What’s in a Name? Names With Titles in Them
by Chelsea Lee
This post is part of a series on author names. Other posts in the series will be linked at the bottom of this post as they are published.
Typically APA Style reference list entries and in-text citations do not include the authors’ academic credentials or professional titles. For example, if a book is written by Samantha T. Smith, PhD, then the reference entry refers to Smith, S. T., and the in-text citation to Smith. Professional titles are also omitted from reference list entries and in-text citations. For example, for a Thomas the Train book written by the Reverend W. Awbry, the reference refers to Awbry, W., and the in-text citation will be to Awbry (1946).
Here are some common examples of academic credentials and professional titles to omit from references and citations (note this is not an exhaustive list—anything in a similar vein will count):
|
Academic degrees or |
Professional titles to omit |
|
PhD, PsyD, EdD (any doctorate degree) |
Reverend (Rev.) |
|
MA, MS (any master’s degree) |
Honorable (Hon.) |
|
MD, RN, BSN (any medical degree or license) |
President (or any governmental or administrative rank) |
|
MBA (any business degree) |
Dr. or Doctor |
|
JD (any law degree) |
Military ranks (General, Captain, Lieutenant, etc.) |
|
MSW, LCSW, LPC (any social work or counseling degree or license) |
|
|
BA, BS (any bachelor’s degree) |
Note that if you do want to mention an author’s academic credentials or professional title in the text because it is relevant to the discussion, you should use the format without periods (e.g., PhD, not Ph.D.; an exception is for abbreviations of a single word, such as Rev. for Reverend).
Exceptions for Religious Officials and Nobility
Exceptions to including the title in APA Style citations occur when the person’s title is in essence their name. For example, although Pope Francis was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, he now writes using the name Pope Francis. Here is how to cite an encyclical letter by Pope Francis:
|
Pope Francis. (2013). Lumen fidei [The light of faith] [Encyclical letter]. Retrieved from http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20130629_enciclica-lumen-fidei.html In text: (Pope Francis, 2013) |
You should not abbreviate the Pope's name to Francis, P., because this would render it unintelligible to the reader.
And here is an example of how to cite a book by Prince Charles of Wales:
|
The Prince of Wales (with Juniper, T., & Skelly, I). (2010). Harmony: A new way of looking at our world. New York, NY: HarperCollins. In text: (The Prince of Wales, 2010) |
Note that the two authors who are credited after “with” on the cover are listed in parentheses in the reference list entry and are not cited in the in-text citation. (For more information on “with” authors, see page 184 of the Publication Manual, sixth bullet.)
Other Questions
Do you have more questions on author names in APA Style? See these other posts, or leave a comment below:
- How to write two-part surnames with or without hyphens
- Inconsistent formats and name changes
- Cultural variations in name order
- Authors who use only a single name
