A suffix is very common in the English language. Adding a suffix after the name is prevalent in the western English world. It is a tradition where after the person’s full name, the suffix is added so that it gives additional information about that person.
Initials placed after the suffix is also referred to as post-Nominal letters.
It indicates that a person holds an educational degree, accreditation, office, position, or honour etc. besides that there are generation or genealogy designations given to individuals .
It includes Sr. and Jr. and I, II, III, etc. Jr. and ii are part of generational suffixes.
Jr. vs ii
The difference between Jr and ii is that Jr represents Junior and ii represents Second. Junior is usually given to the sons when they have the same name as the father. Second is given to any male member of the family. So that it can commemorate the memory of the elder person. Junior (Jr.) suffix was mostly added after the first name of the son so he can be distinguished from his father. Whereas ii suffixes should be used with correct spelling and middle name. Otherwise, it was considered an insult. Jr suffix is not very common among girls. But ii suffix can be found in the name of girls as well to distinguish them from their mothers.
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Jr. represents Junior. Jr. is a very common suffix that can be found. In USA, Jr. is a very common suffix with the initial capital letters. But in the United Kingdom, Jr. are not so common.
They are used very rarely. Jr. is used as etiquette and it is not written in any law. According to law, the Jr. suffix is used by the son when his and his father’s name are the same. The father should be a living person.
So that a distinction can be made between the two. But it is not necessary the name of both father and son match. Jr. can be used informally as well.
ii represents ‘the second’. This suffix is more prevalent in the united kingdom. The second can be used by any male member of the family if he shares the same name with his elder member. An elder member may include a grandfather, uncle, cousin etc.
But it should not be his father. It is not capitalized like Jr. When giving the suffix ‘the second’ name should be the same. As it was usually added to give honour to the deceased person. In Uk, it is used formally.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of Comparison | Jr. | ii |
|---|---|---|
| Represents | Junior | The second |
| Purpose | when the son has the same name as the father. | when the elder family member is anyone other than the father. |
| Condition | Father should be living. | To honour the deceased person. |
| Situation | Formal and Informal | Formal |
| Usage | Prevalent in the USA and in modern times. | Prevalent in the UK. |
What is Jr.?
Jr. indicates that a person is named after his father. In the olden days when there was a high child mortality rate, there was a tradition of naming the child.
It was very common to name the son after his father in the hope that he would follow in the footsteps of his father and would do good things. There is no rule enshrined by law that which child should be given the title of Jr.
It completely depends upon the family or an individual who wants to take Jr. There are some of the rules unofficially followed while naming a child Jr.
It includes that a father should be a living person if the son is called a Jr. Or it may also happen that Sr. (Senior) must have died. Then only it can take up Jr. Or when Jr. child has got married. Usually, it is expected that Jr. is named after the father.
He should be alive. Sometimes after repeating the same name for generations, it does not matter whether the original Sr. is a father or any other male relative.
What is ii?
Everybody wants that his or her child will just be like his father or a respected member of the family. Naming the children ‘the second’ is done to remember the eldest or the dearest member and to pay respect to him.
Mostly it was done for the Kings and Queens. We can find in history numerous examples when there were named as ii. Like Henry II, Edward II, etc.
Usually, it is used when a child is named after other members like his uncle, grandfather, maternal grandfather, nephew etc.
ii suffixes were mostly used for the rulers so that it can be easy to memorise and write the names in the royal family trees. A child can also be named as ‘the second’ by his mother if his father has died before his birth.
It can be seen in girls and women too. However, in the modern era, its usage is very rare. In previous times, it was prevalent in England.
Main Differences Between Jr. and ii
- Jr. represents Junior and the first letter is capitalised with or without a comma. Ii represents ‘the second’. It is not capitalised.
- The purpose of using the Jr. suffix is when the son has the same name as the father. The purpose of using ii suffixes is when the elder family member is anyone other than the father.
- The condition for using Jr. suffix is that father should be living. The condition for using ii suffixes is to honour the deceased person.
- Jr. can be used in both formal and informal ways. ii can be used in only formal situations.
- Usage of Jr. is prevalent in the USA and in modern times as a fashion. Usage of ii is prevalent in the UK, among girls or ladies. But in the modern era, it has become rare.
- https://periodicos.ufmg.br/index.php/jidm/article/view/152
- http://infor.seaninstitute.org/index.php/pendidikan/article/view/48
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Emma Smith holds an MA degree in English from Irvine Valley College. She has been a Journalist since 2002, writing articles on the English language, Sports, and Law. Read more about me on her bio page.
