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Generally, peoples' names should be capitalized the first time they are stated in your work. After that, surnames alone may be used. Famous people that are well-known (such as famous authors: Shakespeare, Cervantes), can be referred to with surnames, even within the first reference. When you use someone's name fully, write or type it exactly as it appears in your source.
Ex.: Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Ex.: Ramón del Valle-Inclán
Last names (surnames) should retain their particles* (sometimes capitalized, sometimes not, follow how it is written in your source). When composed of more than one element, they are usually shortened to the last element. For hyphenated names, use the full last name.
Examples of Surnames:
|
Full Name |
Surname (Last name used alone) |
| James Fenimore Cooper | Cooper |
| Don DeLillo | DeLillo |
| W.E.B. Du Bois | Du Bois |
| Harriet Beecher Stowe | Stowe |
| Cormac McCarthy | McCarthy |
| Walter de la Mare | de la Mare |
*a particle is part of a name that that can either denote nobility (present: 'Du' or historically: 'du'), or place. Ex.: Marie de France ("Marie of France")
In French, de, when following a given name or title-- Mme, or duc --is not part of the surname.
| Full Name | Last Name (surname) |
| Guy de Maupassant | Maupassant |
| Etienne de la Boetie | Boetie |
When the last name is one syllable however, the de is retained.
| Full Name | Last Name |
| Charles de Gaulle | de Gaulle |
When d' appears next to a vowel, it remains as a part of the last name.
| Full Name | Last Name (surname) |
| Pierre d'Arcy | d'Arcy |
Also, the words du and des are always used with the last name, and are capitalized.
| Full Name | Last Name (surname) |
| Charles Du Bois | Du Bois |
In German, the word von typically is not used as part of the surname.
| Full Name | Last Name (Surname) |
| Annette von Droste-Hülshoff | Droste-Hülshoff |
| Heinrich von Kleist | Kleist |
In an English-language context, von is used as part of the surname.
| Full Name | Last Name (Surname) |
| Wernher Von Braun | Von Braun |
| Maria Von Trapp | Von Trapp |
The Italian words da, de, del, della, di, and d' are capitalized and treated as part of the surname.
| Full Name | Surname alone |
| Gabriele D'Annunzio | D'Annunzio |
| Lorenzo Da Ponte | Da Ponte |
| Oreste Del Buono | Del Buono |
The names of members of historic families are usually referred to in abbreviated form with last name only, minus the participle.
| Full Name | Surnames Alone |
| Lorenzo de' Medici | Medici |
The Spanish de is not usually treated as part of the last name.
| Full Names | Surname Alone |
| Salvador de Madariaga | Madariaga |
| Lope de Rueda | Rueda |
The Spanish del is capitalized and treated as part of the surname.
| Full Name | Surname Alone |
| Angel Del Rio | Del Rio |
A Spanish surname may include the paternal and maternal last names. The surname of a married women includes her paternal and husband's last name, connected by de. Consult a biographical dictionary for guidance.
| Full Name | Surname Alone |
| Juan Carreño de Miranda | Carreño de Miranda |
| Gabriel García Márquez | García Márquez |
| Pero López de Ayala | López de Ayala |
Authors known by the maternal portion of their last name should be referred by their full surname.
| Full Name | Surname Alone |
| Federico García Lorca | García Lorca |
Use the forms of Roman names that are most common in English.
| Full Name | Common Name |
| Marcus Tillis Cicero | Cicero |
| Titus Livius | Livy |
| Publius Ovidius Naso | Ovid |
In Asian languages, the last name comes before the given name.
| Name in Source | Last Name Used Alone |
| Gao Xingjian | Gao |
| Ariyoshi Sawako | Aryoshi |
| Yi Mun-yol | Yi |
However, some names follow a Western name order. Consult a reference work--author or publisher website, or another knowledgeable scholarly source.
Ex.:
Full Name L
Haruki Murakami Murakami
People who lived during the Middle Ages and Renaissance are referred to generally by their first names, since often, last names came from a place-name. After giving their full name when first referencing them, then they may be referred to by first name only.
| Full Name | First Name Used Alone |
| Christine de Pizan | Christine |
| Geoffrey of Monmouth | Geoffrey |
| Leonardo da Vinci | Leonardo |
But people whose surnames are family names, and not place-names, get referred to by their last name after the initial, full-name reference in your paper.
| Full Name | Last Name |
| Giovanni Boccaccio | Boccaccio |
| Geoffrey Chaucer | Chaucer |
Consult a reference work on how to spell out certain premodern names.
Do not use titles (Dr., Captain, Mr. Mrs., Ms.) with personal names, even when the title is mentioned in the source being cited. The exception is nobility; consult a reference work, or follow the source example for inclusion or exclusion of title.
Use suffixes that denote essential parts of the name--such as generational indicators--as part of the full name. Only use a comma before suffixes like Jr. or Sr.. Do not use a comma before numbered suffixes.
Ex.: John D Rockefeller IV
Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
In prose, use a comma after jr. and/or sr. suffixes if words follow them.
Ex.: On 20 January 2021 Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr., became the the forty-sixth president of the United States.
Capitalize given names of people, as well as their initials, if used. Use a period and space after each initial unless the name is entirely initials.
Ex.: Octavia E. Butler
George R.R. Martin
V. S. Naipaul
JFK
When a first name is hyphenated, keep the hyphen when using initials by themselves.
Ex.: Jean-Paul Sartre
J.-P. Sartre
Fictional characters are spelled the same way as they are in the text.
Ex.: Dr. Jekyll
Frodo Baggins (or Frodo)