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How to Add Honorifics (Mr. or Dr.) to Microsoft 365 Users

Chanuka Geekiyanage Sep 28, 2026 869 views

Question details

Administrators and users are looking for a way to add honorific titles (such as Mr., Mrs., Dr., or Rev.) to user profiles within the Microsoft ecosystem.

How to Add Honorifics (Mr. or Dr.) to Microsoft 365 Users

Product: Microsoft 365
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Configuring user profiles and managing directory identities in Microsoft Teams and Microsoft Entra ID for organizational communication.
Observed behavior: Microsoft 365, Microsoft Teams, and Entra ID do not currently offer a dedicated, selectable honorific field for user accounts.

Before you start

Ensure you have the necessary administrator permissions in the Microsoft 365 admin center or Microsoft Entra ID to modify user profile details.

Solution 1Recommended

Append the Honorific to the User's Display Name

Since there is no dedicated field for honorifics, adding the title directly to the user's Display Name is the standard workaround to ensure it appears in Microsoft Teams and Outlook.

This method ensures that colleagues and external contacts will see the honorific when communicating with the user across all Microsoft 365 services.

Access the Admin Center

Navigate to Active Users

In the left-hand navigation menu, go to Users, and then click on Active users.

Select the User

Find and click on the name of the user you want to edit. A properties pane will slide out on the right side of the screen.

Edit the Display Name

Click on 'Manage contact information' or 'Edit' next to the user's Display Name. Type the desired honorific (e.g., Dr. or Mr.) at the beginning of the Display Name field.

Save Changes

Click Save. It may take up to 24 hours for the updated display name to fully synchronize across Microsoft Teams, Outlook, and other Microsoft 365 applications.

Append the Honorific to the User's Display Name

Synchronization Note: If your organization syncs users from an on-premises Active Directory using Microsoft Entra Connect, you must update the display name in your local Active Directory instead, as cloud edits will be overwritten during the next sync.

Solution 2

Submit a Feature Request to Microsoft

If appending the display name does not meet your organization's database or communication requirements, you can request that Microsoft add a native honorific field.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Will adding an honorific to the display name affect the user's email address or login credentials?

No. Changing the Display Name only affects how the name appears visually to others in apps like Outlook and Teams. It does not alter the User Principal Name (UPN), primary email address, or login credentials.

Can I add honorifics in bulk to multiple Microsoft 365 users?

Yes. You can perform bulk updates by exporting your active users list to a CSV file, adding the honorifics to the display names in a spreadsheet program, and then importing the modified CSV back into the Microsoft 365 admin center or updating via PowerShell.

Is there a specific attribute in on-premises Active Directory for honorifics?

On-premises Active Directory does include a 'Personal Title' (personalTitle) attribute. However, this attribute does not natively map to a dedicated, visible honorific field in Microsoft 365 or Microsoft Teams, which is why updating the Display Name remains the standard workaround.

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