Mrs.

For other uses, see MRS (disambiguation).

Mrs (UK) or Mrs. (USA, Canada) is an English honorific used for women, usually for those who are married and who do not instead use another title, such as “Dr”, “Lady” or “Dame”. In most Commonwealth countries, a full stop (period) is not used with the title. In the United States a period is used (see Abbreviation).

“Mrs” originated as a contraction of the honorific “Mistress”, the feminine of “Mister” or “Master”, which was originally applied to both married and unmarried women. The split into “Mrs” for married women from “Ms” and “Miss” began during the 17th century

It is rare for Mrs to be written in a non-abbreviated form and lacks a standard phonetic spelling. In literature it may appear as “missus” or “missis” in dialogue, and a variant in the works of Thomas Hardy and others is “Mis’ess”, reflecting its etymology. "Misses" has been used but is ambiguous as this is also used as a plural for "Miss". The plural of “Mrs.” is from the French: “Mesdames.” This may be used as is in written correspondence, or may be abbreviated “Mmes.”

Traditional usage

“Mrs.” was most often used by women when married, in conjunction with her husband’s first and last names, e.g. “Mrs. John Smith”. A widow was and still is addressed with the same title as when she was married. "Mrs." was rarely used before a woman's first name, maiden name, or before a hyphenated surname her husband was not using. For example, “Mrs. Jane Miller” (wife of John Smith), "Mrs. Jane Smith" or “Mrs. Jane Miller-Smith” were considered incorrect by many etiquette writers, especially of the early 20th century.

“Mrs.” was often used as a default for all women regardless of marital status, following the custom of some European countries. In several languages the title for married women, such as Madame, Señora, Signora, or Frau, is the direct feminine equivalent of the title used for men; the title for unmarried women is a diminutive: Mademoiselle, Señorita, Signorina or Fräulein. For this reason, usage had shifted towards using the married title as the default for all women in professional usage. This had long been followed in the United Kingdom for some high-ranking household staff, such as housekeepers, cooks, and nannies, who were called “Mrs.” as a mark of respect regardless of marital status. However, the marital-neutral Ms. then became the default title for women professionally and socially in the latter 20th century.

In the United Kingdom the traditional form for a divorcée was “Mrs Jane Smith”. In the U.S., the divorcée originally retained her full married name unless she remarried. Later, the form “Mrs. Miller Smith” was sometimes used, with the birth surname in place of the first name. However, the form “Mrs. Jane Miller” eventually became widely used for divorcées, even in formal correspondence.

Before social mores relaxed to the point where single women with children were socially acceptable, the “unwed mother” was often advised by etiquette mavens like Emily Post to use “Mrs.” with her maiden name to avoid scrutiny.

The separation of “Miss” and “Mrs.” became problematic as more women entered the white-collar workforce. Women who became famous or well known in their professional circles before marriage often kept their birth names, stage names, or noms de plume. ‘Miss’ became the appellation for celebrities (Miss Helen Hayes, Miss Amelia Earhart) but this also proved problematic, as when a married woman did use her husband’s name but was still referred to as ‘Miss’ — see more at Ms. and Miss.

Modern usage

It is now uncommon for women to be addressed using their husband's first name, except when the couple is being addressed jointly, such as in “Mr. and Mrs. Caleb Klapp”.

Many married women still use the title with their husband's last name, but retaining their first name, "Mrs. Jane Smith," while many have eschewed the title completely in professional life, utilizing "Ms." Any choice of title, first, and last name is considered acceptable both socially and professionally today, and should be honored once it is made known.

Modern etiquette has no absolute rules as how to address married couples in which the wife uses her own last name, or uses a title such as “Dr.” or "Mayor". Etiquette writer Judith Martin (“Miss Manners”) generally advises that in non-standard situations, the individuals be addressed in separate lines on invitations (Dr. Sue Martin / Mr. John Martin).

In direct address, a woman with the title “Mrs.” may be addressed "Mrs. [Lastname], or with the stand alone “Madam” or “Ma’am,” though these are most often used for all adult women regardless of marital status in modern conversation.

