This article is about the military rank. For other uses, see Major (disambiguation).

Not to be confused with mayor.

"Maj" redirects here. For the epic poem by Karel Hynek Mácha, see Máj.

Common anglophone military ranks
Navies	Armies	Air forces
Officers
Admiral of the fleet	Marshal / field marshal	Marshal of the Air Force
Admiral	General	Air marshal
Commodore	Brigadier	Air commodore
Captain	Colonel	Group captain
Commander	Lieutenant colonel	Wing commander
Lieutenant commander	Major / commandant	Squadron leader
Lieutenant	Captain	Flight lieutenant
Sub-lieutenant	Lieutenant	Flying officer
Ensign	2nd lieutenant	Pilot officer
Midshipman	Officer cadet	Officer cadet
Seamen, soldiers and airmen
Warrant officer	Sergeant major	Warrant officer
Petty officer	Sergeant	Sergeant
Leading seaman	Corporal	Corporal
Seaman	Private	Aircraftman

Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces. It is also used in some police forces such as the New York State Police, New Jersey State Police and several others.

When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. It is considered the most junior of the field ranks. In some militaries, notably France, the rank is referred to as commandant, while in others it is known as captain-major. It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures.

When used in hyphenated or combined fashion, the term can also imply seniority at other levels of rank, including general-major or major general, denoting a mid-level general officer, and sergeant major, denoting the most senior NCO of a military unit.

It can also be used with a hyphen to denote the leader of a military band such as in pipe-major or drum-major.

Links to major ranks by country [link]

Air Force major insignia [link]

Brazil
Denmark
Italy
RNAF Maj.svg

Netherlands
Poland
U.S.

Links to ranks equivalent to major by country [link]

Jagran (جګړن) (Afghanistan)
少校 (Shaoxiao) (PR China)
Bojnik (Croatia)
Ra'Ed (راىد) (Egypt and most Arab League member countries)
Commandant (France)
Tagmatarchis (Ταγματάρχης) (Greece & Cyprus)
Őrnagy (Hungary)
Commandant (Ireland)
Rav seren (רב סרן) (Israel)
Mayor (Indonesia)
Shousa (Japan)
소좌 (North Korea)
소령 (South Korea)
Mejar (Malaysia)
Sturmbannführer (Schutzstaffel and paramilitary organisations of Nazi Germany)
Comandante (Spain)
少校 (Shaohsiao) (Republic of China/Taiwan)
Binbaşı (Turkey)
Thiếu Tá (Vietnam)
Major (Serbia)

Croatia (Bojnik)

References [link]

External links [link]

Etymology on line

https://wn.com/Major

Major (United Kingdom)

Major (Maj) is a military rank which is used by both the British Army and Royal Marines. The rank is superior to captain, and subordinate to lieutenant colonel. The insignia for a major is a crown. The equivalent rank in the Royal Navy is lieutenant commander, and squadron leader in the Royal Air Force.

History

By the time of the Napoleonic wars, an infantry battalion usually had two majors, designated the "senior major" and the "junior major". The senior major effectively acted as second-in-command and the majors often commanded detachments of two or more companies split from the main body. The second-in-command of a battalion or regiment is still a major.