It's common in business to list persons in order of last-name-first. Instead of "John W. Van Dyk", write "Van Dyk, John W.".
But what should be the convention when the name has a title or suffix. How would "Dr. John W. Van Dyk III" be written?
There are other similar questions about how to deal with a suffix, but I can't see any that deal with title. (Mr., Dr., Rev., etc)
Van Dyk III, John W., Dr.
The numerals are useful only to differentiate the different generations of Van Dyk's; they need to remain with the last name. Putting the title last is a British convention
In the years since I've posted this question, I've tried different styles and finally came a conclusion.
Of course, the answer depends on your own needs, which may differ from mine.
In my case, it is important that reports be sorted so users can find the person they are looking for. Most of the time, the user looks first for surname, and then for given name. Titles and suffixes are the last thing they'll look at.
For example, we want
Jack Smith
to precede
John Smith III
And so I use:
Surname, Given Name, Title, Suffix
This answer is based on my own experience of responding to frustrated users, not on any reference material, but I thought it would still be useful for any future visitors.
