by the name of

prep_phrase

"by-the-name-of" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“by the name of” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a prep_phrase. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
14
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Having a certain name; called.

Corpus desk

Index EN-by-the-name-of · by the name of · English

by the name of · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 14 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "B" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for by the name of
PropertyValue
Headwordby the name of
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechPrep_phrase
Letters14
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “by the name of” in English

by the name ofranks outside the top 100,000 English headwords, in the long tail of specialist, archaic, or seldom-used vocabulary, exactly the territory where a reader stops mid-sentence to double-check spelling.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

by the name of is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as aprep_phrase. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Having a certain name; called.".

No misspelling variants are generated for by the name of in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct English form is by the name of, spelled B-Y- -T-H-E- -N-A-M-E- -O-F.

Definition

  1. 1
    Having a certain name; called.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how by the name of appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. A woman by the name of Jill.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "by the name of"?
"by the name of" is spelled B-Y- -T-H-E- -N-A-M-E- -O-F.
What does "by the name of" mean?
As a prep_phrase, "by the name of" means: Having a certain name; called.
What language does "by the name of" come from?
"by the name of" is a English word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list