Which to use
“tilly” is a noun and “Timmy” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #31,380
- “tilly” frequency rank
- #19,486
- “Timmy” frequency rank
- 50866
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tilly | Timmy |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | An extra product given to a customer at no additional charge; a lagniappe. | A diminutive of the male given name Timothy. |
Where the eye mixes tilly and Timmy
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: tilly vs Timmy
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: tilly is /ˈtɪli/ while Timmy is /ˈtɪmi/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs name), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50866, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tilly is recorded at frequency rank #31,380, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈtɪli/. Timmy is at rank #19,486, tagged as aname, pronounced /ˈtɪmi/.
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 50866, this pair ranks #170,456 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of tilly vs Timmy
Shared letters: ity. Private to "tilly": l. Private to "Timmy": m.
"tilly" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "Timmy" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "tilly" for "Timmy" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "tilly" or "Timmy" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "tilly" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Timmy" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #170,456 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tilly" and "Timmy" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tilly vs tulle". 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 #170,456 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.