hooligan
/ˈhuː.lɪ.ɡən/
"hooligan" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“hooligan” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #42,183 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #42,183
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 11
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A young person who causes trouble or violence, typically as a member of a gang or other group.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | hooligan |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈhuː.lɪ.ɡən/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #42,183 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “hooligan” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for hooligan is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈhuː.lɪ.ɡən/. Corpus data places it at rank #42,183 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.
Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for hooligan, with forms such as "hhooligan", "holigan", and "holoigan". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: Probably a variant of the Irish surname Houlihan, 1890s. The correct English form is hooligan, spelled H-O-O-L-I-G-A-N.
Definition
- 1A young person who causes trouble or violence, typically as a member of a gang or other group.
- 2Ellipsis of football hooligan.
- 3A member of the United States Coast Guard.
Etymology
Probably a variant of the Irish surname Houlihan, 1890s.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: hhooligan,holigan,holoigan,hooilgan,hoolgian,hooliagn,hooligann,hooliggan,hooligna,hoolligan,oholigan
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of hooligan - 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 "hooligan"?
What does "hooligan" mean?
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Using “hooligan”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is H-O-O-L-I-G-A-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈhuː.lɪ.ɡən/ (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.