Which to use
“McDonald” and “McDonald's” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,083
- “McDonald” frequency rank
- #8,315
- “McDonald's” frequency rank
- 18398
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | McDonald | McDonald's |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A surname from Scottish Gaelic. | A widespread chain of fast food restaurants. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set McDonald and McDonald's apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. McDonald (/məkˈdɒnəld/) and McDonald's (/məkˈdɒnəldz/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “McDonald” sits inside “McDonald's”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18398, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
McDonald is recorded at frequency rank #10,083, classified as aname, pronounced /məkˈdɒnəld/. McDonald's is at rank #8,315, tagged as aname, pronounced /məkˈdɒnəldz/.
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 18398, this pair ranks #445,168 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of McDonald vs McDonald's
Shared letters: acdlmno. Private to "McDonald": -. Private to "McDonald's": s.
"McDonald" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCVCC · "McDonald's" · 9 letters · shape CCCVCVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- McDonald ← cmdonald · mccdonald · mcddonald · mcdnoald · mcdoanld · mcdonadl · mcdonaldd · mcdonalld
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "McDonald" and "McDonald's" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "McDonald" or "McDonald's"?
Remembering McDonald vs McDonald's
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 “McDonald” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable