GilmorevsGilmourWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“Gilmore” and “Gilmour” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#18,570
“Gilmore” frequency rank
#34,503
“Gilmour” frequency rank
53073
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Gilmore Gilmour
Definition A Scottish surname from Scottish Gaelic. A Scottish surname from Scottish Gaelic.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Gilmore and Gilmour apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
Gilmore
7 ch
Gilmour

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Gilmore and Gilmour are indexed as a confusable English pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53073, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Gilmore is recorded at frequency rank #18,570, classified as aname. Gilmour is at rank #34,503, tagged as aname.

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 53073, this pair ranks #151,885 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Gilmore vs Gilmour

Shared letters: gilmor. Private to "Gilmore": e. Private to "Gilmour": u.

"Gilmore" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV  ·  "Gilmour" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Gilmoreggilmore · gillmore · gilmmore · gilmoer · gilmorre · gilmroe · gilomre · gimlore
  • Gilmourggilmour · gillmour · gilmmour · gilmoru · gilmourr · gilmuor · gilomur · gimlour

Frequency comparison

Gilmore#18,570
Gilmour#34,503

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Gilmore" and "Gilmour" be used interchangeably?
No. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Which is more common, "Gilmore" or "Gilmour"?
"Gilmore" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,570 in our English list, against #34,503 for "Gilmour". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Gilmore vs Gilmour

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Gilmore” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list