James
/d͡ʒeɪmz/
"james" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“James” is in the everyday core of English, ranked #809 in English word frequency and used as a proper noun.
- #809
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The twentieth book of the New Testament of the Bible, the general epistle of James.
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 | James |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Proper noun |
| IPA | /d͡ʒeɪmz/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #809 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “James” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for James is 5 letters long, classified as a proper noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /d͡ʒeɪmz/. Corpus data places it at rank #809 in overall English word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 8 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for James, with forms such as "ajmes", "jaems", and "jamess". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "Jas", "Jane", "jaws", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: The English New Testament form of Jacob, from Middle English James, from Old French James, from Vulgar Latin Iācōmus, spoken and altered pronunciation of Latin Iācōbus, from Ancient Greek Ἰάκωβος (Iákōbos), from Ἰακώβ (Iakṓb), from Hebrew יַעֲקֹב (Yaʿăqōḇ).… The correct English form is James, spelled J-A-M-E-S.
Definition
- 1The twentieth book of the New Testament of the Bible, the general epistle of James.
- 2One of two Apostles, James the Greater and James the Less, often identified with James, brother of Jesus.
- 3A male given name from Hebrew popular since the Middle Ages. Also a common middle name.
- 4An English surname originating as a patronymic.
- 5A placename
- 6A placename
- 7A placename
- 8A placename
Etymology
The English New Testament form of Jacob, from Middle English James, from Old French James, from Vulgar Latin Iācōmus, spoken and altered pronunciation of Latin Iācōbus, from Ancient Greek Ἰάκωβος (Iákōbos), from Ἰακώβ (Iakṓb), from Hebrew יַעֲקֹב (Yaʿăqōḇ). Doublet of Jacques, Jacob, Iago, Jago, Yago, Hamish, Seamus, Tiago, and Santiago. In reference to the Ecuadorian island, a modification of the earlier name Duke of York's Island after its eponymous duke's coronation as James II of England. See Occitan Jacme for an intermediary between Old French James and Catalan Jaume.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ajmes,jaems,jamess,jammes,jamse,jjames,jmaes
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of James - 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
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Using “James”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is J-A-M-E-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /d͡ʒeɪmz/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “Jas” - see the side-by-side comparison. James vs Jas
- 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.