The plurals of last names are just like the plurals of most nouns. They typically get formed by adding -s. Except, that is, if the name already ends in s or z. Then the plural is formed by adding -es.
Only use an apostrophe when you want to make a name possessive. ("From The Smith's" is always wrong, but "The party is at the Smiths' house" is correct.)
In most cases, you only have to add an s to the end of their entire last name—even if the last letter is y. So the Smith family becomes the Smiths, the Angelo family becomes the Angelos, and the Perry family becomes the Perrys.
The Whole Family's Last Name
To show possession of a whole family: Add -es or -s to write the family's last name in plural form.
Remember: the only time you add an apostrophe to a last name is if you are making your last name possessive. For example, "That is the Gamels' house on the corner." Thanks for reading!
Rule: To form the plural of a last name that ends with an s, add an es. To form the possessive of the plural, add an apostrophe. The Dennises are a nice family.
The plural of Jones is Joneses, ‐es being added as an indicator of the plurality of a word of which the singular form ends in s, as in dresses or messes. The apposition of the much misused apostrophe to the word Jones does not pluralize it.
When making your last name plural, you don't need to add an apostrophe! The apostrophe makes the name possessive. The last letter of your last name will determine if you add an “-s” or an “-es”. If your last name ends in -s, -z, -ch, -sh, or -x, you add -es to your last name to make it plural.
The apostrophe has three uses: 1) to form possessive nouns; 2) to show the omission of letters; and 3) to indicate plurals of letters, numbers, and symbols. Do not use apostrophes to form possessive pronouns (i.e. his/her computer) or noun plurals that are not possessives.
Pluralizing Family Names
The rules for pluralization are simple: Use an -s if your name ends with a vowel or a voiced consonant.
If a name is singular but ends in an “s,” you always add an apostrophe after the name to show possession, but you can also add another “s” after the apostrophe if you prefer (e.g., Jess' office OR Jess's office). If the name is plural, simply add an apostrophe at the end to show possession (e.g., the Jones' new baby).
You know your name, James O'Brien – there's a little apostrophe – what does that stand for? Answer: the apostrophe is an English way of writing the original name, and its a way of writing the accent over the 'O'.
The Associated Press Stylebook recommends just an apostrophe: It's Tennessee Williams' best play. But most other authorities endorse 's: Williams's. Williams's means “belonging to Williams.” It is not the plural form of Williams. People's names become plural the way most other words do.
First, make the noun Williams into a plural: Williamses. Then add the possessive apostrophe according to the rules that gave us “the cats' tails.” That gives us “We had dinner at the Williamses' house last year.”
To make a proper name into a plural, simply add S or ES. Mr. Smith plus Mrs. Smith equals two Smiths.
The Associated Press Stylebook says the correct way to write the possessive case of Chris is Chris', not Chris's. Other style guides, including the Chicago Manual of Style, say Chris's is correct. If there isn't a specific guidebook you need to follow, you can use either Chris' or Chris's.
The most common apostrophe errors involve homonyms: words that sound like each other but are spelled differently. Let's start with Its', its and it's. Its' is never correct; it is singular, so it would never require a plural possessive. If you're indicating possession, use its—no apostrophe is ever required.
The important thing to remember is that Thomas is singular. When you're talking about more than one, you first form that plural by adding -ES. One Thomas, two Thomases. Then, to note that something is owned by more than one Thomas, just take the plural and make it possessive: Thomases'.
The Smiths' house — The house belonging to the family, whose surname is 'Smith'. There are multiple people in the family, so 'Smith' is plural. Since it's now plural with an 's' at the end, we simply add an apostrophe to show possession.
Plural names are simply created using a simple addition of an -s to the end of the name. This is used to show multiple members of the same family. Possessive names are created by adding an apostrophe -s to the end of the name to show ownership of something.
To show the possessive form for a person's name ending in S, you either add an apostrophe and S ('s) or just an apostrophe ('). The rule depends on the house style manual you're following. For example, Jones can be Jones' or Jones's.
With most surnames, you can simply add an s to the end of your last name to indicate the message is coming from more than one family member, for example, “the Patels.” If your name ends in s or z, as in Jones or Juarez, add es. The Joneses is correct because it indicates more than one member of the family.
Use the apostrophe + s after the second name if two people possess the same item. Otherwise, use an apostrophe after each name. Never use an apostrophe with possessive pronouns: his, hers, its, theirs, ours, yours, whose.
Plural Last Name Examples:
Add es to your last name. Examples: If your last name is Jones, you will change it to Joneses. If your last name is Davis, you will change is to Davises.
According to Grammarbook.com, the nerds of the world will argue heatedly on the subject for eternity, but the most roundly accepted rule is to include the apostrophe, along with an extra “S.” (Davis's rather than Davis').