I use the serial comma. I'd say "I'd like to thank my mother Ayn Rand, and God" in that case. I place commas where I'd pause in speech. In that situation, I w

I use the serial comma. I'd say "I'd like to thank my mother Ayn Rand, and God" in that case. I place commas where I'd pause in speech. In that situation, I wouldn't pause between "mother" and "Ayn", so no comma goes there. In order to group "mother" and "Ayn Rand" together, a comma follows.