Make your last name plural
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Every December some family signs its card “The Smith’s”, which, read literally, means one Smith owns something and forgot to say what. A last name never takes an apostrophe to become plural: it’s the Smiths, the Joneses and the Martinezes. Type yours above and this page gives you the plural, a sign-off for the card and the reason it’s right. It uses the rules Merriam-Webster, the MLA and Reader’s Digest give (the links are under Sources). It’s free, there’s no sign-up, and the name you type stays in your browser.
The 30 most common U.S. last names, made plural
In order, from the Census Bureau’s 2010 list. 14 of these 30 take -es.
| Last name | On the card |
|---|---|
| Smith | The Smiths |
| Johnson | The Johnsons |
| Williams | The Williamses |
| Brown | The Browns |
| Jones | The Joneses |
| Garcia | The Garcias |
| Miller | The Millers |
| Davis | The Davises |
| Rodriguez | The Rodriguezes |
| Martinez | The Martinezes |
| Hernandez | The Hernandezes |
| Lopez | The Lopezes |
| Gonzalez | The Gonzalezes |
| Wilson | The Wilsons |
| Anderson | The Andersons |
| Last name | On the card |
|---|---|
| Thomas | The Thomases |
| Taylor | The Taylors |
| Moore | The Moores |
| Jackson | The Jacksons |
| Martin | The Martins |
| Lee | The Lees |
| Perez | The Perezes |
| Thompson | The Thompsons |
| White | The Whites |
| Harris | The Harrises |
| Sanchez | The Sanchezes |
| Clark | The Clarks |
| Ramirez | The Ramirezes |
| Lewis | The Lewises |
| Robinson | The Robinsons |
The rule, in four lines
- Most names add -s: the Smiths, the Kims, the Nguyens.
- Names ending in s, x, z, ch or sh add -es: the Joneses, the Foxes, the Perezes, the Lynches, the Walshes.
- Names ending in y keep the y and add -s: the Kennedys, never the Kennedies. The spelling of a name doesn’t change, so it’s the Goodmans and the Wolfs too.
- Never an apostrophe to make a plural. An apostrophe means something belongs to someone, and then it goes after the plural: the Joneses’ house.
The exceptions
- A ch that sounds like k takes just -s: the Bachs.
- A silent x takes just -s: the Boudreauxs. If that looks like a typo, write The Boudreaux Family.
- A silent s: the guides we read don’t settle it. The Dubois Family is the way out.
- A hyphenated or two-word name: this tool changes only the last word (the Smith-Joneses, the Van Burens).
- Two families on one card: each gets its own plural (the Smiths and the Joneses), or sign your first names.
About 1 in 5 Americans need -es
We counted the 162,253 last names in the Census Bureau’s 2010 list, weighted by how many people carry each one. 21.4% of the people on that list, about 57 million, have a last name ending in s, x, z, ch or sh. Of the 100 most common last names in the country, 43 take -es, including Williams, Jones, Davis, Rodriguez, Martinez and Hernandez. So if your family’s plural looks wrong to you, you have a lot of company.
How we counted: by the last letters of each name, using the Bureau’s published list of every name that appears at least 100 times, which covers 90% of people with a last name in the 2010 Census. Names ending in -ch or a silent x, which may take plain -s, are 0.9% of the people counted. Leave them out and it’s still 20.5%.
Christmas cards made from your photos
How to sign a Christmas card
Need the words before the name? Here are Christmas card messages by who’s getting the card.
- A family with one last name: Merry Christmas from the Joneses!
- A family on first names: Love, Jim, Kate, Mia and Theo.
- Two last names in one house: Love, Sam Lee and Priya Patel. Or The Lee-Patel Family.
- Someone you don’t know well: Warm wishes, the Joneses.
- On the envelope: The Jones Family. Nobody has to think.
Sources
We read each of these on November 9, 2026. If one changes, or we got your name wrong, write to support@winding.ai and we’ll fix it.
- Merriam-Webster on plural and possessive names: merriam-webster.com/grammar/what-happens-to-names-when-we-make-them-plural-or-possessive
- MLA Style Center on family names ending in s: style.mla.org/plurals-possessives-names/
- Thesaurus.com on pluralizing last names: thesaurus.com/articles/plural-last-name
- Reader’s Digest on plural last names, including silent x: rd.com/article/plural-last-name/
- English Grammar Revolution on names ending in a hard ch: english-grammar-revolution.com/last-name-plural.html
- StyleBlueprint on silent x and ch names: styleblueprint.com/everyday/a-common-mistake-at-weddings-and-on-holiday-cards/
- Universidad de Piura on plurals of Spanish surnames: udep.edu.pe/castellanoactual/?p=21194
- U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 surnames file: www2.census.gov/topics/genealogy/2010surnames/names.zip and report: www2.census.gov/topics/genealogy/2010surnames/surnames.pdf
How it works
- Pick a cardPilots, mermaids, rock stars, one very surprised cake. Every one shows a real example first.
- Add their photosOne clear face each, up to 5 people. A selfie is fine. No sign-up.
- See it free, then payOne picture of them in the card in about 10 seconds. Like it? Apple Pay or Google Pay, and four pictures arrive about 20 seconds later, the video in about 90.
What it costs
One card, or 10 a month. Full refund if you don’t love it.
Is it the Smiths or the Smith’s?
The Smiths. An apostrophe shows that something belongs to someone, so “the Smith’s” means one Smith owns something. For a whole family signing a card, add -s and nothing else.
How do you make a last name ending in s plural?
Add -es: the Joneses, the Williamses, the Davises. It looks strange and it’s right. If you can’t stand it, write The Jones Family, which is never wrong.
What about last names ending in z, like Martinez?
In English, add -es: the Martinezes, the Perezes. Merriam-Webster gives “the Fernandezes” as its example. In Spanish a surname can stay as it is (los García), so if that’s how your family says it, sign it that way.
How do you sign a Christmas card from the whole family?
“Merry Christmas from the Joneses!” is the short way. “Love, Jim, Kate, Mia and Theo” is the warm way. “The Jones Family” works on any envelope and spares you the plural altogether.
Do you save the name I type?
No. The tool runs in your browser, so the name you type isn’t sent to us and isn’t in our analytics.
By HiWith (Winding AI, Inc.) · support@winding.ai · Updated