Title + firstname also shows up in the church.  A local priest is
"Father Paul", and my wife, a Lutheran pastor, is called, in the
congregation and around town, "Pastor Paulette".  Of course, nuns and
monks have been sister/brother + firstname for a long time.

Herb

-----Original Message-----
From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Beth Young
Sent: Friday, June 01, 2007 9:51 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Mr. + first name

This discussion has been very interesting to me, since my children call
some people by title + firstname.

Frankly, I myself would prefer that they use title + LAST name.  My
children are young (4 & 7) and I don't think it is appropriate for them
to be on a first name basis with adults.  So, I introduce my children to
adults by title + lastname, but occasionally the adult will find that
too formal, so we have agreed on title + firstname.  Also, my daughter's
ENT wishes to be called "Dr. Cheryl" but I think that's an attempt to be
as friendly as possible with kids before she operates on them. :)

For several years, we shared childcare with another family and we had a
name dilemma.  None of the parents wanted the kids to use their
firstnames, but obviously we were closer to the kids than most other
adults.  We settled on Dr. + firstname for the professor moms, Capn. +
firstname for the pilot dad, and then the last dad (who felt "Mr. David"
sounded like a hairdresser) was Mr. + lastname.

Ultimately, I try to teach my children to call people what they wish to
be called.  But as a parent, I prefer that the default setting for an
unfamiliar adult be more formal than informal.

Beth

Katz, Seth wrote:

>I was wondering if any of you have observed this particular usage, and
if you might know anything about its origins and distribution.  
> 
>One of my students, named Nate Smith, works at his father's business
and has observed that African American workers in the business refer to
him as "Mr. Nate" and refer to his father as "Mr. Mike."  Nate has
observed the same usage among his African American co-workers in a
campus cafeteria kitchen--where he is not the boss's son, but a fellow
dishwasher.
> 
>On brief reflection, I realized that this usage appears in a number of
contexts: the care-providers in child-care facilities are often referred
to by the children as Mr. or Ms. + first name.  The staff in the
pediatrician's office does the same thing: it's "Dr. Lori," not "Dr. +
last name" (though sometimes they just refer to the physician as
"Doctor"; I've heard the same with Catholic priests being referred to as
"Father," though I've also heard them referred to by Father + first
name).  In some congregations, I have heard the clergy person called
Rabbi Sam (instead of Rabbi Schwartz) or Pastor Tom (instead of Pastor
Eckhart). Then there are nationally syndicated figures like Dr. Laura
and Dr. Phil.
> 
>Does anyone know the origin of this usage--honorific + first name? Does
it originate in Black English?  I'm thinking of "Mistah Charlie," for
example, as a generic reference to the boss(es) or White men with power.
In the odd mix of intimacy (first name use) and distance (honorific),
might I detect some derisive irony--an opportunity to get in a dig (by
being overly familiar) while maintaining the guise of respect (by using
the honorific)?  If derision was implied in its origin, my sense is that
that feature has been lost as the usage has spread: that it has become a
sort of 'cutism' to make figures of authority (physicians, clergy,
employers) seem more approachable.
> 
>I myself find the usage grating for the most part, though it is cute
when my 4-year-old neighbor calls me "Mr. Seth" and I call him "Mr.
John."
> 
>Any information or opinions would be welcome.
> 
>Seth
> 
>Dr. Seth Katz                                                     
>Assistant Professor     |   Faculty Advisor
>Department of English   |   Bradley University Hillel
>Bradley University      |                             
>


Dr. Beth Rapp Young
http://pegasus.cc.ucf.edu/~byoung

University of Central Florida
Stands For Opportunity

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