Mx (usually pronounced , or and sometimes ) is an

English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the ...

neologistic A neologism Greek νέο- ''néo''(="new") and λόγος /''lógos'' meaning "speech, utterance"] is a relatively recent or isolated term, word, or phrase that may be in the process of entering common use, but that has not been fully accepted int ...

honorific An honorific is a title that conveys esteem, courtesy, or respect for position or rank when used in addressing or referring to a person. Sometimes, the term "honorific" is used in a more specific sense to refer to an honorary academic title. It ...

that does not indicate gender. Developed as an alternative to gendered honorifics (such as Mr. and

Ms. Ms. (American English) or Ms (British English; normally , but also , or when unstressed)''Oxford English Dictionary'' online, Ms, ''n.2''. Etymology: "An orthographic and phonetic blend of Mrs ''n.1'' and miss ''n.2'' Compare mizz ''n.'' The pr ...

) in the late 1970s, it is the most common

gender-neutral title A gender neutral title is a title that does not indicate the gender identity, whatever it may be, of the person being formally addressed. Honorifics are used in situations when it is inappropriate to refer to someone only by their first or last na ...

among

non-binary Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typically ...

people and people who do not wish to imply a gender in their titles.

Etymology

The word was first proposed in the late 1970s. The "x" is intended to stand as a

wildcard character In software, a wildcard character is a kind of placeholder represented by a single character, such as an asterisk (), which can be interpreted as a number of literal characters or an empty string. It is often used in file searches so the full na ...

, and does not necessarily imply a "mixed" gender.

Usage

In 2013, Brighton and Hove City Council in Sussex, England, voted to allow the use of Mx on council forms, and in 2014 the Royal Bank of Scotland included the title as an option for customers. In 2015, recognition spread more broadly across UK institutions, including the Royal Mail, government agencies responsible for documents such as

driving licences A driver's license is a legal authorization, or the official document confirming such an authorization, for a specific individual to operate one or more types of motorized vehicles—such as motorcycles, cars, trucks, or buses—on a public r ...

, most major banks, several other companies, and UK charity

Battersea Dogs & Cats Home Battersea Dogs & Cats Home (now known as Battersea) is an animal rescue centre for dogs and cats. Battersea rescues dogs and cats until an owner or a new one can be found. It is one of the UK's oldest and best known animal rescue centres. It w ...

. The title is now accepted by the

Department for Work and Pensions , type = Department , seal = , logo = Department for Work and Pensions logo.svg , logo_width = 166px , formed = , preceding1 = , jurisdiction = Government of the United Kingdom , headquarters = Caxton House7th Floor6–12 Tothill Stree ...

HM Revenue and Customs , patch = , patchcaption = , logo = HM Revenue & Customs.svg , logocaption = , badge = , badgecaption = , flag = , flagcaption = , image_size = , co ...

, the

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

and many councils, universities, insurance companies and utility retailers in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. The House of Commons of the United Kingdom confirmed in 2015 that it would accept the use of Mx by MPs. In 2015, Mx was included in a ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' article about

Bluestockings ''Bluestocking'' is a term for an educated, intellectual woman, originally a member of the 18th-century Blue Stockings Society from England led by the hostess and critic Elizabeth Montagu (1718–1800), the "Queen of the Blues", including Eli ...

. Its casual usage in the paper was picked up by popular news sites and blogs. ''The Times's'' standards editor Phil Corbett later responded to the usage of the title. Later the same year, Mx was included in the ''

Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a co ...

''. In 2016, Metro Bank became the first bank in the United Kingdom to offer Mx on its forms (though other banks had amended records to Mx on request prior to this). In 2017, banks of the

HSBC Group HSBC Holdings plc is a British multinational universal bank and financial services holding company. It is the largest bank in Europe by total assets ahead of BNP Paribas, with US$2.953 trillion as of December 2021. In 2021, HSBC had $10.8 tr ...

announced the addition of Mx alongside several other gender-neutral titles as options for their customers. HSBC's 30 March announcement coincided with the

International Transgender Day of Visibility International Transgender Day of Visibility (often referred to as TDOV or Trans Day of Visibility) is an annual event occurring on March 31 dedicated to celebrating transgender people and raising awareness of discrimination faced by transgender ...

, celebrated the following day. In March 2021, Oscar Davies, a

barrister from the

, became the first person to use "Mx" (instead of Mr/Ms) on the board of their

chambers Chambers may refer to: Places Canada: *Chambers Township, Ontario United States: *Chambers County, Alabama * Chambers, Arizona, an unincorporated community in Apache County * Chambers, Nebraska * Chambers, West Virginia * Chambers Township, Hol ...

. Although Mx remains uncommon in the United States, in April 2016 it was added to the ''Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary''. ''Mixter'' is sometimes treated as a long form of the title (like ''Mister'' is of ''Mr''). An informal study in 2019 found that 1.9% of the 896 participants worldwide pronounce it "Mixter" () while most pronounce it "Mix" () or "Məx" () (with a schwa). Indian airlines

Vistara Tata SIA Airlines Limited, operating as Vistara, is an Indian full-service airline, based in Gurugram, with its hub at Indira Gandhi International Airport. The carrier, a joint venture between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines, commenced operat ...

and

AirAsia India AirAsia India is an Indian low-cost airline headquartered in Bangalore (Bengaluru), Karnataka. The airline was a joint venture between Tata Sons and AirAsia Bhd. Tata Sons currently holds 100% stake in the airline, after AirAsia Bhd sold its ...

, both

Tata Group The Tata Group () is an Indian multinational conglomerate headquartered in Mumbai. Established in 1868, it is India's largest conglomerate, with products and services in over 150 countries, and operations in 100 countries across six continents ...

companies, added Mx as a third option for passengers booking flights from June 2022.

Etymology

Usage

See also

References

Further reading