Ginsburg with a “U”

Sometimes the greatest gift you can give someone is to spell her name correctly.

Thus, on the occasion of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s birthday, here is a handy mnemonic device for spelling her last name:

Position, first name, and last name all contain the same vowel.

• Thus, if you write about Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, use the letter u.
• By contrast, if you write about poet Allen Ginsberg, use the letter e.

N.B. Justice Scalia also had a birthday this past week. Although his last name seems less frequently misspelled than Justice Ginsburg’s, opera-lovers* should nevertheless take this opportunity to ensure that their autocorrect does not confuse “Scalia” (the Justice) with “La Scala” (the opera house).

*Who no doubt already know the spelling of “Antonin” from the composer of Rusalka.