wigginsvsWilkinsWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: wiggins is a noun, Wilkins is a name, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“wiggins” is a noun and “Wilkins” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#19,253
“wiggins” frequency rank
#19,254
“Wilkins” frequency rank
38507
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature wiggins Wilkins
Definition The creeps; a feeling of fear or anxiety. A surname originating as a patronymic.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set wiggins and Wilkins apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
wiggins
7 ch
Wilkins

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: wiggins is anoun and Wilkinsaname. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38507, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

wiggins is recorded at frequency rank #19,253, classified as anoun. Wilkins is at rank #19,254, tagged as aname, pronounced /ˈwɪlkɪnz/.

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 38507, this pair ranks #285,324 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of wiggins vs Wilkins

Shared letters: insw. Private to "wiggins": g. Private to "Wilkins": kl.

"wiggins" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC  ·  "Wilkins" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • wigginsiwggins · wgigins · wigginns · wigginss · wiggisn · wiggnis · wigigns · wigins
  • Wilkinsiwlkins · wiklins · wilikns · wilkinns · wilkinss · wilkisn · wilkkins · wilknis

Frequency comparison

wiggins#19,253
Wilkins#19,254

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "wiggins" and "Wilkins" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "wiggins" is a noun and "Wilkins" a name, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "wiggins" or "Wilkins"?
"wiggins" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,253 in our English list, against #19,254 for "Wilkins". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering wiggins vs Wilkins

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “wiggins”; for a name, it's “Wilkins”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “wiggins” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list