Hyphenation and capitalization of “Great-Uncle” when signing books to my nephew's son

Question

When great-uncle is used as a common noun, the hyphen and lack of caps make sense. However, when I sign a book to my nephew, is it Great-Uncle Don, Great-uncle Don, or perhaps Great Uncle Don?

Answer 1

The general rule is that, in a capitalized hyphenated compound word, both words are normally capitalized if they are of approximately equal significance.

In "great-uncle," "uncle" is the more significant part; "great-" is simply modifying "uncle" after all.

So sign yourself "Great-Uncle Don."

Or, dodge the hyphenation entirely, and sign yourself "Granduncle Don."