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It’s getting to that time of year again! You’ve taken a festive photograph of your family all together, you’re just about to order your holiday cards, and you panic because that apostrophe in your family’s name doesn’t look quite right.
You’re right to pause. Adding an apostrophe where there shouldn’t be one is a very common punctuation mistake when it comes to holiday cards.
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How to Make a Last Name Plural: Apostrophe or No Apostrophe?
The question you need to ask yourself when using an apostrophe in your sign-off is, am I trying to indicate possession or am I trying to make the name plural?
General Rule for Making a Surname Plural
If you are indicating that the card is sent by individuals with the same last name but not indicating possession, you would simply add an “s” to the end of the name without an apostrophe to make the name plural.
Example:
“Happy Holidays from the Browns” means the card is from people with the last name Brown, but it doesn’t indicate possession.
Last Name That Already Ends in “S”
If your surname already ends in “s” or a similar sound, it’s a little trickier. Names that end in “s” or an “s” sound often add “es” to form the plural.
Examples:
“Merry Christmas from the Williamses”
“Season’s Greetings from the Walshes”
Last Name That Ends with “Z” or “X”
Similarly, names that end in “z” or “x” often add “es” to form the plural.
Examples:
“Happy New Year from the Hernandezes”
“Happy Thanksgiving from the Foxes”
How to Show Possession
In some instances, you may want to show possession; for example, if you’re referring to something that belongs to your family.
Examples:
Plural possessive: “Welcome to the Browns’ holiday newsletter”
This is the newsletter belonging to the Brown family. (Note the placement of the apostrophe.)
Singular possessive: “Welcome to Mary Brown’s holiday newsletter”
This is the newsletter belonging to Mary Brown. (Note the placement of the apostrophe.)
Plural possessive of a name ending in “s”: “Welcome to the Williamses’ holiday newsletter”
Singular possessive of a name ending in “s”: “Welcome to Betty Williams’s holiday newsletter”
(Note: I’m using The Chicago Manual of Style as my reference guide. Other reference guides may advise an alternative way of making names like Williams possessive; for example, “Betty Williams’ holiday card.”)
Plural possessive of a name ending in “z”: “Welcome to the Hernandezes’ holiday newsletter”
Singular possessive of a name ending in “z”: “Welcome to Paul Hernandez’s holiday newsletter”
A Workaround
If you’re still doubting yourself, keep it simple. Just write Happy Holidays from…
the Brown Family
the Williams Family
the Walsh Family
the Hernandez Family
the Fox Family
Hope that helps you avoid embarrassment this holiday season! Go forth and send out your season’s greetings with confidence.
Got more questions about how to use an apostrophe? Check out this blog post on how to use an apostrophe correctly.
