Names Abbreviation Question

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,


I would like to inquire on how to abbreviate a person's name of three parts the old way, say, John David Walker.

Would it be W. D. John,
or
J. D. Walker,

I have no clue i am just guessing since I saw such abbreviation on a 100 yrs old book.

Many Thanks
Yaz

YSZE said:

Dear ladies and gentlemen, Unnecessary. You're not starting a presentation!

I would like to inquire on know how to abbreviate a person's three-part name of three parts the old way. say, For example, John David Walker.

Which of the following would it be?
1. W. D. John,
or
2. J. D. Walker

I have no clue. I am just guessing since I saw such an abbreviation on in a 100 yrs old hundred-year-old book.

Many thanks Unnecessary. Thank us after we help you, by adding the "Thanks" icon to any helpful response.
Yaz Unnecessary. We can already see your username.

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See above. I don't know what you mean by "the old way". However, #1 is entirely wrong and, as far as I'm aware, has never been used. #2 is correct. These days, it might well be written without the full stops between the initials: "J D Walker". In formal writing, it would be preceded by "Mr" (short for "Mister").

Thanks for the corrections above.
The 1912 book was dedicated to:
F. G. Walker,
So i don't know if walker was the Surname or is it the F?

Thanks
Yaz

YSZE said:

Thanks for the corrections above.
The 1912 book was dedicated to "F. G. Walker" so I don't know if Walker was the surname or if it was is it the F.

Thanks Again, this is unnecessary. See post #2.
Yaz Again, this unnecessary. See post #2.

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As far as I know, English has never abbreviated surnames to a single letter. The person's first name started with an F, his/her middle name started with a G, and his/her surname was Walker.

I appreciate your feedback, i am learning a lot from you and started wondering how did i miss basic punctuation in my writing.

YSZE said:

I appreciate your feedback. I am learning a lot from you and have started wondering how did I missed basic punctuation in my writing.

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You're welcome. The most important error you make is that you keep failing to capitalise the word "I" (first person singular pronoun). You must capitalise it every time you write it, regardless of where it appears in a sentence.

emsr2d2 said:

As far as I know, English has never abbreviated surnames to a single letter.

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Would JFK, LBJ, FDR, RFK, and MLK be examples of abbreviated surnames?

Those are their entire names abbreviated to initials.

I get what you mean of course, but I think those persons were exceptions. It just happened that they, especially JFK and FDR, were often referred to by their initials. It isn't very common for the surname to be reduced to just the initial letter.

emsr2d2 said:

As far as I know, English has never abbreviated surnames to a single letter.

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Yes, it happens only in some specific situations. Among Alcoholics Anonymous members, I believe. I'm Bill W.

I should have been clearer. In some situations, people might choose to abbreviate surnames to a single letter but it wouldn't be done with authors or formal name use.
I used to work in an office where there were four Mikes. They were referred to as Mike B, Mike L, Mike S and Mike T. Of course, we knew their actual surnames but it was easier and faster to just use the first letter when we needed to differentiate between them.