Which to use
“Williams” and “Willis” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,188
- “Williams” frequency rank
- #11,496
- “Willis” frequency rank
- 13684
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Williams | Willis |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A surname. | An English surname originating as a patronymic from the name Will. |
Where the eye mixes Williams and Willis
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses Williams with Willis
A purely visual mix-up. Williams (/ˈwɪli.əmz/) and Willis (/ˈwɪlɪs/) 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 13684, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Williams is recorded at frequency rank #2,188, classified as aname, pronounced /ˈwɪli.əmz/. 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 13684, this pair ranks #474,406 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Williams vs Willis
Shared letters: ilsw. Private to "Williams": am. Private to "Willis": -.
"Williams" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVVCC · "Willis" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Williams" and "Willis" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary English text, does "Williams" or "Willis" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "Williams" and "Willis" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Williams" 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 #474,406 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Williams" and "Willis" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Willey vs Willis". 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 #474,406 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.