Which to use
“Philip” and “Phillips” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,473
- “Philip” frequency rank
- #6,820
- “Phillips” frequency rank
- 11293
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Philip | Phillips |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | One of the twelve disciples of Jesus in the Bible; one of the seven deacons. | A surname originating as a patronymic derived from Philip. |
Where the eye mixes Philip and Phillips
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses Philip with Phillips
A purely visual mix-up. Philip (/ˈfɪlɪp/) and Phillips (/ˈfɪlɪps/) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11293, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Philip is recorded at frequency rank #4,473, classified as aname, pronounced /ˈfɪlɪp/. Phillips is at rank #6,820, tagged as aname, pronounced /ˈfɪlɪps/.
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 11293, this pair ranks #487,840 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Philip vs Phillips
Shared letters: hilp. Private to "Philip": -. Private to "Phillips": s.
"Philip" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC · "Phillips" · 8 letters · shape CCVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Philip" for "Phillips" ever safe?
Frequency check: "Philip" vs "Phillips" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Philip" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Phillips" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #487,840 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Philip" and "Phillips" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Philip vs Philippa". 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 #487,840 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.