Which to use
“name” and “names” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #220
- “name” frequency rank
- #1,314
- “names” frequency rank
- 1534
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | name | names |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Any nounal word or phrase which indicates a particular person, place, class, or thing. | plural of name |
Where the eye mixes name and names
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. name (/neɪm/) and names (/neɪmz/) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “name” sits inside “names”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1534, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
name is recorded at frequency rank #220, classified as anoun, pronounced /neɪm/. names is at rank #1,314, tagged as anoun, pronounced /neɪmz/.
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 1534, this pair ranks #527,235 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of name vs names
Shared letters: aemn. Private to "name": -. Private to "names": s.
"name" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "names" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC