Having answered phones for a living for longer than I care to remember, something I find myself wondering about from time to time is how African-American callers will frequently address me as “Mister (Firstname).” I’ve never been required to offer a last name to customers. I don’t recall a non-black person (or someone who doesn’t to my untrained ear “sound black” I guess I should say) use this form of address. The people who say it tend to skew slightly older but it’s not exclusively older people who do it. No real strong indicator as to a common socioeconomic status or geographical commonalities. Anyone with any insight into the cultural background on this form of address?
It’s not just black folk, in my experience. This usage is quite common amongst working-class people from southern Louisiana and Southeast Texas. Other than that, I’m not sure where it comes from.
I can’t speak for African-American callers, but since I’ve moved to Louisiana I notice that Mr. Firstame or Miss FirstName is pervasive here for both black and white (I can’t speak for the rest of the south). When at was at the dentist last week, everyone there called me Mr. Poor. I like it, though. It retains a bit of respect without the formality of Mr. Yorick.
The only blacks that I know who do this are from the south. I’ve never heard a black person who was raised in the north do this. Southerners often teach their kids to call people Mister/Miss First name. So, that’s probably part of the reason they’re doing it.
Same here, where I grew up in New Jersey we had a neighbor who just moved from Louisianna and she was known as Miss Tina.
When I moved to Georgia while in the Marines, a lot of the women were addressed as “Miss First Name”.
I agree with PoorYorick, it does keep things formal enough to give respect, and informal where you can be casual at the same time.
Ah, I see El_Kabong beat me to it.
I kind of like it too. It’s sweet, somehow. I hate being called Mrs. (lastname).
I forgot to mention that some blacks who aren’t from the south often do southern type things because they, or their parents were raised by southerners.
There is a trend here in northen New Jersey to have children refer to familiar adults as Mr/Ms Firstname. It’s a nice combination of familiarity and respect.
I agree with the assertion that it’s a “Southern thang.” And, to agree with some of the other posters, in my experience, it’s not limited to the black communities.
As a former white southerner, I was raised to call adults “Miss ____” and “Mr. _____” in order to be polite.
I find it confusing when a married woman is addressed as “Miss Firstname”. Wouldn’t she want to be called “Mrs. Firstname”?
I’m white, I’m from Ohio, and I use the same form of address at times - usually with colleagues who are older than me (I’m 44 now, so someone who is 60ish or older would receive that form of address from me). Since we work together and see each other every day, last name formality is too formal, but my parents ingrained respect for older people into me pretty hard, so there it is.
It’s not restricted to black people. My wife’s piano students call her “Miss Michelle” and they’re all white - but also all southerners.
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There is a trend here in northen New Jersey to have children refer to familiar adults as Mr/Ms Firstname. It’s a nice combination of familiarity and respect.
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I can’t tell you how much this bugs me or why. If your trying to teach your kids to show adults respect, why not teach them to say Mr or Ms X? It’s romper roomish.
When I was young this was done in dancing school. Miss Tina taught ballet. Now I see it done a lot more, and it’s odd.
What really bugs me is being in a doctors office and the 20 year old receptionist yells "Bob’ and the patient is a 70 year old man.
Interesting point here.
It seems to me that generally, in the South, the Mr/Ms Firstname form of address is reserved for (struggling for an adjective) closer/more familiar adults. Thus, your mother’s hairdresser is “Ms. Annie.” Your father’s college roommate is “Mr. Bob.”
More formal meetings/people would dictate the ubiquitous Mr/Mrs/Ms Lastname. Meeting your father’s boss from corporate, for example, would require “Mr. Green.” Schoolteachers, also get the standard, Mr/Mrs/Ms Lastname.
Thus, kids do learn to show adults respect - it’s just that the form of address is contingent on the level of familiarity.
I’m a southerner and I do it sparingly. I find myself really using it more as a sign of respectful affection. However, with my daughter, I do it far more with her than I do it myself. (Miss Sue, Miss Alice). I work with a ton of older folks and I’d say “Mr.” more than I would say “two to call.”
That being said, we have two white guys at work that refer to the male players as “boss.” Which I find pretty odd.
Me too, especially since I’m not a Mrs. and they usually pronounce my last name wrong. 
After eight years of being married to their son, I still cannot bring myself to call my mothe-in-law and father-in-law by their first names. I’ve thus far managed to avoid calling them anything, but I’m sure that my luck will run out someday.
I think because a lot of adults HATE being called Mr./Ms. Lastname. My parents (who are poster children for the baby boomers) don’t like it because it makes them feel “old”. They and most of their friends (and most of my friends parents) took the same attitude. To be honest, it made me uncomfortable. Calling adults by their first names felt wrong to a lot of us. Most people I know have worked out some other system of address. We tended to go with “Mrs. LastInitial” or Mama Lastname. One friends mother we call Mrs. Mom. I could see how Miss Firstname would work.
As a grown adult about to start my own family, only the parents of both my best friends (and in one case, just her mom) can I bring myse’f to call by their first names.
A girl I knew worked as a volunteer for at a program for inner-city youth. All of the kids were black, and this girl was white. She told me that all the kids called her “Miss Firstname” and that she felt slightly uncomfortable when they did this. She said she felt like it harkened back to the slave days.
FWIW, this was in northern New Jersey.