# Alfred Lord Tennyson | Terence Cardinal Cooke | &etc **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 17, 2000, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alfred-lord-tennyson-terence-cardinal-cooke-etc/41641 "2000-11-17T19:41:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2000, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alfred-lord-tennyson-terence-cardinal-cooke-etc/41641/1 "2000-11-17T19:41:44Z")
Oh, you know what I mean: why aren’t they, respectively, Lord Alfred Tennyson and Cardinal Terence Cook instead? We do not speak of Bill President Clinton or Colin General Powell. What’s with placing the title in midstream instead of in front where it obviously belongs? I suppose it could be archaic or via religious custom, but Thomas Sir Mallory never wrote about it and John Pope Paul II has yet to issue any encyclicals on the subject. Somehow I doubt that Katherine Florida Secretary of State Harris will issue a ruling. Anyone got a clue, or do I need to send an email to Edwin author Newman? ---
**Author:** ![Saltire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saltire/32/553_2.png) [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2000, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alfred-lord-tennyson-terence-cardinal-cooke-etc/41641/2 "2000-11-17T19:50:09Z")
In most cases in which you see this, the last name you see is of the title, not of the person. There should be a comma in the name thus: Alfred, Lord Tennyson. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2000, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alfred-lord-tennyson-terence-cardinal-cooke-etc/41641/3 "2000-11-17T19:55:24Z")
However, with Catholic cardinals, you don’t use a comma. In Los Angeles, the official title would be His Eminence, Roger Cardinal Mahony, Archbishop of Los Angeles. However, subsequently you can address him as “Cardinal Mahony” or “His Eminence” if you want to be really formal. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2000, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alfred-lord-tennyson-terence-cardinal-cooke-etc/41641/4 "2000-11-17T19:59:17Z")
A better example would be George Gordon, who inherited the title of “Lord Byron” from his maternal uncle. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2000, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alfred-lord-tennyson-terence-cardinal-cooke-etc/41641/5 "2000-11-17T20:04:23Z")
So nicknames like Dino “The Slug” Concetti and Tony “Brass Knuckles” Ragusa have borrowed this style from the Catholic Church? ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2000, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alfred-lord-tennyson-terence-cardinal-cooke-etc/41641/6 "2000-11-17T20:41:59Z")
I shouldn’t be at all surprised.🙂 ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2000, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alfred-lord-tennyson-terence-cardinal-cooke-etc/41641/7 "2000-11-17T21:02:40Z")
See an earlier thread [Cardinal as a middle name](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=24247)