Embarrassed to ask but can anyone explain the rule about adding an 's' after a name ending in an 's'?

[dottypencilcase]

Exactly that- born and raised in this country but I've never quite understood the rule of how to add an 's' (denoting possession) when it comes to a name that also ends in an 's'.

So is it Harris's or Harris' or James' or James's? Please be gentle with me- I'm already feeling a bit thick!

Just add the apostrophe. Don’t add another s.

James’ bike.
Harris’ ball.

My understanding is that you always add the second s -

James's ball
Harris's bike

Do whatever you fancy and sounds right.

St James’s Park station has signs saying both James’s and James’, and no one seems to mind.

Loads of people struggle with grammar, especially apostrophes!

My understanding is that either way is fine?

I thought with names you have the choice, so you have St James’s Park in London but many people with a son of that name just add the apostrophe

Both are acceptable but, as a person with a name ending in s, I only ever add an apostrophe - never the second s.

These days, either way is accepted.

It should be James' or Harris' though.

Either rule is correct, so it’s personal preference.

I’m an English teacher and I go ‘s.

I would say “Jesus’s sandals” and pronounce the extra S, not “Jesus’ sandals”. I find the latter a bit old fashioned, personally.

Think you can use either
If you sound the extra s then it makes sense to add it after the apostrophe

@Lifesagamethentheytaketheboardaway is correct, just add the apostrophe. No need to add another ‘s’.

Either is possible, but leaving out the extra s is quite old-fashioned. The 1965 edition of Fowler's Modern English Usage says that 'it was formerly customary' to not add the extra s, and that this custom is still retained in poetic and religious contexts. But it says that in other contexts 'we now usually add the s and the syllable - always when the word is monosyllabic, and preferably when it is longer.' So that was the advice nearly 60 years ago...

It's a Q of style rather than correctness. Fowler advocated adding the s (Marcus's book) except in relation to poetic or reverential usage (Jesus' book).

I love how the very first responses completely contradict each other. 🤣

Even with just the apostrophe it would still be pronounced Jesus’s sandals (although Jesus sandals are a bad example because they are a form of footwear - James’s sandals).

If you're sounding the second 's' then write it, as in, 'Jess's parrot'. If the noun is already pluralised we don't, exemplified by, 'the girls' toilet'.
In the spirit of pedantry, this is punctuation, not grammar.

I was taught that both was fine but I use just the apostrophe.

For Biblical / classical names, I would usually just add an apostrophe:
Jesus' teachings
Socrates' ideas

For everyone else's name, it depends what mood I'm in. In an informal context I might write James's bike.

BBC bitesize lessons say this

Aaah, so many replies and differing opinions! For what it's worth, I have an A* (from when that was still a thing at GCSE) in English Language and have never struggled with apostrophes. It's just this rule that confuses me!

This is my approach.

My DD’s name ends in an s and I always write it (and say it) eg Iris’s (not her name).

I think it's a convention rather than a rule, so just do whichever you personally prefer.

I'm not going to lie- it made me feel better knowing I'm not the only one not knowing which style to go for!

This is the preferred and traditional route to take.

My surname ends in an s, think Williams. I always say and write Williams's otherwise it sounds like it belongs to William rather than to the family Williams.