Dunham
/ˈdʌnəm/
"dunham" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“Dunham” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #19,823 in English word frequency and used as a proper noun.
- #19,823
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
- 9
- tracked misspellings
- 6
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A surname from Old English.
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 | Dunham |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Proper noun |
| IPA | /ˈdʌnəm/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #19,823 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 6 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Dunham” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for Dunham is 6 letters long, classified as a proper noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈdʌnəm/. Corpus data places it at rank #19,823 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for Dunham, with forms such as "ddunham", "dnuham", and "duhnam". 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 also participates in 6 confusable-pair relationships, "Durham", "Dunlap", "Duncan", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: Habitational surname from any of various places in England, from Old English dūn (“hill”) + hām (“homestead”). The correct English form is Dunham, spelled D-U-N-H-A-M.
Definition
- 1A surname from Old English.
- 2An unincorporated community in Letcher County, Kentucky, United States.
- 3An unincorporated community in Gogebic County, Michigan, United States.
- 4An unincorporated community in Washington County, Ohio, United States.
Etymology
Habitational surname from any of various places in England, from Old English dūn (“hill”) + hām (“homestead”).
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ddunham,dnuham,duhnam,dunahm,dunhamm,dunhham,dunhma,dunnham,udnham
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Dunham - 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
How do you spell "Dunham"?
What does "Dunham" mean?
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Using “Dunham”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is D-U-N-H-A-M - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈdʌnəm/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “Durham” - see the side-by-side comparison. Dunham vs Durham
- 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.