Which to use
“Wilkie” and “Willis” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #37,286
- “Wilkie” frequency rank
- #11,496
- “Willis” frequency rank
- 48782
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Wilkie | Willis |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A surname originating as a patronymic. | An English surname originating as a patronymic from the name Will. |
Letter map: Wilkie vs Willis
Shared letters muted; letters that set Wilkie and Willis apart highlighted. Shared run: 4. Wilkie (CVCCVV) and Willis (CVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Spelling & dictionary notes on Wilkie vs Willis
Wilkie and Willis are indexed as a confusable English pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48782, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Wilkie is recorded at frequency rank #37,286, classified as aname. Willis is at rank #11,496, tagged as aname, pronounced /ˈwɪlɪs/.
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 48782, this pair ranks #189,819 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Wilkie vs Willis
Shared letters: ilw. Private to "Wilkie": ek. Private to "Willis": s.
"Wilkie" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV · "Willis" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Wilkie" for "Willis" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "Wilkie" or "Willis" show up more?
Useful next steps
You've compared "Wilkie" and "Willis". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "Wilkie" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Willis" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #189,819 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Wilkie" and "Willis" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "wile vs Wilkie". 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 #189,819 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.