John Brooks is a singular proper noun and as a possessive is either John Brooks' or John Brooks's.
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.
Second, a name ending in s takes only an apostrophe if the possessive form is not pronounced with an extra s. Hence: Socrates' philosophy. Saint Saens' music.
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.
Plural noun rules
1 To make regular nouns plural, add –s to the end. 2 If the singular noun ends in –s, –ss, –sh, –ch, –x, or –z, you usually add -es to the end to make it plural.
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.
If you're going with The Associated Press Stylebook, James' is the correct way of writing James in the possessive form. But, for all other style guides, James's is the way to go.
If the name ends in s, z, ch, or sh, you need to add es. That means the Davis family becomes the Davises, the French family becomes the Frenches, the Hernandez family becomes the Hernandezes, and the Glaves family becomes the Glaveses. If the name ends in x, also add es—unless the x is silent.
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.
In other words, the rules for pluralizing family names are the same as for any other noun; use -s or -es as appropriate, but never, ever use an apostrophe-s! (If your surname has an apostrophe to begin with, like O'Brien or d'Angelo, of course, it will stay in its customary place.)
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.
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.
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.)
Brookses' is the possessive form; what's needed is the plural form Brookses. D. Grammatical. Brookses' is the plural possessive, and the entire Brooks family owns the letter.
The possessive
Quick Use: Use an apostrophe + s for singular nouns (sea, sky), common nouns ending with s (tigress, mistress), and irregular plural nouns (women, children). Use only the apostrophe for proper nouns ending with s (Tess, Jesus, Texas) and regular plural nouns (cars, protestors).
This is Travis's house. (correct and sounds better) This is Travis' house. (correct but awkward-sounding)
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').
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'.
Although autocorrect likes to insert an apostrophe-s when you type an s or es to make your noun plural, it is incorrect and you should go back and correct it: the Rodriguezes.
You do not use an apostrophe with last names in addresses. Add an "s" to the end of last names that don't end in "s," and add an "es" to the end of last names that end in "s." Traditionally, men's names come first.
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.”
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. Add an apostrophe at the end to show possession.
The possessive of a singular noun is formed by adding 's (whatever the final consonant). Note that some consider Jesus to be an exception to this rule and insist that its possessive be written Jesus'; other exceptions may include other ancient proper names.
For example, should you use “Adams' (2013) work” or “Adams's (2013) work”? Per APA Style, the answer is that the possessive of a singular name is formed by adding an apostrophe and an s, even when the name ends in s (see p. 96 in the sixth edition of the Publication Manual).
Most experts and guides say you should add an apostrophe and an S to both proper and common nouns to make them possessive even when they end in S. So, using the examples above, it would be: Chris's car. the crocus's petals.