I know you won’t believe me. I’m sure some of you will even be like my first 9th graders when I taught them these rules: you’ll think I’m either lying or stupid. But no. English is just weird. .
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Last time, I shared the basics that differentiate plural S from apostrophe-S (‘s). Remember that apostrophes are only used to show possession or to mark missing letters in a contraction. In most cases, when a client asks you for a family name sign, they’re asking for a sign that represents the many members of their family. This is plural (more than one), not possessive. .
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Things get a little weird when you have names that end with vowels, s, x, ch, sh, or z. Your ear wants names like “Thomas” and “Galvez” to sound clean and elegant. You’re tempted to write Thomas’ or Galvez’--BUT DON’T. Grammatically, that apostrophe makes no sense. For these names, add -es to the end to make them plural. I know “Thomases” sounds and looks weird. But it makes sense. A random apostrophe at the end of a name does not. .
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For names that end with vowels like “Mathai” or “Bailey,” add an S to make it plural. That’s it. The only situation in which you would write “Mathai’s” is if you’re showing possession. .
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There are weird exceptions, cultural preferences, and purist vs. pragmatist opinions. But one thing stays true regardless: apostrophes DO NOT show plurals. Apostrophes are only for possession and contractions. Do not embarrass yourself or your clients when you make signs or address envelopes this holiday season! .
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Because of this, I like to play it safe and just go with “The Thomas Family,” “Galvez Clan,” or just a last name. It avoids awkward conversations. My maiden name was Thomas, and I just avoided the situation altogether when I named my classroom with “English with Ms. Thomas”! .
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Including screenshots from the experts (grammar gods Strunk & White, Merriam-Webster) for the doubting Thomases out there (see what I did there?). If you look it up yourself, you can see the even stranger exceptions for Biblical, classical, and state names like Moses, Jesus, Socrates, and Kansas!
