Reply #20: I've been using Ms. since my first divorce. [View All]

[mcscajun]

And that was in 1974, certainly the heyday of the use of Ms. I haven't been a Miss since 1971, and without a Mr. I certainly can't be a Mrs. anymore.

No, it's not anything to do with Miss, for which there is no abbreviation, and in fact, while it uses a period, it's not an abbreviation at all; it simply stands alone. Most consider it a blend or a cross between Miss and Mrs.

It's the perfect prefix that gives nothing away about your marital status or lack of same, and particularly convenient when you work in a retail-like environment that requires you to display your name to the public on a nameplate or nametag.