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Plural of Census

by Craig Shrives

The Quick Answer

The plural of "census" is "censuses," despite its Latin origins.

The Plural of Census

The plural of "census" is "censuses." "Census" derives from Latin, but the Latin plural "census" (with a long "oo" sound for the "u") is not used. "Censi" (which some people think is the Latin plural) has never been a plural form.

Censuses were originally the only method of collecting national demographic data.
Population censuses rely on a sampling frame to count the population.

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The Standard Rules for Forming the Plurals

The table below shows the standard rules for forming the plurals of nouns in English.

Type	Example of Type	Forming the Plural	Plural
Most Nouns	lamp scythe	add s	lamps scythes
Noun Ending s, sh, ch, x or z	dress census	add es	dresses censuses (Unlike some words with foreign stems (e.g., nucleus with the plural "nuclei"), "census" forms its plural using the standard rules of English.)
Nouns ending [consonant] o	hero zero tomato	add either s or es (There are no rules for this - you have to know.)	heroes zeros tomatoes
Nouns ending [vowel] o	patio ratio	add s	patios ratios
Nouns ending [consonant] y	story penny	change the y to an i and add es	stories pennies
Nouns ending [vowel] y	donkey chimney	add s	donkeys chimneys
Nouns ending f or fe	dwarf hoof	ves and/or s (There are no rules - you have to know.)	dwarfs hooves or hoofs
Exceptions	man louse	some nouns undergo a vowel or letters change	men lice
More exceptions	salmon sheep	some nouns do not change at all	salmon sheep
Foreign rulings	census medium	some nouns adopt foreign rulings	~~census~~ (The Latin plural "census" (with a long u) is not used.) media

Why Is There Confusion over the Plural of Census?

The rules for pluralizing Latin nouns (like "census") are inconsistent. For example:

Some retain their Latin plural:

stimulus becomes "stimuli"
nucleus becomes "nuclei"

Some have dropped their Latin plural:

referendum becomes "referendums"
datum becomes "datums"

Some use both plurals:

syllabus becomes "syllabuses" or "syllabi"
formula becomes "formulas" or "formulae"

"Census" falls into the second category. It has dropped its Latin plural.

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Suitable for: Teachers, advanced students, and business writers.

Description: Published by London's Octopus Publishing, "Smashing Grammar" is the third, and most comprehensive, grammar reference book written by Craig Shrives (the founder of the Grammar-Monster.com). It is divided into three sections: