Dear Commons Community,

A long-standing debate about whether simply to add an apostrophe or to add an apostrophe plus an “s” to show the possessive case when a person’s name ends in “s” has reemerged given the media popularity of Kamala Harris.

The Associated Press Stylebook says “use only an apostrophe” for singular proper names ending in “s”: Dickens’ novels, Hercules’ labors, Jesus’ life. But not everyone agrees.

Chicago Style and the Modern Language Association say add “s” as in: Mills becomes Mills’s.

The American Psychological Association (APA Style)  says add “s” to singular names ending in “s”, except if the name ends in an unpronounced “s” and then use only an apostrophe: Descartes becomes Descartes’.

The Merriam Webster Thesaurus says:  For names that end in an “s”, though, you can either add “s” or just an apostrophe such as “Jones → Jones’s car or Jones’ car.”

The bottom line is your choice but be consistent.

Tony

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