Posted by FlaNotary2 on 6/7/11 11:51am
Msg #385354

Finally came up with an answer for the "Notary Public" vs.

"Public Notary" debate...

They call us "Notaries Public" (as opposed to "Public Notaries") for the same reason we use the titles "Surgeon General", "Attorney General", and "Inspector General" (as opposed to General Surgeon, General Attorney, etc.) .... because it sounds fancier.

Reply by Roger_OH on 6/7/11 2:01pm
Msg #385362

Don't see the logic, Robert...

The titles you mentioned all refer to a specific position of authority, held by one elected/appointed person. The title can't be used to describe all attorneys or surgeons.

Notaries public IS the plural of the term Notary Public, which is a title held by some 5 million people in the U.S.

BTW, did you ever receive a reply from Walgreens to your letter a few months back about providing notary services in their stores?

Reply by FlaNotary2 on 6/7/11 2:12pm
Msg #385366

Re: Don't see the logic, Robert...

My logic was that both "Attorney General" and "Notary Public" are positions in which the adjective comes after the noun. This is unusual in the English language, and it was raised a week ago why we are called "Notary Public" instead of "Public Notry".

As for the Walgreens letter...I honestly don't even remember whether or not I sent it. I actually completely forgot about it until you mentioned it. Now I'm all angry about it again!