I was talking about this recently with my brother Greg, but I can't remember exactly why. Anyway, here are the rules from EditPros, citing Chicago Manual of Style and the AP Stylebook. Do I win a buck from Leigh? I always remember it by thinking "keeping up with the Joneses."
(Sometimes people announce the arrival of George and his brother by saying "The Freemen are here." Manifestly untrue as to one.)
Plural for names ending in 's'
The AP and Chicago stylebooks are in agreement here; to form plurals of common nouns as well as proper names ending in "ch," "s," "sh," "ss," "x" and "z," add "es". Examples:
"the Martinezes" and "the Williamses".Plural possessive for names ending in 's'
The AP and Chicago manuals agree that the plural possessive of proper nouns ending in "s" is formed by adding only an apostrophe to the plural form. The Chicago manual shows these examples:
"The Rosses' and the Williamses' lands" and "the Joneses' reputation".The Chicago Manual of Style and the Associated Press (AP) Stylebook offer differing recommendations regarding possessive forms of proper names ending in "s".
Possessive for singular names ending in 's'
AP (which is applicable for newsletters and news releases) endorses adding only an apostrophe (thus, the possessive of Gus is Gus' and for Williams it is Williams'—regardless of the first letter of the word that follows.
Example: "That is Gus' shovel and this is Dave Williams' wheelbarrow."
In contrast, the Chicago stylebook recommends addition of an apostrophe and an "s".
Example: "That is Gus's shovel and this is Dave Williams's wheelbarrow."
The Chicago manual does makes exceptions specifically for Jesus, Moses and multisyllabic names that have unaccented "eez"-sounding endings. Examples:
"in Jesus' name"
"Moses' leadership"
"Euripedes' plays".
The Chicago manual leaves room for additional interpretation, adding that the second "s" may be dropped if dictated by "tradition and euphony"—in other words, when the following word begins with a sibilant sound, as in "for righteousness' sake".
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