Parody usage

The term “M.R.S. degree” has been used derogatorily to describe the goal of a female student whose reason for attending college or university appears to be primarily to find a husband rather than to study.

Foreign equivalents

• Afrikaans: Mevrou (Mev.)
• Albanian: Zonjë (Znj.)
• Amharic: ወይዘሮ (Woyzero, Wrz.)
• Arabic: ﺳﻴﺪۃ (Sayyidah)
• Armenian: Տիկին (Tikin)
• Assyrian: ܡܝܩܪܬܐ (Myaqarto/Myaqurta)
• Azeri: Xanım
• Belarusian: Спадарыня Spadarynia (read: -nya), Панi (Pani)
• Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian: Gospođa, (Serbian Cyrillic Госпођа) (G-đa or Gđa., Г-ђа or Гђа.)
• Bulgarian: Госпожа (Г-жа G-ja),
• Catalan: Senyora (Sra.)
• Chinese 太太 (Tàitai), 夫人 (Fūren)
• Czech: Paní (Pí.)
• Croatian: Gospođa (Gđa)
• Danish: Fru (Fr.)
• Dutch: Mevrouw (Mevr. or Mw.)
• Esperanto: Sinjorino (S-ino)
• Estonian: Proua (Pr.)
• Finnish: Rouva (Rva)
• Filipino: Ginang (Gng.)
• French: Madame (M^me)
• Galician: Dona (Dna.)
• Georgian: ქალბატონი (K'albatoni)
• German: Frau (Fr.)
• Greek: Κυρία, Kiría , (Κα., Ka.)
• Hebrew: גברת (Gveret)
• Hindi: श्रीमती (Śrīmatī)
• Hungarian: Asszony
• Icelandic: Frú (Fr.)
• Ido: Sioro or Siorino (Sro.; Sr-no.), the former being used both for men or women, and the latter being specific for (usually married) women.
• Indonesian: Nyonya (Ny.)
• Irish: Bean (Bn)
• Italian: Signora (Sig.ra)
• Japanese: 夫人 (ふじん) (Fujin)
• Kannada: ಶ್ರೀಮತಿ (Śrīmatī)
• Kazakh: Ханым (Khanym)
• Khmer: អ្នកស្រី (Neak Srey), លោកស្រី (Lork Srey)
• Korean: 부인 (Buin)
• Kotava: weltikya
• Kurdish: Brajn, Xanm
• Latvian: Kundze
• Lithuanian: Ponia
• Macedonian: Госпоѓа, (Gospogja) (abbreviation: Gga or G-ga; in Cyrilic: Г-ѓа or Гѓа). Used for all married women.
• Malay: Puan
• Malayalam: ശ്രീമതി (Śrīmati)
• Maltese: Sinjura
• Marathi: सौभाग्यवती Saubhāgyavatī (सौ Sau)
• Mongolian: Хатагтай (Hatagtai)
• Norwegian: Fru (Fr.)
• Occitan: Dòna (Da.)
• Oriya: Srimati
• Persian: بانو (Bānu)
• Polish: Pani (P.)
• Portuguese: Senhora (Sra.)
• Punjabi: ਸਰਦਾਰਨੀ (Sardarni) (ਸਦਨ Sdn.)
• Romanian: Doamna (Dna)
• Russian: Госпожа (Gospozha) (Г-жа G-zha)
• Sanskrit: श्रीमती (Śrīmatī)
• Scots Gaelic: Bean (Be.)
• Serbian: Gospodja, Gospođa (Госпођа) (Gdja. Gđa. Гђа.)
• Slovak: Pani (p.)
• Slovenian: Gospa (Ga.)
• Spanish: Señora (Sra.)
• Swahili: Bibi (Bi.)
• Swedish: Fru (Fr.)
• Tamil: திருமதி (Thirumathi)
• Telugu: శ్రీమతి (Śrīmatī)
• Thai: นาง (Nang)
• Tswana: Mma
• Turkish: Bayan (Byn.), Hanım, Hanımefendi
• Ukrainian: Пані ([Pani] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help))
• Urdu: Begum, Mohatarma
• Vietnamese: Bà (B.)
• Welsh: Bonesig