometimes for kicks and grins I refer to my son as Master Adam.

I think you are correct, Bill. When I was a young child, my grandmother used to address my envelopes to "Little Miss . . ." although this may not be correct. I don't know how old I was when she dropped the "Little" --- just as I don't know at what age a boy should be addressed as "Mr." and not "Master." Does anybody know?

Judybug

I don't know for sure, but I would assume at the age he attains majority.
Of course, to make a little boy feel extra important, i.e. at birthday time, you can always add an 'Esq.' at the end. I don't know what the equivalent is for little girls.

I don't have one to hand, but one general guide on matters of this nature would be a Pears Cyclopaedia. Anybody have one?

When I was a young boy, my paternal grandparents addressed me as Master Craig and addressed correspondence to me in that form. I loved it! It made me feel very special and important. I believe it was not long after I turned 13 that they changed the envelopes to address me as Mr. Craig...... This too was a great milestone for me; to be addressed as an adult would be. What fun! /Craig

I don't know what the "Miss Manners" answer would be. Probably at one time it was when the boy turned 18. Now, I think that would be too late. So you could go with the age at which we mark important passages into adult life: Christian Confirmation or Jewish Bar Mitzvah (13), or for the secular folk, entry into Middle School (12 or 13), maybe as late as the age at which the boy can get a driver's license (16).

A quick check on Wikipedia shows that Master mostly was/is used until age 13/14 or the beginning of high school. /Craig

Actually A boy of the age mentioned here is referred properly to as Young Master. The term Master doesn't come into play until what we would now consider Middle School age, 9 or 10. Around 15 is when Mister becomes appropriate.
Miss is appropriate until marriage in young women, as Ms. does not assume any marital status and should only be used when the details are ambiguous as to these details.
I am speaking, rigidly, in terms of absolutely proper etiquette.


Edit for spelling

According to Emily Post "Etiquette" revised edition 1947 "Envelopes to children are addressed Miss Katherine Smith and Master Robert Smith" She does not specify when children become adults

I believe, but cannot be entirely certain, that according to traditional English common law...

An unmarried woman is always a "Miss", no matter how old she is.

Once married, a woman becomes "Mrs."

A boy is a "Master" until he reaches adulthood, then he becomes "Mr."


Your question takes me back. My grandmother always wrote to us as "Master" when I was a kid. I think it is kind of a charming custom.

I need to write this down while I am thinking about it. My grandmother (dad's mom) addressed cards to me with "Master" until I was in junior high. She then used both "Master" and "Esq." after my name until I graduated high school. From there on it was "Mr."

For my female cousis, she did in fact use "Mistress." I think she continued to do that until they graduated high school.

I have zero idea what rules she used.

I always liked it when I lived in a French speaking country and was simply Mademoiselle!

I definitely think that master is good to use, and should be used.

The only letters that addressed me as Master were from the bank in the UK. Haha. I felt proud of that.

For a young lady, Miss is fine.

The only time I would use Ms. is for an older lady whose marital status was ambiguous. And Mistress.... well nowadays it's more linked closely with BDSM than with salutations in a letter.

I have never seen "Young Master" used and don't think it is strictly correct.

"Esq" or "Esquire" is a rather outdated form, used in UK when addressing 'senior' members of 'the gentry' (there is a complicated set of rules about who qualifies!)....if you are a male Brit and get an invitation to Buckingham Palace, it will be addressed to "John Smith, Esq." Foreign males are addressed as "Mr"!

In the USA, I believe "Esq" is mainly used when addressing mail to practising lawyers(but not judges).
(In UK barristers qualify, but not solicitors!!)

One should NEVER use "Mr" and "Esq" together...very bad form, doncha know

Esq. to a young man??!!

That cannot be correct.

Esq. is short for Esquire and is used to signify someone who has been admitted to the bar--a lawyer.

Esquire in the U.S. is a lesser version of "Mister" and can be used by anyone looking to fluff up their alphabet soup. It is popular with those in the legal field, but is not restricted to them.

Uhhhh....no....I don't think so. Esquire indicates a lawyer. A lawyer is, by virtue of having a doctorate degree, technically a doctor. However, lawyers, by custom, do not refer to themselves as "Dr." before their name--like M.D.s, Ph.D.s, D.D.S.s etc. Lawyers, by custom, use "Esq." instead. They could refer to themselves as "Dr.", but usually do not. There may not be a specific law preventing a non-lawyer from using this designation, but that does not make it correct by custom. Esquire is not a "lesser" version of Mister--that does not even make sense.

You may be confusing the current usage of Esquire in America with that of the archaic usage of Esquire under English common law. There is a difference. We no longer live in Elizabethan England, wherein the term had a different usage.

Webster's New Universal Unabridge Dictionary states:
"1. an unofficial title of respect, having no precise significance, sometimes placed, especially in its abbreviates form, after a mans surname in formal written address: in the U.S., usually applied to lawyers, women as well as men; in Britain applied to a commoner considered to have gained the social position of a gentleman."

However, I do recall an op-ed in the National Journal (a national lawyers newspaper) some years ago that objected to lawyers using a title of quasi-nobility as pretentious and un-American, so it is not univerally accepted in the legal profession.


Personally I much prefer to use the title Nsq.* after my name in the proper correspondence.

John Chapman, Nsq.






*Non sequitur

I prefer "NFE" after my name - Nib Fellow Extraordinaire Everybody wants to be Somebody!

Judybug