A Festive Guide to the Pluralisation of Surnames

Posted on by thelanguaginglab
A Festive Guide to the Pluralisation of Surnames

中文

It is once again that time of the year when we, almost as if it were by default, have Mariah Carey, Wham!, Michael Bublé, and many, many other artists sing in relays to spread the contagious festivity. It may be a rather fretful period of time if you are one of those “unpopular” ones who (are trying to) stay crotchety about Christmas when literally every single creature and feature around you are spirited – just look at that tiny dog of your neighbour’s in his teeny elfin onesie! Regardless of how motivated, nay, eager you are to become Victor Meldrew or how extraordinary a need you feel there is to exclaim “Bah! Humbug!”; don’t “argh” in horror, if you will, but give that innocent four-legged furry ball the (patronising, if you must) “aww” he deserves, please.

Grumpy Cat being naturally grumpy for Christmas
Grumpy Cat being naturally grumpy for Christmas (Fun Facts 2.0, 2013)

In the endeavour to add a bit of zest and piquancy to the otherwise irritable end of the year for the sake of humanity, I would suggest that you should consider sipping or sniffing (Editor’s note: No judgement here but please just down it, will you?) some (non-alcoholic) mulled wine or the variety of its close relatives and friends namely Baileys, Rossini, hot gin cocktail, port, prosecco, et cetera, et cetera. It might not stop you from contemplating Christmassy abominations, but at least it is going to have you deliciously distracted or even possibly make you squeeze that rare but suitably respectable smile at the dinner table all boils down to a simple fact that you just swigged a mouthful of your quencher with relish.

Personally, this approach to festivity works perfectly to me from whichever point I find myself across the spectrum of mood to proactively ho-ho-hold on to the sparkles and tinsel…except for one very time. It was a December when I appreciated season’s greetings all round. I was making my drink in slightly frenzied haste for I had got a few cards to read and reply to. There was nothing strenuous in the room apparently – the glass of something was gratifyingly simple to make, the handmade cards were a great joy to read and indeed to touch for they had got some rather unique texture and feel. It was, however, when the alien apostrophe took over the stage the joyousness was flawed and my zing was smitten.

Domestic Goddess Nigella smiling jubilantly with her Christmas Martini
Domestic Goddess Nigella smiling jubilantly with her Christmas Martini (BBC, 2018)

When signing greetings cards off collectively as a family, we follow the stringent rules of pluralising the family name (i.e., surname, last name) instead of making it possessive. For instance, Nigella Lawson would use “The Lawsons” and – fat chance! – Ebenezer Scrooge would use “The Scrooges”; whereas “The Lawson’s” and “The Scrooge’s” would only cause too much of a disappointment (Editor’s note: I might forgive Scrooge. Bless him!).

Tom Daley is here to bring festive greetings from the whole family of three
Tom Daley is here to bring festive greetings from the whole family of three (MBBlog, 2016)

Pluralising surnames that end in “y”, including Daley, Marley, and Berry, can also be executed by simply adding “-s” to the name. This means you don’t have to go an extra mile and change the “y” into “ies”!

That is:

• Daley > The Daleys
• Marley > The Marleys
• Berry > The Berrys

For surnames ending in “s”, for example, Jones, Andrews, and Williams; “z”, such as Fernandez, Rodriguez, and Cruz; or “x”, like Fox, Cox, and Lennox, simply add “-es” to make them plural.

That is:

• Jones > The Joneses
• Andrews > The Andrewses
• Williams > The Williamses
• Fernandez > The Fernandezes
• Rodriguez > The Rodrigues
• Cruz > The Cruzes
• Fox > The Foxes
• Cox > The Coxes
• Lennox > The Lennoxes

Perhaps the muppet was one of Dame Julie Andrews’s favourite things
Perhaps the muppet was one of Dame Julie Andrews’s favourite things (Disco Bob, n.d.)

Similarly, for names that end in “sh” and “ch”, think Cash, Fish, and Marsh; Church, Mitch, and Rich, they also deserve an “-es” in their plural faces.

That is:

• Cash > The Cashes
• Fish > The Fishes
• Marsh > The Marshes
• Church > The Churches
• Mitch > The Mitches
• Rich > The Riches

A final note before I sign off and indulge in my spiced biscuits – Forget about irregular nouns when we talk names! Let’s look at (not literally) the English modernist writer, Virginia Woolf, and the American author, Charles Fenno Hoffman. Considering their last names as an irregular noun, Woolf would be Woolves (think wolf-wolves) and Hoffman Hoffmen; however, in names, they are, in effect, names, so by following the definite rules explained above, they would sign their Christmas cards as “The Woolfs” and “The Hoffmans”.

Simply put, if the surname ends in:

• s, x, z, ch, sh … add … -es
• something else … add … -s

If this is still too much for you, fear not, simply insert the exact surname in the blank to make it appropriate for signing the card – “The ______ Family”.

The Languaging Lab wishes you a Happy Christmas and a Wonderful New Year!

Edison Tam MA MCIL CL is a Translator, Proofreader, and Copyeditor (zh-hk/en) who works with students, independent non-fiction writers, academic researchers, and clients from businesses and organisations of all sizes.

He is Chartered Linguist and Member of the Chartered Institute of Linguists (CIOL), and has undergone wide-ranging academic training in Business, Modern Languages, and Applied Linguistics in Hong Kong, London, and Barcelona.

Sources

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