Are Kinship Titles Capitalized?
Summary
Familial titles such as mom and dad are capitalized when used to address a person or used as a name but lowercased otherwise.
- Thanks, Mom and Dad!
- I thought Mom and Dad would attend the ceremony.
- I thought your mom and dad would be here.
Similarly, other kinship titles like grandma, grandpa, aunt, and uncle are capitalized when used in place of a person’s name but lowercased when used as common nouns.
- How’s Grandpa doing?
- Thanks, Aunt Maya.
- Your grandpa was an aviator.
- My aunt Maya loves to travel.
Parents: Mom, dad
Capitalize titles like mom and dad when using them to address someone or as a name. Also capitalize their variations—mum, mama, mommy, mother, papa, pop, daddy, father, or any other words used to refer to one’s parents—whenever you use them in direct address or in place of someone’s name.
- I was just about to clean my room, Mom.
- Thanks, Dad, I’ll check and call you back.
- Did you check with Mum and Dad?
- It’s Mama’s birthday tomorrow.
- I’m afraid Papa isn’t coming today.
- Yes, Father, I’ve cleaned my room.
But don’t capitalize words like mom and dad if you use them as common nouns (i.e., not in place of a person’s name).
- How’s your dad doing now?
- I sent my mom flowers for Mother’s Day.
- I’m visiting my mum and dad this Sunday.
- Are all the moms and dads here already?
- Neither your mother nor your father knows all the answers.
You know words like mom and dad are being used as common nouns instead of as titles when a determiner like a, my, your, her, or the appears before the word, or when it is used in the plural. In such cases, lowercase the word as you would any other common noun.
- My mom is a doctor.
- Did you call your dad on Father’s Day?
- I ran into her father at the airport.
- You should check with your mother.
- We’ve invited all the mums and dads to the birthday party.
Relatives: Grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins
Capitalize titles for uncles, aunts, grandparents, and other relatives when using them to directly address someone or as a person’s name. Also capitalize such words when they appear as a title before a name.
- Can you please take these eggs down to Grandma?
- I never did ask Grandma how old she was when she first met Grandpa.
- Have you thanked Grandpa Joe yet for the gift he sent you?
- Today is Grandma Maria’s birthday.
- If there is one person who is sure to support you, it is Aunt Maya.
- Lulu loves to visit Uncle Farley’s farm.
- We haven’t heard from Cousin Jo in a while.
- This is a gift for you from Cousin Sameena.
When such words are used as common nouns instead of as titles or names, lowercase them as you would any other common noun.
- My grandpa and grandma met during the war.
- Have you called your grandmother yet?
- Rita was brought up by her grandfather.
- Was it your aunt who saw the UFO last week?
- Your father’s brother is your uncle.
- One of my cousins who live in Spain is an artist. My mother’s cousin is a Martian.
- Farley has forty-nine cousins on his father’s side.
- She is my first cousin, twice removed.
- Hey, cousin, what’s up?
- All humans are cousins if you go back far enough.
Lowercase words like aunt and uncle when followed by an appositive. (An appositive is a noun that appears beside another one and describes it.)
- I ran into your aunt Mira at the airport.
- My uncle John was a guitarist.
- Is that your cousin André?
- I ran into Aunt Mira at the airport.
- Did you know Uncle John was a guitarist?
- Hey, that’s Cousin André!
As you can see, in apposition, the kinship term (aunt, uncle, etc.) is used as a common noun rather than as a title: it should therefore be lowercased.
Children: Daughter, son
Words like son and daughter (or son-in-law and daughter-in-law) are generally not capitalized. They are rarely used as titles and are lowercased even when used to directly address someone.
- My son and daughter-in-law have signed up to go to Mars.
- Neither my daughter nor my son has a car.
- Our sons have been friends since the first grade.
- Their daughter-in-law is running for president.
- My daughter is a doctor.
- Even though Farley is the seventh son of a seventh son, he has no magical powers at all.
- Thanks, son, we loved the gift.
Siblings: Brother, sister
In general, don’t capitalize words like brother and sister when using them to address someone. These words (and the derivative bro and sis) are more often used as generalized forms of direct address in casual speech than as kinship terms for siblings.
- The time has come, brothers, for us to act.
- I’ll do what I can to help you, sister.
- Well, brother, I warned you, didn’t I??
- Where are you off to, sis?
- Can you help me out, bro?
When brother and sister are used as common nouns, they are always lowercased.
- Farley has seven brothers and seven sisters.
- None of his brothers has a phone.
- All his sisters are farmers.
When the words brother and sister are used before a name (for example, to refer to members of a religious order), they are capitalized.
- Our school principal is Brother George.
- We should ask Sister Agnes what she thinks.
Terms of endearment
Forms of affectionate address like sweetheart, darling, honey, and love are generally not capitalized.
- How are you, sweetheart?
- Thanks, honey.
- Of course, darling.
- Could you pass me those earphones, love?
- Here you go, angel.
- I love you, babe.
- Well done, kiddo.
- Be careful, munchkin.
- Sure, champ.
Nicknames
Capitalize nicknames as you would any other proper noun.
- I ran into Dotty at the supermarket this morning.
- Did you call me last night, Ike?
- Our son Abe is home for the holidays.
- Where did you find that, Tooksie?