Citing Authors With the Same Surname

⁠If the first authors of multiple references share the same surname but have different initials, include the first authors’ initials in all in-text citations, even if the year of publication differs. Initials help avoid confusion within the text and help readers locate the correct entry in the reference list.

If the first authors of multiple references share the same surname and the same initials, cite the works in the standard author–date format.

Sometimes people publish under multiple names because of a name change (e.g., transgender authors, authors with a change in marital status). It is seldom relevant to note that two names refer to the same person. When a given name has changed, include initials with in-text citations only when the initials are different.

If it is necessary to clarify that two names refer to the same person (e.g., to avoid confusion when reviewing an author’s body of work), consult the person and respect their preferences in whether and how to address the name change. If it is necessary to clarify that two names refer to different people to avoid confusion, include the first name of the first author in the in-text citation: “Sarah Williams (2019) stated X, whereas Shonda Williams (2020) stated Y.”

If multiple authors within a single reference share the same surname, the initials are not needed in the in-text citation; cite the work in the standard author–date format.