When making your last name plural, you don't need to add an apostrophe! The apostrophe makes the name possessive. The last letter of your last name will determine if you add an “-s” or an “-es”. If your last name ends in -s, -z, -ch, -sh, or -x, you add -es to your last name to make it plural.
Don't use an apostrophe to make your last name plural. Apostrophes can be used to show possession—à la the Smithsʼ house or Tim Johnsonʼs pad— but they don't indicate there's more than one person in your family.
The Smiths is plural for "Smith" and means there is more than one person named Smith and the invitation is from them all. When in doubt, we like to use "The Smith Family". The Smith's (with an apostrophe before the s) is the possessive of "Smith" and indicates one person ownership.
In most cases, you only have to add an s to the end of their entire last name—even if the last letter is y. So the Smith family becomes the Smiths, the Angelo family becomes the Angelos, and the Perry family becomes the Perrys.
To show the possessive form for a person's name ending in S, you either add an apostrophe and S ('s) or just an apostrophe ('). The rule depends on the house style manual you're following. For example, Jones can be Jones' or Jones's. James can be James' or James's.
According to English style guides, singular possessives are formed with –'s and plurals with just an apostrophe, so the possessive of the singular Jones is Jones's and of the plural Joneses is Joneses'.
The Associated Press Stylebook recommends just an apostrophe: It's Tennessee Williams' best play. But most other authorities endorse 's: Williams's. Williams's means “belonging to Williams.” It is not the plural form of Williams. People's names become plural the way most other words do.
Possessives. Form the possessive case of a singular noun by adding 's (even if the word ends in s). Form the possessive case of a plural noun by adding an apostrophe after the final letter if it is an s or by adding 's if the final letter is not an s. Remember: the apostrophe never designates the plural form of a noun.
Use the apostrophe + s after the second name if two people possess the same item. Otherwise, use an apostrophe after each name. Never use an apostrophe with possessive pronouns: his, hers, its, theirs, ours, yours, whose.
If your last name is Johnson and you want to send a card from your family, simply add an "s": The Johnsons ("Merry Christmas from the Johnsons!"). Only use an apostrophe when you want to make a name possessive. ("From The Smith's" is always wrong, but "The party is at the Smiths' house" is correct.)
If a name is singular but ends in an “s,” you always add an apostrophe after the name to show possession, but you can also add another “s” after the apostrophe if you prefer (e.g., Jess' office OR Jess's office). If the name is plural, simply add an apostrophe at the end to show possession (e.g., the Jones' new baby).
Avoid these errors by heeding this most basic rule: Apostrophes don't form plurals. To make a proper name into a plural, simply add S or ES. Mr. Smith plus Mrs.
Let's say your last name is Miller.
When you use the apostrophe, that indicates possession, i.e. the wedding that belongs to Mr. and Mrs. Miller would be “The Miller's wedding.” Or “The Miller's house” to indicate the house belonging to the Miller family. You get the idea.
Phillips (countable and uncountable, plural Phillipses)
The plural form of mary is marys. Find more words!
When using a singular noun, the apostrophe is used before the s. For example: “The squirrel's nuts were stashed in a hollow tree.” When using a plural noun, the apostrophe goes after the s. For example: “The squirrels' nuts were hidden in several hollow trees throughout the forest.”
Plural names are simply created using a simple addition of an -s to the end of the name. This is used to show multiple members of the same family. Possessive names are created by adding an apostrophe -s to the end of the name to show ownership of something.
Families Is Plural
When two or more families get together, we have lots–or plural. If all those families together own something, we just add an apostrophe. For instance: The Smith families' dogs.
First, make the name plural; then make it possessive. This is called plural possessive. When writing about the house of the Roberts family: We went to the Robertses' house. First I made the name plural (Robertses) then I added an apostrophe to show that I was talking about their house.
Alexis's new car is blue. According to the Chicago Manual of Style (which folks in my profession refer to as the Bible of Book Publishing), the rule is the same as any other singular possessive. You write her name with possession just like you say it: Alexis's.
For example, should you use “Adams' (2013) work” or “Adams's (2013) work”? Per APA Style, the answer is that the possessive of a singular name is formed by adding an apostrophe and an s, even when the name ends in s (see p. 96 in the sixth edition of the Publication Manual).
The Wilson's is wrong. It indicates that one person – the top Wilson of all Wilsons – possesses the house. If you wanted to indicate it was a residence belonging to the Wilson family, it would be The Wilsons'. This indicates more than one person named Wilson possesses the residence.