Should `Jane Doe nee Smith Prof.` read `Prof.` as a title? The maiden name keeps it, where `Jane Doe Prof.` gives the title

[derek73]

A title written after a maiden clause is taken into the maiden name, and it hides a credential or numeral standing in front of it.

>>> parse("Jane Doe Prof.").title, parse("Jane Doe MA Prof.").suffix
('Prof.', 'MA')
>>> parse("Jane Doe nee Smith Prof.").maiden
'Smith Prof.'
>>> parse("Jane Doe nee Smith MA Prof.").maiden
'Smith MA Prof.'
>>> parse("Jane Doe nee Smith V Prof.").maiden
'Smith V Prof.'

Outside a clause a trailing title is transparent: Jane Doe MA Prof. and Jane Doe Prof. MA both give title Prof., suffix MA. Inside one, the two spellings disagree, and only because of which word the clause meets last: Jane Doe nee Smith Prof. MA gives maiden Smith Prof., suffix MA, while Jane Doe nee Smith MA Prof. keeps all three words. An unambiguous credential already breaks the clause on its own, so Jane Doe nee Smith PhD Prof. gives maiden Smith, suffix PhD, title Prof..

Why now. #533 made a clause end at a trailing credential of the ambiguous class, as #424 did for a trailing numeral. Both stops read the trailing suffix run only, and the trailing-title chain is a separate reading the maiden walk has never consulted, so both share this limit. It is recorded as an accepted boundary in rules.md#M2.

The question. Should the maiden walk see a trailing title the way the rest of the library does, so the clause ends before Prof. and whatever credential stands in front of it? The two halves are separable:

1. Jane Doe nee Smith Prof.: is a period-marked title after a birth name a title? It is hard to read it as part of a surname.
2. Jane Doe nee Smith MA Prof. and … V Prof.: with the title out of the way, the Should Doe, Jane nee Smith MA read MA as a credential? The maiden name keeps it, where it gives up PhD and Jr. #533 and John van der Berg V reads family van der Berg V — the particle chain and the maiden walk take a trailing numeral as a name word #424 stops would apply as they do in … Prof. MA.

Against: the title chain needs a name word left standing, and the clause's words are about to leave the name, so this is the same double-check problem #424 and #533 each had to solve, a third time; and it moves #424's numeral readings, which were settled with their own measurements.

Names to decide against

• Jane Doe nee Smith Prof.: maiden Smith Prof.
• Jane Doe nee Smith MA Prof. / Jane Doe nee Smith Prof. MA: the disagreeing pair
• Jane Doe nee Smith V Prof. / Jane Doe nee Smith Prof. V: the numeral's pair
• Jane Doe nee Smith Ma Prof.: the declined spelling, a name under either answer
• Doe, Jane nee Smith MA Prof.: after a family comma, where Doe, Jane MA Prof. gives title Prof., suffix MA
• Jane Doe nee Smith PhD Prof.: control, already right

Related: #533, #531, #424.

Found during #533 (PR #534).