Apostrophes with Names Ending in s, ch, or z
Are you confused about how to show the plural and the possessive of certain names? Maybe you know to write I met the Smiths, I drove Brenda Smith’s Ferrari, and I visited the Smiths’ house. But what if the name is Sanchez or Church or Williams?
Rule: To show the plural of a name that ends with a ch, s, or z sound, add es. If a name ends in ch, but is pronounced with a hard k sound, its plural will require s, rather than es.
Examples:
The Sanchezes will be over soon.
The Thomases moved away.
The Churches have arrived but the Bohmbachs are running late.
Rule: To show singular possession of a name ending in ch, add ’s on the end of the name.
Example: Harry Birch’s house
Rule: To show singular possession of a name ending in s or z, some writers add just an apostrophe. Others also add another s. See Rules 1b and 1c of Apostrophes for more discussion.
Examples:
Bill Williams’ car OR Bill Williams’s car
Mrs. Sanchez’s children
Rule: To show plural possession of a name ending in s, ch, or z, form the plural first; then immediately use the apostrophe.
Examples:
the Williamses’ car
the Birches’ house
the Sanchezes’ children
Pop Quiz
Choose the correct proper noun in each sentence below. The original proper noun is in parentheses.
1. I’m going to marry Ms. Straus’/Strauses’/Straus’s daughter. (Straus)
2. The Ortiz’/Ortizes’/Ortiz’s dog bit the mailman. (Ortiz)
3. My son can’t seem to get enough of Sandi Finches/Finches’/Finch’s fried chicken. (Finch)
4. The Ames/Amess/Ameses are coming home from vacation tomorrow. (Ames)
Pop Quiz Answers
1. I’m going to marry Ms. Straus’s daughter. (OR Ms. Straus’ daughter)
2. The Ortizes’ dog bit the mailman.
3. My son can’t seem to get enough of Sandi Finch’s fried chicken.
4. The Ameses are coming home from vacation tomorrow.
Are you ready for the quiz?
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49 Comments on Apostrophes with Names Ending in s, ch, or z
My son is named Kross. How do you correctly spell “Kross’ first Christmas”?
As the post states, “To show singular possession of a name ending in s or z, some writers add just an apostrophe. Others also add another s.
Kross’ or Kross’s are acceptable.
Plural of Cortez?
Example:
Merry Christmas from the Cortezes!
Is this correct?
As the post states, “To show the plural of a name that ends with a ch, s, or z sound, add es.” Therefore, Cortezes is correct.
My Auntie’s family has the surname Louis.
I’m unsure how to correctly pluralize their name. For example, I might say, “I’m out with the Louis.”
In this case the surname is pronounced LOO-EE. Therefore, Louises doesn’t seem correct.
Although a single apostrophe usually suggests possession, I wonder if it is correct to use it in this case:
I’m out with the Louis’.
Please advise.
Many thanks!
Names ending in an unpronounced s will not conform to our recommended rules and practices no matter how hard we try. We do not recommend using an apostrophe for a simple plural, and doing so is not likely to help pronunciation. We recommend avoiding the plural in written communication by writing “We are out with the Louis family.”
I would like to buy a sign for my new hot tub. The sign says, “Welcome to the (last name) hot tub.” Our last name is Diaz. Would it be Diaz’es, Diazes’, Diazes, or something else?
As the post states, “To show the plural of a name that ends with a ch, s, or z sound, add es.… To show plural possession of a name ending in s, ch, or z, form the plural first; then immediately use the apostrophe.” Therefore, the plural is Diazes, and the plural possessive is Diazes’.
Thank you for this post. I work in state government and this is an ongoing battle in a state that ends in s. There’s even legislation stating how the plural form of Arkansas should be written. FYI – I believe the legislation says Arkansas’s, but I prefer and use Arkansas’. I guess that makes me a criminal.
You probably mean the singular possessive form for the state of Arkansas. If you find the exact wording of any such legislation or guidance on this, please pass it along to us; we’d love to see it. We agree that writing Arkansas’ main crop is rice is cleaner and simpler than Arkansas’s main crop is rice.
To pluralize the surname Gillis should it be Gillises?
To show possession would one say the Gillises’ car or could you say the Gillis’s car?
Thanking you.
As the post states, “To show the plural of a name that ends with a ch, s, or z sound, add es.… To show plural possession of a name ending in s, ch, or z, form the plural first; then immediately use the apostrophe.” Therefore, the plural is Gillises, and the plural possessive is Gillises’.
My last name ends in 2 S’s (“Strauss”). So, when signing a card from the family, it would read “Sincerely, the Strauss’ ” – Correct?
The plural of your last name is formed by adding es on the end after the ss. Therefore, “the Strausses” is correct as a simple plural.
How would you write from a family of two with the last name Meyers? Is it the Meyerses or the Meyers’?
As the post states, “To show the plural of a name that ends with a ch, s, or z sound, add es.” Write “from the Meyerses.”
