Q. As a naming convention, what's the proper use of Junior vs. II? If Larry Edgar Taylor's first-born is Larry Evan Taylor, would the son be Junior, II or neither?

A. Today, families normally use senior (elder) and junior (younger) to distinguish a father and son with identical names. In earlier generations, senior and junior suggested two men of the same name and different ages-but they weren't necessarily related. Still, in my family in the 19th century, Isaac Croom Sr. and Isaac Croom Jr. were uncle and nephew. A third Isaac Croom in the extended family identified himself by adding his middle initial. If Isaac Jr. had had a son named Isaac, he could have been Isaac Croom III.