Campbell

/ˈkæmbəl/

//ˈkæmbəl// name

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

"campbell" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Campbell” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #4,830. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#4,830
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
11
tracked misspellings

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

Corpus desk

Index EN-campbell · Campbell · English

Campbell · rank #4,830 · 11 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #4,830
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH burden

Nearest frequency peer: burden (-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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “Campbell”

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

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “Campbell” 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 September 3, 2026
Key facts for Campbell
PropertyValue
HeadwordCampbell
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/ˈkæmbəl/
Letters8
Frequency rank#4,830
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “Campbell” 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).Campbelllands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “burden” (#4,829), “carries” (#4,831), “brush” (#4,828). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around Campbell (IPA /ˈkæmbəl/), aproper noun. Corpus frequency is #4,830 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 19 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for Campbell, with forms such as "acmpbell", "cambpell", and "cammpbell". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: * As a Scottish surname, from Scottish Gaelic Caimbeul, from cam (“crooked”) + beul (“mouth”). Compare Cameron, from Scottish Gaelic cam (“crooked”) + sròn (“nose”). * As an Irish surname, from Mac Cathmhaoil (“son of Cathmhaol”), see Caulfield, Cowell. * A… The correct English form is Campbell, spelled C-A-M-P-B-E-L-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    A characteristical surname from Scottish Gaelic.
  2. 2
    A male given name transferred from the surname.
  3. 3
    A female given name transferred from the surname, of 2000s and later usage.
  4. 4
    A number of places in the United States:
  5. 5
    A number of places in the United States:
  6. 6
    A number of places in the United States:
  7. 7
    A number of places in the United States:
  8. 8
    A number of places in the United States:
  9. 9
    A number of places in the United States:
  10. 10
    A number of places in the United States:
  11. 11
    A number of places in the United States:
  12. 12
    A number of places in the United States:
  13. 13
    A number of places in the United States:
  14. 14
    A number of places in the United States:
  15. 15
    A number of places in the United States:
  16. 16
    A number of places in the United States:
  17. 17
    A town in the Northern Cape province, South Africa.
  18. 18
    A suburb of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.
  19. 19
    Ellipsis of Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc., a 1994 U.S. Supreme Court case that held that commercial parodies can be subject to fair use.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. But Perry, Cabrera and Campbell could hear the Masters bird choir tweeting (that’s 140 characters or less, ornithologically speaking) over the quiet of the gallery following them.
  2. The Campbell family’s fascination with white supremacy was vividly expressed in the names of Adolf’s two siblings, “Honszlynn Hinler Jeannie Campbell,” an homage to Heinrich Himmler, and “JoyceLynn Aryan Nation Campbell.”² In selecting their children’s peculiar names, the Campbells had exercised a right specifically recognized in New Jersey statutory law,…

Etymology

* As a Scottish surname, from Scottish Gaelic Caimbeul, from cam (“crooked”) + beul (“mouth”). Compare Cameron, from Scottish Gaelic cam (“crooked”) + sròn (“nose”). * As an Irish surname, from Mac Cathmhaoil (“son of Cathmhaol”), see Caulfield, Cowell. * As an English surname, variant of Camel, probably influenced by the above. * (duck breed): Developed by Adele Campbell.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • acmpbell
  • cambpell
  • cammpbell
  • campbbell
  • campbel
  • campblel
  • campebll
  • camppbell
  • capmbell
  • ccampbell
  • cmapbell

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Campbell - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

acmpbell2cambpell2cammpbell1campbbell1campbel1campblel2campebll2camppbell1
Edit distance from "Campbell"

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 "Campbell"?
"Campbell" is spelled C-A-M-P-B-E-L-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkæmbəl/.
What does "Campbell" mean?
As a proper noun, "Campbell" means: A characteristical surname from Scottish Gaelic.
What are common misspellings of "Campbell"?
Common misspellings include "acmpbell", "cambpell", "cammpbell", "campbbell", "campbel". The correct spelling is "Campbell".
How do you pronounce "Campbell"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Campbell" is /ˈkæmbəl/. 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 "Campbell"?
* As a Scottish surname, from Scottish Gaelic Caimbeul, from cam (“crooked”) + beul (“mouth”). Compare Cameron, from Scottish Gaelic cam (“crooked”) + sròn (“nose”). * As an Irish surname, from Mac Cathmhaoil (“son of Cathmhaol”), see Caulfield, C... 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 "Campbell", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

civilian#4,837assuming#4,822complain#4,840actively#4,816

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

charter11 variantsbacking11 variantsgraphic11 variantsjumping11 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "Campbell". Here's where to go from here.

  • 11 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #4,830 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "C" letter cohort. C–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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