Q: John P. Smith has a son and he names him John P. Smith also. The son would be John P. Smith Jr. and his father would be John P. Smith Sr.

My question is -- what happens if Senior dies before Junior has a child and then  Junior has a son and he names him John P. Smith.

Does Junior become Senior and the child Junior or does the child become John P. Smith II.

Thanks, from a faithful reader in Russell.

A: I asked around and looked at a few Web sites, and it doesn't seem there are any real hard and fast rules concerning this matter.

The one place I did find a bit of direction was a Web site concerning wedding invitation etiquette.  

Junior's child would be the third, as in John P. Smith III, though there is nothing preventing Junior from dropping the title after Senior's death.

However, changing titles by moving up to Senior could potentially cause a lot of confusion, especially if Junior and the third live in the same area where Senior had  lived.  People would think of Senior and Junior as specific individuals, especially if they were known by such titles.

Nothing prevents you from making the switch, but it just seems rather socially awkward.  

But what was it that Juliet said, what's in a name?

Look at any list of celebrity baby names and the general feeling is that you can really do whatever you want with a name.

Eric Norris is the adult department librarian at the Hays Public Library. "Ask Eric" questions can be mailed to 1205 Main, Hays, KS, 67601, submitted through www.hayspublib.org at the "Ask Eric" link or e-mailed to enorris@hayspublib.org.