HobbsvsHomsWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#21,239
“Hobbs” frequency rank
#34,921
“Homs” frequency rank
56160
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Hobbs Homs
Definition A surname originating as a patronymic. A city, the capital of the governorate of Homs, in western Syria.

Letter map: Hobbs vs Homs

Shared letters muted; letters that set Hobbs and Homs apart highlighted. Shared run: 3.

5 ch
Hobbs
4 ch
Homs

Corpus notes: Hobbs and Homs

Hobbs and Homs 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 differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56160, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Hobbs is recorded at frequency rank #21,239, classified as aname. Homs is at rank #34,921, tagged as aname, pronounced /hɒms/.

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 56160, this pair ranks #128,257 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Hobbs vs Homs

Shared letters: hos. Private to "Hobbs": b. Private to "Homs": m.

"Hobbs" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC  ·  "Homs" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Hobbshbobs · hhobbs · hobbss · hobs · hobsb · ohbbs
  • Homshhoms · hmos · homms · homss · hosm · ohms

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Hobbs" and "Homs" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Which is more common, "Hobbs" or "Homs"?
"Hobbs" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,239 in our English list, against #34,921 for "Homs". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pair "Hobbs" vs "Homs" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Hobbs" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Homs" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #128,257 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Hobbs" and "Homs" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hoke vs Homs". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #128,257 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list