Claus

name

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

"claus" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Claus” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #15,367. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#15,367
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A male given name from Dutch or from German [in turn from Ancient Greek].

Corpus desk

Index EN-claus · Claus · English

Claus · rank #15,367 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #15,367
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH Clarkson

Nearest frequency peer: Clarkson (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “Claus”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “Claus” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

Claus vs club
40% similar
Claus vs clay
40% similar
Claus vs clue
40% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for Claus
PropertyValue
HeadwordClaus
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
Letters5
Frequency rank#15,367
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “Claus”

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

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “Clarkson” (#15,366), “commencement” (#15,369), “chunks” (#15,364). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “Claus” is #15,367. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around Claus, aproper noun. Corpus frequency is #15,367 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for Claus, with forms such as "calus", "cclaus", and "clasu". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "club", "clay", "clue", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Dutch and German Claus, a contraction of Nicolaus (“Nicholas”). The spelling Klaus is from more modern German Klaus and other Germanic languages. The correct English form is Claus, spelled C-L-A-U-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    A male given name from Dutch or from German [in turn from Ancient Greek].
  2. 2
    Ellipsis of Santa Claus.
  3. 3
    Fictitious surname of Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus.
  4. 4
    A surname from Dutch or from German [in turn from Ancient Greek].

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. More exacting standards for Claus have been set up each year. It was to meet these standards that Mr. Howard—farmer, toy manufacturer, reviver of county fairs and connoisseur of Santa Clauses—set up his school.
  2. Wouldn’t it be great if we taught our children about Christ instead of Claus: […]

Etymology

From Dutch and German Claus, a contraction of Nicolaus (“Nicholas”). The spelling Klaus is from more modern German Klaus and other Germanic languages.

This word in other languages

Nico(Français)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • calus
  • cclaus
  • clasu
  • clauss
  • cllaus
  • cluas
  • lcaus

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Claus - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

calus2cclaus1clasu2clauss1cllaus1cluas2lcaus2
Edit distance from "Claus"

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 "Claus"?
"Claus" is spelled C-L-A-U-S.
What does "Claus" mean?
As a proper noun, "Claus" means: A male given name from Dutch or from German [in turn from Ancient Greek].
What words are commonly confused with "Claus"?
"Claus" is commonly confused with "club", "clay", "clue". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What is the origin of the word "Claus"?
From Dutch and German Claus, a contraction of Nicolaus (“Nicholas”). The spelling Klaus is from more modern German Klaus and other Germanic languages. 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 "Claus", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

cameo#15,358Byrne#15,356deter#15,383diner#15,384

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

bidder7 variantsenvoy7 variantsfaggot7 variantsfungi7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list