initials
/ɪˈnɪʃəlz/noun, verb
initials is spelled I-N-I-T-I-A-L-S: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 2.9 times per million words in written English, the 15,798th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, initials means “An abbreviation of a person's name, constructed by taking the initial letters of first, last, and sometimes middle name(s). See monogram” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in initials?
| Letters | 8: I-N-I-T-I-A-L-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.9 times per million words; the 15,798th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is initials?
Initials appears 2.9 times per million words in written English, the 15,798th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce initials?
- /ɪˈnɪʃəlz/
Initials has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-initials.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What does initials mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An abbreviation of a person's name, constructed by taking the initial letters of first, last, and sometimes middle name(s). See monogram
Write your initials at the top of the page.
- 2
plural of initial
verb
- 1
third-person singular simple present indicative of initial
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Initials in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense abbreviation of a person's name:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Initialen |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.