Social Register - Today

Today

A successor publication, The Social Register, is released annually as a single national directory, published in winter and summer editions from New York by Forbes magazine. Those aspiring to be listed must be sponsored by at least five individuals currently appearing in its pages. Those sponsored are reviewed by an advisory committee that makes the final decision regarding inclusion. Approximately five percent of suggested names are added each year. The committee also arrives at additions on its own and sends the potential listees "blanks"—forms to fill in information.

In addition to winter and summer addresses and the household members, a Social Register lists the educational backgrounds, maiden names, club affiliations of listed persons, and the names given to estates or grand residences. The Summer edition lists names of yachts, specs. and country of registration. Juniors may be listed with their parents beginning at birth (a recent change from the age of thirteen). The Social Register Observer is a separate publication that lists "Dilatory Domiciles" Births, Deaths, Marriages, and any address/telephone changes, to include listed members articles, party photos, and recent published books by those listed. The "Observer" is issued each year with the Summer edition.

Despite the yearly updates, The Social Register continues to name its sections in the same fashion as its former editions. The arcane title "Dilatory Domiciles" refers to house listings in the summer register that were submitted too late for inclusion in the main (winter) edition. The section called "Married Maidens" refers to a cross-listing of married and maiden names. In the past few years the Social Register now includes email addresses and cell phone numbers. The quixotic typography that was almost a trademark of the Social Register has given way to a more mundane typesetting standard.

Members of the so-called café society were not necessarily listed in the early Social Register. This has changed recently. Bobby Short, the "king" of café society, was listed for many years until his death. The opera singer Jessye Norman was listed; many celebrities or their families were listed such as Chevy Chase, Glenn Close, Stockard Channing, Harry Hamlin, Kyra Sedgwick, James Spader, Julia Child, and Fox News' Brit Hume and Tucker Carlson.

In the peak times of social exclusivity, the first half of the 20th century, localities of all sizes published social directories, typically called "Blue Books". Many competed with the directories of the Social Register Association. A few competing social registers continue publication, notably the Southwest Blue Book (subtitled The Original Society Directory of Southern California), which Lenora King Berry founded in 1903 and which she and her descendants have published annually, ever since. Established in 1917, the Los Angeles Blue Book (subtitled The Society Register of Southern California) also continues as an annual publication. It included a substantial number of Roman Catholics from onset, in part because Spanish land-grant families constituted the city's first elite society. While it ultimately has met the international quality of the city's present prominent members, it continues generally to avoid listing persons in the entertainment field. The Denver Social Register and Record was first published in 1908 as Who's Who in Denver Society from materials that had been collected since 1904 by Mrs. Crawford Hill. It was distinguished from the unmodified listings of "Social Register cities" by its inclusion of chapters on subjects such as "Worth Over a Million," "Pioneers in the Social Field," "Types of Denver Beauty," and "Eligible Men" Washington D.C has the Washington Blue Book and "The Social List of Washington" better known as the "Green Book" and it is also published annually. In Texas, "Social Directories" for Houston, Dallas and Fort Worth came late to the practice (1930s) but continued publication into the 21st century.

In March 2006, the Social Register web site was launched. It is intended for the use of listed persons only, however the site is available to the public to answer any questions on the Social Register. The Social Register Observer may be viewed on the site also.