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Family Name Pluralization
What is the plural of Santa Claus? It would be Santa Clauses, right? I started with Santa Claus' but that's obviously not correct.
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5Santae Clausen?– JeffSaholCommented Nov 11, 2011 at 14:46
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6Santas Claus? Fathers Christmas?– HugoCommented Nov 11, 2011 at 15:53
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6There is only one Santa Claus. The simulacra you see at malls everywhere are impostors, who promise toys but don't deliver. I know this from bitter experience.– RobustoCommented Nov 11, 2011 at 17:13
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@Robusto - May I disagree? My local shopping mall always hires three Santa Clauses to work different shifts over the Christmas period.– user16269Commented Aug 8, 2012 at 11:49
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This question is not a duplicate of the linked one; the "Claus" in "Santa Claus" did not originate as a surname, even if some English speakers have re-parsed it as one. Therefore, it's not clear if rules for surname pluralization should apply in this case.– herissonCommented Oct 1, 2015 at 0:48
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2 Answers
The plural of Santa Claus is Santa Clauses. See this guide on unusual plurals for example.
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1But that's the same as the plural of 'Santa clause'. Commented Nov 11, 2011 at 15:14
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1I was thinking of a heading or a title - or speech. Commented Nov 11, 2011 at 15:18
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4@BarrieEngland, why does that matter in this particular case? (Stones and Stones can be a tittle of an article about angry fans throwing stones at Rolling Stones)– UnreasonCommented Nov 11, 2011 at 15:49
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1@Unreason: I don't think it does matter. I was being gerish. Commented Nov 11, 2011 at 15:55
Santa Clauses. Since Santa Claus is a proper noun, it's capitalized, thus differentiating it from Santa clauses, which is maybe where you're getting confused. Other than that, it's up to your discretion to make the distinction. That's the English language for you...
