Proper Last-Name Pluralization

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Lost World

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Can someone tell me how to properly pluralize a last name ending in S? For example, if the last name is Edwards, would the plural be Edwards's or Edwardses? I like the former better, but it's also the possessive, so maybe the latter is correct. I honestly don't know, and I don't have much time to think about it as I'm in the throes of rewrite. Any help appreciated. Thanks.
 
alleycat

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Generally, follow the same rules for making plurals of names as you would if they weren't proper nouns; so Edwards would be Edwardses. There are some exceptions, I believe, but this should work most of the time.
 
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Plot Device

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I launched a thread here in this same sub-forum about two years ago asking the exact same question.

Gimmmie a minute and I will find it. (The asnwers I got were very good).



::EDIT::



Here's the thread.

http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=85673



And here's my OP:

Plot Device said:
Here are my three characters' names:


David Brown
Carl Jenkins
Sarah Vincente


Here is how I am doing the plurals when describing whole family as a group:


The Brown's stood by the fence.
The Jenkins' stood by the fence.
The Vincente's stood by the fence.


Here is how I am doing posessives:


The Brown's car.
The Vincente's car.
The Jenkins' car.



Now ..... is any of this right???




Thanks.
Click to expand...



And here's one answer I got from Derek:

dpaterso said:
I think you're wrong on all counts.


The Browns stood by the fence.
The Jenkinses stood by the fence.
The Vincentes stood by the fence.


The Browns' car.
The Jenkins' car.
The Vincentes' car.



-Derek
Click to expand...



And here's an "I concur" from FennelGiraffe:

FennelGiraffe said:
Like dpaterso said, No, none of it is right.

The Brown family and the Vincente family are quite straightforward.

Don't use an apostrophe to make a plural:
  • The Browns stood by the fence.
  • The Vincentes stood by the fence.
The possessive of a plural adds an apostrophe after the S:
  • The Browns' car.
  • The Vincentes' car.
The possessive of the singular adds an apostrophe and an S:
  • David Brown's car.
  • Sarah Vincente's car.
The Jenkins family is a little different. When a proper name (just like any noun) ends with s, sh, ch, x, or z:

Plurals: Use es to form the plural
  • The Jenkinses stood by the fence.
Possessives: There are several schools of thought. Pick one and be consistent. Even if an editor disagrees with your choice, s/he will recognize it as one of the standard variations. (In other words, you won't look stupid.)

Plural Possessives:
  1. The Jenkins' car.
  2. The Jenkinses' car.
Singular Possessives:
  1. Carl Jenkins' car.
  2. Carl Jenkins's car.
  3. Bob Jones's truck, but Carl Jenkins' car. (some say it depends on the number of syllables--one vs more than one; others say it depends on how it's pronounced)
  4. Moses' beard, but James's hair (some say Moses, Jesus and a few other "ancient" names enjoy a special status; others say it's because the last syllable begins with s)
Click to expand...





.
 
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veronie

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You would use the apostrophe (') for possessiveness, not for pluralization. So it would be Edwardses. But if you want to use a possessive, then it would be one of two ways, depending on the style you adopt. Examples below:

(Plural) The Edwardses got into their car.
(Possessive) That Cadillac is the Edwardses' car. (This is the Strunk and White way to do it.)
(Possessive) That Cadillac is the Edwards' car. (This is the AP way to do it.)
 
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Lance_in_Shanghai

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veronie, you are wrong about Strunk & White. I have it in front of me. Possessives should be formed by 's, not by ' only. The only exceptions are related to some ancient names, such as Isis and Jesus, and to some pat phrases, such as "for righteousness' sake". We can't use the AP as a guide. They separate paragraphs with double-lines and use nouns as adjectives.
 
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