Can "latter" be used to refer to the last of a list of names that is more than 2?

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Equivalent of “former” and “latter” for more than 2 items

Can I use "the latter" to refer to the last name from a list of names that is more than 2? Or should there be only 2 in the list? I.e.:

Paul, Nick, John. The latter is John.

Yes, you can! According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, the 2nd meaning of 'latter':
2 : of, relating to, or being the second of two groups or things or the last of several groups or things. This also puzzled me, a non-native speaker in the beginning. — HongboZhu, Mar 04 '14 at 12:10

score 7 · Accepted Answer · answered Apr 04 '11 at 15:17

7

Latter is related to the comparative 'later'. Since it is comparative and not superlative, it cannot be used for lists longer than 2.

When wishing to refer to the last of a longer list, simply use 'last'.

answered Apr 04 '11 at 15:17

Karl

score 3 · Answer 2 · answered Apr 04 '11 at 15:10

3

I would say no. Latter generally refers to the second of two. I would use last in this case.

answered Apr 04 '11 at 15:10

Kevin

2 Answers2