What is the difference in being the 2nd and a Jr?

Question

For example, if the child has the same name as the dad except for his middle, can he still be a Jr? Also, wouldnt exactly be the 2nd?

Answer 1

I was also thinking along the lines of a living father of exactly the same name. But this begs the question as to whether the son changes from Jr to "the Second" upon his father's death.

Also, what if Jr has a son - also of exactly the same name. Is he "Junior Junior?"

Never mind, the guys in the white coats have just arrived waving butterfly nets and syringes - all will be well.

Answer 2

I didn't think there was a difference...

Answer 3

Usually you use those when their names are exactly the same, but you still hear of people called Junior whose middle names don't match dad's.

Jr indicates the same name as dad, but if Junior has a son and shares his whole name with that son, Jr becomes the 2nd and grandson becomes 3rd, skipping Jr altogether.

Answer 4

Here is the correct answer:

Junior is used to distinguish a son with the same name as his father. The following conditions apply:

1. The Junior must be a son of the father, not a grandson.

2. The names must be exactly the same, including the middle name.

3. The father must still be living.

'II' or "2nd" is used whenever any close relative, including for example a grandfather or a great-uncle, shares the same name as the child.

Answer 5

"Junior" means that the person has the exact same name as his father (or, rarely, her mother).  Being "the second" means that the person shares the name with a relative other than his father (usually his grandfather, but occasionally his great-grandfather, uncle, great uncle, or even a much older cousin).

As for the "right answer" provided by Life's a Beach: I've heard those rules many times, but have NEVER seen them actually used.  In my experience, a person born "John Richard Doe, Junior" will continue to go by "John Richard Doe, Junior", even after his father dies; if there is a John Richard Doe III, he will still be JRD III after JRD Sr. dies (the "right answer" usually specifies that in such a case, upon the death of the oldest JRD, the former JRD Jr becomes JRD Sr and the former JRD III becomes JRD Jr).

It should also be noted that people don't always adhere even to the normal conventions.  I have a friend who is (name changed) Richard James Roe II instead of Richard James Roe Jr (his father is Richard James Roe Sr).  I also once knew someone who was John Richard Doe Jr despite the fact that his father was John Michael Doe.  Both went by "John", so "Junior" was added so that a distinction could be made without specifying the middle name.  These are technically "wrong", but since there are no laws (in the country I live in, at least) regarding the use of such suffixes, there's nothing to prevent such usages.  I suppose that John Richard Doe could name his son Michael James Doe, Jr. if he so desired.