Gautama

/ɡaʊˈtɑːmə/

//ɡaʊˈtɑːmə// name

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

"gautama" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Gautama” is an uncommon English word, ranked #66,684 in English word frequency and used as a proper noun.

#66,684
frequency rank, English
7
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Siddhartha Gautama - the personal name of the Buddha.

Key facts for Gautama
PropertyValue
HeadwordGautama
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/ɡaʊˈtɑːmə/
Letters7
Frequency rank#66,684
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “Gautama” 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). Gautama lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for Gautama is 7 letters long, classified as a proper noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɡaʊˈtɑːmə/. Corpus data places it at rank #66,684 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.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for Gautama, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Sanskrit गौतम (gautama). The correct English form is Gautama, spelled G-A-U-T-A-M-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    Siddhartha Gautama - the personal name of the Buddha.
  2. 2
    A surname from Sanskrit of Indian origin.
  3. 3
    A male given name from Sanskrit used in India; more often romanised as Gautam.

Etymology

From Sanskrit गौतम (gautama).

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 "Gautama"?
"Gautama" is spelled G-A-U-T-A-M-A. The IPA pronunciation is /ɡaʊˈtɑːmə/.
What does "Gautama" mean?
As a proper noun, "Gautama" means: Siddhartha Gautama - the personal name of the Buddha.
How do you pronounce "Gautama"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Gautama" is /ɡaʊˈtɑːmə/. 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 "Gautama"?
From Sanskrit गौतम (gautama). 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.

Using “Gautama”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is G-A-U-T-A-M-A - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ɡaʊˈtɑːmə/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list