godmother

/ˈɡɒdmʌðə/

//ˈɡɒdmʌðə// noun

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

"godmother" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“godmother” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #32,012. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#32,012
frequency rank, English
2,313
“G” headwords
14
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A woman present at the christening of a baby who promises to help raise the child in a Christian manner; a female godparent who sponsors the baptism of a child.

Corpus desk

Index EN-godmother · godmother · English

godmother · rank #32,012 · 14 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #32,012
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 14 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,313
  • PHOTO-FINISH goalscorer

Nearest frequency peer: goalscorer (-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 “godmother”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “godmother” 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).

godmother vs godfather
78% similar

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

Key facts for godmother
PropertyValue
Headwordgodmother
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɡɒdmʌðə/
Letters9
Frequency rank#32,012
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “godmother”

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

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “goalscorer” (#32,011), “girth” (#32,010), “Gothenburg” (#32,014). Among 2,313 “G” headwords, “godmother” is #32,012. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around godmother (IPA /ˈɡɒdmʌðə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #32,012 among 2,313 “G” headwords. Dominant gloss: "A woman present at the christening of a baby who promises to help raise the child in a Christian manner; a female godparent who sponsors the baptism of a child.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for godmother, with forms such as "gdomother", "ggodmother", and "goddmother". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "godfather", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English godmoder, from Old English godmōdor (“godmother”), equivalent to god- + mother. Cognate with Old High German gotmuoter (“godmother”), Old Norse guðmóðir (“godmother”), Icelandic guðmóður (“godmother”), Swedish gudmoder (“godmother”), Dan… The correct English form is godmother, spelled G-O-D-M-O-T-H-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    A woman present at the christening of a baby who promises to help raise the child in a Christian manner; a female godparent who sponsors the baptism of a child.

Etymology

From Middle English godmoder, from Old English godmōdor (“godmother”), equivalent to god- + mother. Cognate with Old High German gotmuoter (“godmother”), Old Norse guðmóðir (“godmother”), Icelandic guðmóður (“godmother”), Swedish gudmoder (“godmother”), Danish gudmor (“godmother”).

Synonyms

co-mothercummergodma

This word in other languages

madrina(Español)marraine(Français)Patin(Deutsch)madrinha(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • gdomother
  • ggodmother
  • goddmother
  • godmmother
  • godmohter
  • godmotehr
  • godmotherr
  • godmothher
  • godmothre
  • godmotther
  • godmtoher
  • godomther
  • gomdother
  • ogdmother

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of godmother - 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.

gdomother2ggodmother1goddmother1godmmother1godmohter2godmotehr2godmotherr1godmothher1
Edit distance from "godmother"

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 "godmother"?
"godmother" is spelled G-O-D-M-O-T-H-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɡɒdmʌðə/.
What does "godmother" mean?
As a noun, "godmother" means: A woman present at the christening of a baby who promises to help raise the child in a Christian manner; a female godparent who sponsors the baptism of a child.
What words are commonly confused with "godmother"?
"godmother" is commonly confused with "godfather". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "godmother"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "godmother" is /ˈɡɒdmʌðə/. 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 "godmother"?
From Middle English godmoder, from Old English godmōdor (“godmother”), equivalent to god- + mother. Cognate with Old High German gotmuoter (“godmother”), Old Norse guðmóðir (“godmother”), Icelandic guðmóður (“godmother”), Swedish gudmoder (“godmot... 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 "godmother", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Guadalupe#32,018Guillaume#32,020Harrogate#32,025hermitage#32,028

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

Guatemalan14 variantsfirestorm14 variantsexonerated14 variantsexacerbate14 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list