Barthes

name

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"barthes" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Barthes” is uncommon English (frequency #70,482 among 4,121 “B” headwords), classed as a proper noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#70,482
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A surname from French.

Corpus desk

Index EN-barthes · Barthes · English

Barthes · rank #70,482 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #70,482
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH Bartok

Nearest frequency peer: Bartok (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “Barthes”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “Barthes” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for Barthes
PropertyValue
HeadwordBarthes
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
Letters7
Frequency rank#70,482
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “Barthes” in English

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

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “Bartok” (#70,483), “Baddeley” (#70,479), “battler” (#70,485). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “Barthes” is #70,482. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

Barthes is uncommon English at frequency #70,482 among 4,121 “B” headwords, classed as aproper noun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A surname from French.".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for Barthes, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French Barthes/Barthès, itself from Occitan. The correct English form is Barthes, spelled B-A-R-T-H-E-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    A surname from French.

Etymology

Borrowed from French Barthes/Barthès, itself from Occitan.

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 "Barthes"?
"Barthes" is spelled B-A-R-T-H-E-S.
What does "Barthes" mean?
As a proper noun, "Barthes" means: A surname from French.
What is the origin of the word "Barthes"?
Borrowed from French Barthes/Barthès, itself from Occitan. 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "Barthes", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

battler#70,485Beeston#70,492Benares#70,495beshear#70,499

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list