Why do people pluralize family names by using an apostrophe?

[Anonymous]

Millennials

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Millennials

I'm a PP, and every single time I have seen this, it's people 40+ (though who knows how old they were when they first got the whatever it is they misspelled). Which is not to say that millennials aren't stupid too, that is abundantly evident.

[Anonymous]

Make me insane. We know one family who does it every year on their holiday card. These are highly educated people!

[Anonymous]

Because nobody bothers to learn or remember grammar anymore

-English teacher

[Anonymous]

Because they are not smart.

[Anonymous]

If you see this in a name,or in other plural words, it means the literacy level of that person is extremely low,unfortunately. It is not a "thing" that some people do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Make me insane. We know one family who does it every year on their holiday card. These are highly educated people!

No, they are not educated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Make me insane. We know one family who does it every year on their holiday card. These are highly educated people!

No, they are not educated.

It means they have the writing ability of a third grader. Seriously.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because it's a somewhat confusing grammar rule?

Who cares?

Just sign the Thomas Family then. My last name ends in a vowel and we just add Family. I know we can add an s but I just sign, " Love, the X Family".

It is not confusing....at all. An apostrophe indicates possession. An s indicates a plural. That is not hard or confusing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is such a huge pet peeve of mine. Shocked how many people don't know how to pluralize their family name. So many people also do this on Facebook.

Hanging out with the Smith's
Love, the Lancasters'
The Murphy's wish you a merry Christmas.

I'm annoying by folks referring to grades as A's and B's -- should be As and Bs. I also see a lot of people use 80's and 90's -- should be 80s and 90s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you see this in a name,or in other plural words, it means the literacy level of that person is extremely low,unfortunately. It is not a "thing" that some people do.

Incorrect use of your/you're pops up in my company emails far too frequently. I'm never sure if they're stupid or it's typos.

[Anonymous]

Ignorance. Drives me nuts as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is such a huge pet peeve of mine. Shocked how many people don't know how to pluralize their family name. So many people also do this on Facebook.

Hanging out with the Smith's
Love, the Lancasters'
The Murphy's wish you a merry Christmas.

Or: "The Biden's are staying in DC", currently trending in Political ...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you see this in a name,or in other plural words, it means the literacy level of that person is extremely low,unfortunately. It is not a "thing" that some people do.

Incorrect use of your/you're pops up in my company emails far too frequently. I'm never sure if they're stupid or it's typos.

Either way, they're stupid. Proofreading is a necessity, especially in business email.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because it's a somewhat confusing grammar rule?

Who cares?

Just sign the Thomas Family then. My last name ends in a vowel and we just add Family. I know we can add an s but I just sign, " Love, the X Family".

It is not confusing....at all. An apostrophe indicates possession. An s indicates a plural. That is not hard or confusing.

It's not entirely true that grammar includes that statement in its list of rules.