How to Use The Honorable?
I believe Honorable should be included as a title/rank on invitations, letters and envelopes. But is it proper or acceptable at any time to refer to a judge as:
——-Honorable John Q. Smith
——-Honorable Judge John Q. Smith
——-Hon. John Q. Smith
ç——————–– S.B. a the US Bankruptcy Court
My secretary recently drafted a letter of recommendation for a former employee from me and included the title the Honorable with my name, which others use when introducing or addressing me – an elected Tax Collector. I have never called myself the Honorable and it seems improper at the end of a letter. Am I correct that the title Honorable should be used by persons addressing me but not by me when signing my own name?
ç——————–— SR, Tex Collector
I am a doctor and just recently – an elected Federal official. Am I correctly listed in a program as The Honorable Dr. (Full Name)?
ç——————–— JMC in Virginia
Dear SB & SR, and JMC :
The correct form is:
——-The Honorable (Full Name)
It is not correct to refer to to anyone as simply Honorable or Hon. If you need to use a shortened versions because you are short on space or ink/toner for your printer use The Hon.
One never uses the The Honorable when saying or writing one’s own name. So – never as the host on an invitation, never when signing one’s name, and never when introducing yourself.
If the guest of honor is the Honorable, and their name is being included on the invitation, the host can list their guest as the Honorable (Full Name) since the name is a reference to another person, not that person writing their own name.
Any guest addressed as the Honorable, should be the Honorable (Full Name) on their invitation’s outside envelope.
The Honorable, is not combined with other honorifics, ranks or titles in the USA. So none of these is correct when addressing US officials:
——-The Honorable Dr. (Name)
——-The Honorable Senator (Name)
——-The Honorable Judge (Name)
——-The Honorable Mayor (Name)
——-The Honorable General (Name)
This is the same pattern as for His/Her Excellency‘ which is not used reflexively either.
— Robert Hickey Use of the title The Honorable for U.S. Elected Officials
See also use of the Honourable, British Spelling.