Ismay
/ˈɪzmeɪ/
"ismay" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“Ismay” is uncommon English (frequency #91,646 among 17,902 “I” headwords), classed as a proper noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #91,646
- frequency rank, English
- 17,902
- “I” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A surname transferred from the given name.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | Ismay |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Proper noun |
| IPA | /ˈɪzmeɪ/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #91,646 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Ismay” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
Ismay is uncommon English at frequency #91,646 among 17,902 “I” headwords, classed as aproper noun, transcribed /ˈɪzmeɪ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A surname transferred from the given name.".
Ismay doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: Matronymic surname from a somewhat rare female given name found in the 13ᵗʰ century. The correct English form is Ismay, spelled I-S-M-A-Y.
Definition
- 1A surname transferred from the given name.
Etymology
Matronymic surname from a somewhat rare female given name found in the 13ᵗʰ century.
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
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Using “Ismay”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is I-S-M-A-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈɪzmeɪ/ (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
Other uncommon English words near this rank
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.