I'm a girl here. I'm Minion Fogarty and you can think of me as your friendly guide to

the English language. We talk about writing, history, rules, and other cool stuff. Today,

in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we're going to talk all about the word junior,

how to write it and when to use it. Plus, we'll talk about how the Berger joint Carl's

junior got its name and then about Ruth's Chris Steakhouse because one thing leads to another.

In the United States, we celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day on the third Monday in January.

At least that's the common name for the occasion. According to the US government printing

office style manual, the official name of the holiday is Birthday of Martin Luther King Jr.

But with either name, writers have to contend with that tricky junior on or near the end. Should

you put a comma before it or not? You see it both ways. One reason is that the official name of

the holiday includes a comma, but many of the major style guides emit the comma from the holiday

name and say to emit commas before junior in names in general. For example, the Associated Press

says not to use a comma before designations such as junior and senior and specifically does

not include a comma in the name Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The Chicago Manual of Style says the

comma is not required before junior and also writes the holiday name without it. It's still a

style choice though. Garner's Modern English usage says both forms are correct and has an

interesting note saying that all the additions of the elements of style through 1972 called

for a comma before junior. But then the 1979 edition changed and said not to use a comma

because E.B. White became convinced that junior is restrictive rather than parenthetical. One

benefit of omitting the comma before junior, which usually means you use a comma after junior

two in a sentence is that it makes the possessive easier. Back in 2017, the New Yorker which does

use commas around junior had a ridiculously awkward headline about Donald Trump Jr.'s love

...