What is the Difference Between Jr and II

Jr vs II

It is human nature to want to have your offspring be like you or someone older in the family. The most common manifestation of this nature is naming a newborn after his father or another family member in the hopes that he would be as great as the one that preceded him. This is very evident in the name of old kings like Henry IV (the fourth), Henry V (the fifth), and so on. But, there is a bit of confusion in naming the second in line as it is possible to use II (the second) and JR (Junior).

Although these things are not set in stone, there are common rules in whether you should use II or JR in naming a child. JR is to be used when the child is going to have the same name as his father. The father would then have to add SR (Senior) to his name in order to distinguish between the two of them. It is also stated that the child must have and identical name to his father; including the middle name.  Sr is used only by the widow of the father of a Jr and then only when the Jr has married.

It is also expected that the father still be living when naming the child JR.

On the other hand, II is to be used when the child would be taking the name of a family member other than his father. It could be an uncle, grandfather, great-grandfather, and so forth. In order to use II, the names must be identical, including the middle name.

The need for these suffixes stemmed from the older times when naming was not as systematic as it is today. In modern society, there is no need to even follow these conventions and as previously said, there is no fixed rule about this and you can use either in naming a child.

Summary:

  1. Both are used to identify that the person is the second in the family to have the name
  2. Jr is used when the son has the same name as the father
  3. The second (II) is used when the elder family member is anyone other than the father

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