Hoffman
"hoffman" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“Hoffman” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #11,898 in English word frequency and used as a proper noun.
- #11,898
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
- 8
- tracked misspellings
- 2
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A surname from German of German and Ashkenazi Jewish origin.
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 | Hoffman |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Proper noun |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #11,898 |
| Misspellings tracked | 8 |
| Confusable pairs | 2 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Hoffman” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for Hoffman is 7 letters long, classified as a proper noun. Corpus data places it at rank #11,898 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 8 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for Hoffman, with forms such as "hfofman", "hhoffman", and "hoffamn". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "Huffman", "Hoffmann", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: Anglicised from German Hoffmann, an occupational surname referring to the owner or manager of a piece of land. The correct English form is Hoffman, spelled H-O-F-F-M-A-N.
Definition
- 1A surname from German of German and Ashkenazi Jewish origin.
- 2A number of places in the United States:
- 3A number of places in the United States:
- 4A number of places in the United States:
- 5A number of places in the United States:
- 6A number of places in the United States:
- 7A number of places in the United States:
- 8A settlement on Saint Thomas, United States Virgin Islands.
Etymology
Anglicised from German Hoffmann, an occupational surname referring to the owner or manager of a piece of land.
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: hfofman,hhoffman,hoffamn,hoffmman,hoffmna,hofman,hofmfan,ohffman
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Hoffman - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "Hoffman"?
What does "Hoffman" mean?
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Using “Hoffman”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is H-O-F-F-M-A-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Don't mix it up with “Huffman” - see the side-by-side comparison. Hoffman vs Huffman
- 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.