Bostonian

/bɒsˈtəʊniən/

//bɒsˈtəʊniən// noun

"bostonian" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Bostonian” is uncommon English (frequency #77,473 among 31,241 “B” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#77,473
frequency rank, English
31,241
“B” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A person who was born in or who lives in Boston, Massachusetts.

Corpus desk

Index EN-bostonian · Bostonian · English

Bostonian · rank #77,473 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #77,473
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 31,241
  • PHOTO-FINISH boulanger

Nearest frequency peer: boulanger (+2 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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “Bostonian”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “Bostonian” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of May 6, 2026
Key facts for Bostonian
PropertyValue
HeadwordBostonian
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/bɒsˈtəʊniən/
Letters9
Frequency rank#77,473
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “Bostonian” 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). Bostonian lands here:

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

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

Rare enough to double-check

Bostonian is uncommon English at frequency #77,473 among 31,241 “B” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /bɒsˈtəʊniən/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Bostonian doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Boston + -ian. The correct English form is Bostonian, spelled B-O-S-T-O-N-I-A-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    A person who was born in or who lives in Boston, Massachusetts.
  2. 2
    A person who was born in or who lives in Boston, Lincolnshire.

Etymology

From Boston + -ian.

This word in other languages

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Bostonian"?
"Bostonian" is spelled B-O-S-T-O-N-I-A-N. The IPA pronunciation is /bɒsˈtəʊniən/.
What does "Bostonian" mean?
As a noun, "Bostonian" means: A person who was born in or who lives in Boston, Massachusetts.
How do you pronounce "Bostonian"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Bostonian" is /bɒsˈtəʊniən/. 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 "Bostonian"?
From Boston + -ian. 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 "Bostonian", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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