...the plural of the word person:

a. persons
b. people
c. personae
d. personal

...would be a. persons


As in The Mikado, Act I:

KO. Allow me to present you, Pooh-Bah. These are my three wards. The one in the middle is my bride elect.

POOH. What do you want me to do to them? Mind, I will not kiss them.

KO. No, no, you shan't kiss them; a little bow--a mere nothing--you needn't mean it, you know.

POOH. It goes against the grain. They are not young ladies, they are young persons.

---------

Quite the opposite, it would seem, of the OED definition in which
" person denotes 'rank or character' and also says 'an individual of high rank, distinction or importance.' " a "personage of noble rank and title," as Gilbert had said earlier.

A sense of irony has apparently developed over time.