Claude
/klɔːd/
"claude" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“Claude” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #10,180 in English word frequency and used as a proper noun.
- #10,180
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
- 8
- tracked misspellings
- 15
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A male given name from Latin.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | Claude |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Proper noun |
| IPA | /klɔːd/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #10,180 |
| Misspellings tracked | 8 |
| Confusable pairs | 15 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Claude” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for Claude is 6 letters long, classified as a proper noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /klɔːd/. Corpus data places it at rank #10,180 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for Claude, with forms such as "calude", "cclaude", and "cladue". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 15 confusable-pair relationships, "clue", "cloud", "crude", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: In use from the 16th century. Borrowed from French Claude, from Latin Claudius, the name of a Roman gens. The clan name is traditionally said to be from Latin claudus (“lame”), but is most likely of Sabine origin. The correct English form is Claude, spelled C-L-A-U-D-E.
Definition
- 1A male given name from Latin.
- 2A placename
- 3A placename
Etymology
In use from the 16th century. Borrowed from French Claude, from Latin Claudius, the name of a Roman gens. The clan name is traditionally said to be from Latin claudus (“lame”), but is most likely of Sabine origin.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: calude,cclaude,cladue,claudde,claued,cllaude,cluade,lcaude
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Claude - 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.
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
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Using “Claude”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-L-A-U-D-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /klɔːd/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “clue” - see the side-by-side comparison. Claude vs clue
- 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.