Monday, May 10, 2010

How do you address a letter to a married couple when the woman has a hyphenated last name?

How would you address, for example, Susie Smith-Jones and Fred Jones?How do you address a letter to a married couple when the woman has a hyphenated last name?
Personally, I would address the envelope to Mr. F. Jones %26amp; Mrs S. Smith-Jones, to acknowledge both of them. My letter, were I familiar with the couple, would begin with ';Dear Fred and Susie';. Were I not familiar with them, I would begin ';Dear Mr. Jones and Mrs. Smith-Jones';.





Address conventions in English are based on standards that pre-date women's liberation and the like, and if Susie is keen to combine her premarital idenitiy with that of her husband, I believe it ought to be acknowledged.





The link below shows the current military standards of address that the US Department of Defense prescribes for forms of address, if you want something definitive to go by.





The only way to be sure of getting it right is to ask the couple in question!





Hope that helps!How do you address a letter to a married couple when the woman has a hyphenated last name?
Hehe, the pun was cute, I was impressed.


Some people say that a hyphenated woman is she should feature first - as in ';Mrs Smith-Jones and Mr Jones'; - but personally, I prefer Mr %26amp; Mrs. It may be patriarchal, but that is the way that our society began!

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Fred and Susie Jones.





My wife has a hyphenated name, but she is not at all offended when we are addressed in this way.
When writing to two people who, for whatever reason, do not have the same surname, one places each name on its own line, with the lady's name first, thus:





Mrs (or Ms) Susan Smith-Jones


Mr Fred Jones
Dear Mr and Mrs Jones you can leave the hyphenated name out it shouldn't be a big deal.
Mr.%26amp;Mrs.Fred Jones
Either address it: Mr. and Mrs. Jones.





Or: Mr. Fred Jones and Mrs. Susie Smith Jones.





Or: Fred and Susie Smith Jones.





My husband has always wondered why, when a women marries, she gives up her maiden name.





I think he is right and I wish I would have done just that when we first married.
You can do it a couple of ways. You said ';address'; them, but did not specify in which form you would be addressing them. Verbally greeting them at the door? Writing them a letter? Putting their names on an envelope?





If you're greeting them at the door (or any similar situation) then you can say, ';It's so good to see you Mr. and Mrs. Jones!';





If you're writing them a letter then you say, ';Dear Mr. and Mrs. Jones.';





If you're writing their name on an envelope then you can just put ';The Jones Family'; or as already stated, ';Mr. and Mrs. Jones.';





While her name is hyphenated, the last name is actually the dominant name in which would be used in this situation.
Keep it simple: address the letter to Susie and Fred. The outside envelope can be addressed to both persons full names. It's your choice who would be first. Don't go ';postal'; about this; keep it as simple as possible.

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