APA Style (7th ed.)
When providing authors’ names in text, “write the author’s name exactly as it appears on the published work, including hyphenated surnames and two-part surnames” (American Psychological Association [APA], n.d., Format of Individual Names section). Also, use the capitalization preferred by the author in citations and references, so if authors prefer all lowercase letters for first and last names, keep that formatting (APA, 2020, p. 287).
Hyphenated names
- If last names are hyphenated, keep that formatting in citations and references.
- “When given names are hyphenated, retain the hyphen and include a period after each initial by no space (e.g., Xu, A.-J., for Ai-Jun Xu)” (APA, 2020, p. 286).
Uncertainty regarding which names are first, middle, and last names
- “If uncertain about the proper format for a name, consult other works that cite that author, bibliographic database records, or the author’s website or curriculum vitae (CV) to determine the appropriate format” (APA, 2020, p. 287).
Additional resources
For more information regarding author names, please see the following WriteAnswers entries:
References
American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Elements of reference list entries. APA Style. https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/elements-list-entry
American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000
