Alloa

/ˈæloʊə/

//ˈæloʊə// name

"alloa" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Alloa” is an uncommon English word, ranked #54,606 in English word frequency and used as a proper noun.

#54,606
frequency rank, English
5
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A town which is the administrative centre of Clackmannanshire council area, Scotland, and was the county town of the historic county of Clackmannanshire between 1822 and 1975 (OS grid ref NS8893).

Key facts for Alloa
PropertyValue
HeadwordAlloa
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/ˈæloʊə/
Letters5
Frequency rank#54,606
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “Alloa” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). Alloa lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for Alloa is 5 letters long, classified as a proper noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈæloʊə/. Corpus data places it at rank #54,606 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "A town which is the administrative centre of Clackmannanshire council area, Scotland, and was the county town of the historic county of Clackmannanshire between 1822 and 1975 (OS grid ref NS8893).".

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for Alloa, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Scottish Gaelic Alamhagh. The correct English form is Alloa, spelled A-L-L-O-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    A town which is the administrative centre of Clackmannanshire council area, Scotland, and was the county town of the historic county of Clackmannanshire between 1822 and 1975 (OS grid ref NS8893).

Etymology

From Scottish Gaelic Alamhagh.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Alloa"?
"Alloa" is spelled A-L-L-O-A. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈæloʊə/.
What does "Alloa" mean?
As a proper noun, "Alloa" means: A town which is the administrative centre of Clackmannanshire council area, Scotland, and was the county town of the historic county of Clackmannanshire between 1822 and 1975 (OS grid ref NS8893).
How do you pronounce "Alloa"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Alloa" is /ˈæloʊə/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "Alloa"?
From Scottish Gaelic Alamhagh. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “Alloa”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is A-L-L-O-A - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈæloʊə/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list