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What will be the title for 1 year old boy? will it be Mr. or Master or anything else I am not aware of? Pre marriage girls are addressed as Miss. and post marriage Mrs. is there anything similar to boys?

hima
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    In my opinion it is suffice to ask for the child's age, first and family name, regardless of their sex. I would not call a 10 year old girl "Miss" nor a boy "Mr" or "Master". They are antiquated forms of address, belong to an era long gone. I'll repeat myself, you ought to include more context in your question. I believed you were asking from a historical standpoint. Your request is based on real life practicalities. – Mari-Lou A Sep 24 '13 at 12:07
  • "Miss" is antiquated? A glance through any number of dictionaries - not to mention everyday experience - will show you that it remains in current use in this context. I know that, in German, for instance, the equivalent "Fraulein" is out of favor, such that, in English, all women become "Mrs" (not sure yet about young girls), but do you have some evidence that "Miss" is regarded as antiquated and no longer in use in English? Are you referring to a specific place where this is no longer used like this? – nxx Sep 24 '13 at 12:40
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    I must be missing something, but why and under which circumstances would a 1-year old need to be addressed at all? For all he personally cares his title might as well be "lala" or "shooshoo". – RegDwigнt Sep 24 '13 at 12:58
  • Miss is widely used to address unmarried female. We get to see this even now. – hima Sep 24 '13 at 13:32
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    Ironically, there is no titular distinction between unmarried and married men in most English speaking western cultures. Men's status is not perceived as being changed much by marriage. Unfortunately, we have historically considered women much changed by marriage, having attained a new and desired status by being attached to a husband. The adoption of Ms. as a standard title for women, wed or not, was a welcome rejection of that paternalistic characterization. – bib Sep 24 '13 at 15:05
  • Quote: I would not call a 10 year old girl "Miss" nor a boy "Mr" or "Master" Unquote. Master is definitely antiquated, and Miss is for yes, unmarried women. But how many married girls under 12 years old, do you know? Living in the west, I hastily add. – Mari-Lou A Sep 24 '13 at 18:11
  • Out of curiosity, what do you believe native speakers normally call a one-year-old male child if his first name were John and his family name, Smith? Mr John Smith; Master John Smith; John Smith; Smith or John? Compare that answer with the title someone might address a young man with, if aged 25, and born with the same name. Wouldn't there be a difference? – Mari-Lou A Sep 25 '13 at 12:31
  • This question lacks context. Are you writing a letter to a one-year-old? A birthday card? Talking to the one-year-old? Are you writing about Victorian England? Are you a servant of the family talking to the child's parents? Are you a relative? What country does this conversation take place in? – chasly - supports Monica Feb 01 '22 at 00:00

3 Answers3

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Master is the traditional title, but is there really any need to call him by anything other than his names?

Barrie England
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  • My 1 year old son gets letters from NHS which addresses him as Mr. which is fine but shouldn't that be Master? – hima Sep 24 '13 at 11:26
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    Possibly, but does it really matter? I suppose you could, if you wanted to, read Mr as an abbreviation for Master. – Barrie England Sep 24 '13 at 11:28
  • Apart from that, there are instances when I develop webpages for customers to enter their details, I have to provide a dropdownlist for name title. At work we end up with this doubt. That made me get advise from you experts – hima Sep 24 '13 at 11:34
  • @hima I doubt any future "client", be it a boy or girl, will be under the age of 12. Surely they would require their parents' permission before purchasing anything? I think you should add further details in your question. Barrie England's is correct but I'm not sure master is appropriate to use for filling or answering a form. – Mari-Lou A Sep 24 '13 at 11:50
  • @Mari-LouA it is highly possible as in our case we collect under 18 or 12(as long as they need our product contact lenses) details along with their guardian's details who will be set up for direct debit. – hima Sep 24 '13 at 11:57
  • @hima: "Mr" is also the abbreviation for "Master": http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/master – nxx Sep 24 '13 at 12:41
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    Mr. or may not be intended as an abbreviation for Master, but automatic bureaucracy can't be expected to care - I should think that the system just does Male (no other title given)->Mister->Mr. – Chris H Sep 24 '13 at 12:51
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"Master", as "a youth or boy too young to be called mister" is often considered to be archaic (eg, http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/master), but I still see it around.

nxx
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I am disgusted by what you think of antiquated. I love to send my grandchildren presents to USA addressed as Miss and Master... I too am antiquated at 86 but want our English standards kept alive and Proud of it.

KillingTime
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barbara hones
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    It seems a strange thing to be disgusted by. I can see you might be disappointed or perhaps saddened but disgust seems a bit of an overreaction. – KillingTime Jan 31 '22 at 21:56