Making Family Names Plural

Sunday, January 27, 2013




Making family names plural doesn't follow the same logic as plural forms of regular words. My recent post about in-laws proves that fact, but there's more. Let's talk about family names in general:

For instance, the word lily (the flower) in its plural form is lilies. If there is a family with the last name Lily you would refer to them as the Lilys.

Jessica loves the fragrant aroma of lilies (the flower).
The Lilys (the family) are coming over for dinner tonight.


Other plural forms change too. For example, a nobleman is a man who belongs to the noble class and its plural is noblemen. What if you had the Nobleman family coming to your house for dinner? What would you say?

The Noblemans are coming over for dinner tonight. (Note there is no apostrophe s.)

Some names need an "es" to become plural, specifically names that end in s, x, z, ch, and sh:

The Joneses gave me some herbs from their garden. (Family name - Jones)
The Waxes go to Hawaii every winter. (Family name - Wax)
The Gomezes brought home a new puppy. (Family name - Gomez)
The Furches are moving to Newport Beach, California. (Family name - Furch)
The Ashes have a new grandchild. (Family name - Ash)

This rule also applies to brand names too:

Sony Walkman --> Sony Walkmans (plural), not Walkmen
Blackberry --> Blackberrys (plural), not Blackberries

What is your last name in the plural form?

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