Charles’ or Charles’s? Harris’ or Harris’s? Possessives of Names Ending in S

Form the possessive of a name ending in s (like Chris, Charles, Harris, or James) by adding either an apostrophe and s or just an apostrophe. Both styles are acceptable in formal writing.

Style manuals differ in their recommendations. The Chicago Manual of Style, APA Publication Manual, and MLA Handbook recommend adding an apostrophe and another s, consistent with how possessives in general are formed.

The AP Stylebook and AMA Manual of Style recommend adding just an apostrophe and no additional s (like you would with plural nouns).

Additional S only if pronounced

An alternative style is to add another s after the apostrophe only if the additional letter would actually be pronounced while speaking. For example, many people pronounce the possessive of Chris, Jesus, or Dickens without an extra s sound.

But possessives of names like Harris and Dennis generally are pronounced with an additional s sound. An apostrophe and s are then added to the spelling of the possessive.

Possessives of names ending in a silent S

The possessive of a name ending in a silent, unpronounced s can also be formed either by adding an apostrophe and another s or just an apostrophe. The Chicago Manual of Style recommends adding an s after the apostrophe.

Other style manuals, such as the APA Publication Manual and the AP Stylebook, suggest adding only an apostrophe (and no additional s).

The s of the possessive is still pronounced in speech.

Possessives of biblical and classical names

By convention, possessives of biblical and classical names two syllables or longer and ending in s are formed by simply adding an apostrophe, instead of an apostrophe and another s.

Such exceptions, however, are going out of style. The Chicago Manual of Style and MLA Handbook, for instance, now recommend adding an apostrophe and s to form the possessive of all singular nouns, including Jesus: Jesus’s teachings.

Possessives of names ending in X or Z

Possessives of names ending in sibilant sounds like x or z are formed as usual: by adding an apostrophe and s. This is the style recommended by major style guides like the Chicago Manual of Style and AP Stylebook.

Possessives of plural family names

To form the possessive of a plural name (i.e., to refer to a family), first form the plural and then add an apostrophe after the final s. The plural of a family name ending in s is formed by adding es: Williams becomes Williamses, Harris becomes Harrises. The apostrophe that marks the possessive then goes after the final s.

Similarly, if a name ends in x, z, sh, or other sibilant sound, add es to form its plural, and then place an apostrophe after the final s to form the possessive of this plural name.

Form plurals of other names not ending in a sibilant sound like s by adding just s, not es: the Smiths, the Dalys, the Patels, the Garcias. Then, to form the possessive, simply add an apostrophe after the final s, as you would with any other plural word.

Possessives of country and place names ending in S

To form the possessive of a country or place name that ends in s, follow the same rules as those for people’s names: add either an apostrophe and another s or just an apostrophe, depending on the style you follow.

If a place or country name is plural (like the United States), simply add an apostrophe at the end (without an additional s).

Examples from published content

Here are some examples that show how possessives of names ending in s can be formed by adding an apostrophe and another s.

And here are some sentences that show how names ending in s can be made possessive simply by adding an apostrophe.