Ellis
/ˈɛ.lɪs/
"ellis" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“Ellis” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #7,684 in English word frequency and used as a proper noun.
- #7,684
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 5
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An English surname originating as a patronymic from Elis, the Middle English form of Elijah.
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 | Ellis |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Proper noun |
| IPA | /ˈɛ.lɪs/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #7,684 |
| Misspellings tracked | 5 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Ellis” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for Ellis is 5 letters long, classified as a proper noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈɛ.lɪs/. Corpus data places it at rank #7,684 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 13 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for Ellis, with forms such as "elils", "elis", and "elliss". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "els", "elms", "Elvis", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: * As an English surname, from the Middle English personal name Elis, an Old French form of Elias. Compare Elijah, Lias, Ely. Also sometimes from the Elice, a pet form of Elizabeth. * As a Welsh surname, shortened from the personal name Elisse, Elisedd, from… The correct English form is Ellis, spelled E-L-L-I-S.
Definition
- 1An English surname originating as a patronymic from Elis, the Middle English form of Elijah.
- 2A surname from Welsh [in turn originating as a patronymic] and A male given name from Welsh, an anglicization of Elisedd.
- 3A unisex given name transferred from the surname.
- 4A locale in the United States:
- 5A locale in the United States:
- 6A locale in the United States:
- 7A locale in the United States:
- 8A locale in the United States:
- 9A locale in the United States:
- 10A locale in the United States:
- 11A locale in the United States:
- 12A locale in the United States:
- 13A locale in the United States:
Etymology
* As an English surname, from the Middle English personal name Elis, an Old French form of Elias. Compare Elijah, Lias, Ely. Also sometimes from the Elice, a pet form of Elizabeth. * As a Welsh surname, shortened from the personal name Elisse, Elisedd, from the archaic elus (“benevolent, kind”).
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: elils,elis,elliss,ellsi,lelis
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Ellis - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
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 "Ellis"?
What does "Ellis" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "Ellis"?
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Using “Ellis”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is E-L-L-I-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈɛ.lɪs/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “els” - see the side-by-side comparison. Ellis vs els
- 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.