If we write conscience and Jesus’, then why do we use ‘s again in Prime Minister of Mauritius’s? Thanks.
As this post states, there are conflicting policies and theories about how to show possession when writing words or names ending in s. The following are acceptable spellings for these names ending in s:
Jesus’s OR Jesus’
Prime Minister of Mauritius’s speech OR Prime Minister of Mauritius’ speech
The word conscience does not end in s. The possessive of that word is conscience’s. See also our Rules for Apostrophes and the post Apostrophes with Words Ending in s.
My son is named Silas. If I want to show possession with his name, would the correct spelling be Silas’, as in Silas’ turn, or Silas’ bike, etc?
Now that I look at an earlier response it looks like Silas’ or Silas’s are acceptable.
Thanks.
Either is acceptable; however, we prefer Silas’s because that’s how we would say it.
I am not sure if this has been answered already but how do you pluralize a French name that ends in a silent “s”?
In English, the plural would be formed by adding es.
Last name is Williams
On a Christmas card –
Merry Christmas
The Williams’ or The Williams’s or The Williamses?
As the post states, “To show the plural of a name that ends with a ch, s, or z sound, add es.” Therefore, write The Williamses.
What about names ending in ers. Like Winters or Peters.
They end in s, but sound odd following the rules for names ending in s.
The Winterses moved away.
The Winterses’ house.
Bill Winters’s car
Are these correct?
The rules are the same. (Your third example could also be Bill Winters’ car.) Although your examples sound odd to you, they are grammatically correct.
Join us to celebrate Cruz’s second birthday!
Cruz’s or Cruz’ Birthday
Our last name is Barreras.
How do I make that plural?
Technically, either Cruz’ or Cruz’s birthday is correct, but we prefer Cruz’s as that’s how we would pronounce it. The plural of Barreras is Barrerases.
I’m not certain of where the apostrophe should be in the following sentence: “Anna and the two Catherines gathered up their belongings …” Okay, I suspect it should be after the s but is that correct? Thanks for your kind help.
The term “the two Catherines” is a simple plural; therefore, no apostrophe is needed.
Thanks so much for the clarification. My last name is Ellis, and until five minutes ago I was unsure about how to use apostrophes with my own name.
Please help me with the plural of the last name Moreau. Is it as simple as adding an S, (Moreaus)?
Yes, it is that simple.
Tom and Sue Kelly’s house
Or Tom and Sue Kellys’ house?
Please see Rule 4a of Apostrophes.
I noticed there are no examples of words ending with a double S. Do these same rules apply? For example, an entire class? (The class’/classes’/class’s favorite song was the alphabet song.)
The rules are the same regardless of whether a word ends in one s or two. Either class’s or class’ is acceptable when referring to one class.
“He picked out his son’s sports bags from the boot of his car as Max and David were running into the house.”
“Son’s” feels wrong in this context.
If both boys had bags, the plural possessive sons’ should be used. If preceding text established that only one son had sports bags, the singular possessive son’s would be correct.
Is an apostrophe required for: She attended the girls program?
If you listed Girls Program on an invitation, does it need an apostrophe?
If you think of the program as belonging to the girls, then write “girls’ program” or “Girls’ Program.” If you think of the word girls as an adjective describing the word program, then do not use an apostrophe. There is no right or wrong answer to this question. Please see our post Apostrophes and False Possessives for more information.
What would the plural of Dennis be? Dennises? And the plural possessive, Dennises’s?
You and your family would be the Dennises. If we were speaking of something belonging to your family, say your house, it could be the Dennises’s or the Dennises’ house. We would favor Dennises’ because that’s probably how we would pronounce it when speaking.
My name is Dennis and it drives me crazy when people write Dennis’ when referring to a singular possessive. Although it is technically acceptable, I feel that it should ALWAYS be Dennis’s.
We too would prefer Dennis’s as a first-name possessive, because that’s how most everyone would pronounce it.
There is another annoying if not downright incorrect use of “well” that is spoken and appears in text within certain communities. It is used as an adverb to modify a certain kind of verb. At first it just seems superfluous. But it’s more than that. Example: My husband loves our children well. The addition of “well” is meant to add the characteristics of (perhaps) skill, creativity, commitment—something that sets his love apart from the masses of other dads’ mundane love for their kids. When my dad passed away, a friend sent this message: Grieve well, my friend. The admonition is to do a good job of it—not mere sobbing but with significance, with heart and soul. I guess.
The use with this connotation is applied only to abstract or romantic verbs—love, serve, live, dream, worship—not everyday actions such as cook, drive, plant, clean, study. This is my first analysis of this trend and it’s difficult to pinpoint the nuances.
What is your take on this quirky use of “well”?
Please see our post How Are You—Good, Well, or Fine? for our response.
The one I get stuck on is children’s. Most people write children’s, but shouldn’t it be childrens’?
Children is the plural of child. Therefore the possessive form is children’s. Please see our Rule 2c of Apostrophes for more explanation.