How to Address a Girl

Miss is traditionally used when addressing correspondence to very young girls. But today they may soon likely to prefer Ms. (Name) as they see in use when addressing other young women.  How to Address a Girl

—-Envelope:
—-—-Miss (full name)
—-—-(Address)

—-Letter salutation:
—-—-Dear Miss (surname):

—-Invitation, inside envelope:
—-—-Miss (surname)

—-Place card:
—-—-Miss (surname)  How to Address a Girl

Related Forms of Address:
–—-—Boy
–—-—Couples: Military
–—-—Couples: Private Citizens
–—-—Couples: U.S. Officials
–—-—Couple, Same Sex
–—-—Family
–—-—First Names
–—-—Gender-Neutral Honorifics
–—-—Girl
–—–—Man or Woman, Social
–—-—Woman, Married
–—–—Miss
–—–—Mrs. vs. Ms.
–—–—Mx.
–—-—Retiree
–—–—Spouse of an Official
–—–—Widow

Robert Hickey author of “Honor & Respect”

Robert Hickey author of “Honor & Respect”

The Gender-neutral Non-binary Honorific

—-One person, envelope or address block on letter or email:
———-Mx. (Full name)
———-(Address)

—-Couple, envelope or address block on letter or email:
———-Mx. (Full name)
———-and Mx. (Full name)
—-——–—-Names in alphabetical order by surname:
—-—-———-—-Mx. Taylor Apple
—-—-———-—-and Mx. Jordan Zeffer

—-Letter salutation:
—-——Dear Mx. (Surname),
—-——Dear Mx. (Surname) and Mx. (Surname),
—-——–—-Which would look like:
—-—-———-—-Mx. Apple and Mx. Zeffer,

Mx., the gender-neutral honorific, is an option for those who do not identify as being of a particular gender, or who don’t want to be identified by gender.

But while it is one-honorific-fits-all, it is not acceptable to address others as Mx. (Name) unless they state it’s their preference. It falls into the category of an individual’s preferred honorific like Ms., Mrs., Dr., Professor, Reverend or Pastor, etc.

Period or no period? While it is not an abbreviation, if following American style guides, it is written with a period.  If following British style guides it is written without a period.

Related Forms of Address:
–—-—Boy
–—-—Couples: Military
–—-—Couples: Private Citizens
–—-—Couples: U.S. Officials
–—-—Couple, Same Sex
–—-—Family
–—-—First Names
–—-—Gender-Neutral Honorifics
–—-—Girl
–—–—Man or Woman, Social
–—-—Woman, Married
–—–—Miss
–—–—Mrs. vs. Ms.
–—–—Mx.
–—-—Retiree
–—–—Spouse of an Official
–—–—Widow

Robert Hickey author of “Honor & Respect”

When Should You Use the Forms on this Page?

You can use these forms of address for any mode of communication: addressing a letter, invitation, card or Email. (If there are differences between the official and social forms of address, I will have mentioned the different forms.)  The form noted in the salutation is the same form you say when you say their name in conversation or when you greet them.
___What I don’t cover on this site are many things I do cover in my book: all the rules of forms of address, about names, international titles, precedence, complimentary closes, details on invitations, place cards, all sorts of introductions, etc. I hope you’ll get a copy of the book if you’d like the further detail.

Not Finding Your Answer?

—-#1)  At right on desktops, at the bottom of every page on tablets and phones, is a list of all the offices, officials & topics covered on the site.

—-#2)  If you don’t see the official you seek included or your question answered send me an e-mail. I am pretty fast at sending a reply: usually the next day or so (unless I am traveling.)  Note: I don’t have mailing or Email addresses for any of the officials and I don’t keep track of offices that exist only in history books.

—-#3)  If I think your question is of interest to others, Sometimes I post the question  – but always change all the specifics.

— Robert Hickey 

Robert Hickey author of “Honor & Respect”

Recommended Resources:  The Protocol School of Washington (PSOW) and Protocol and Diplomacy International – Protocol Officers Association (PDI-POA)    For more information see the Protocol Resources page.