Capitalize words like dad, mother, aunt, and judge when they are part of a title that includes a personal name, or when they are substituted for a proper noun (especially in direct address).
Hi, Aunt Mae! (Aunt is part of the name.)
My aunt is a doctor.
The senator said his favorite legislator was Senator Hubert Humphrey.
Please, Mom, stay for dinner.
A Closer Look
Here is a way to tell if a word is being substituted for a proper noun: read the sentence with a proper noun in place of the word. If the proper noun fits in the sentence, the word being tested should be capitalized. (Note: Generally the word is not capitalized if it follows a possessive noun or pronoun, such as Tonya's, her, my.)
Did Dad (Alex) get the promotion? (Alex works in this sentence.)
Did your dad (Alex) get the promotion? (Alex does not work here; also, the word dad follows the possessive your.)
(From Write for Business, page 207, and Proofreader's Guide PDF, page 19)
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