Jonestown

name

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"jonestown" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Jonestown” is uncommon English (frequency #63,012 among 4,872 “J” headwords), classed as a proper noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#63,012
frequency rank, English
4,872
“J” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A former settlement in northern Guyana founded by the Peoples Temple cult, and the site of an infamous mass murder-suicide in November 1978.

Key facts for Jonestown
PropertyValue
HeadwordJonestown
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
Letters9
Frequency rank#63,012
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “Jonestown” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). Jonestown lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

Jonestown is uncommon English at frequency #63,012 among 4,872 “J” headwords, classed as aproper noun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for Jonestown, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Jones + town, after Reverend Jim Jones, leader of the Peoples Temple. The correct English form is Jonestown, spelled J-O-N-E-S-T-O-W-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    A former settlement in northern Guyana founded by the Peoples Temple cult, and the site of an infamous mass murder-suicide in November 1978.
  2. 2
    The Jonestown massacre itself.
  3. 3
    Any of a number of other places in the English-speaking world.

Etymology

From Jones + town, after Reverend Jim Jones, leader of the Peoples Temple.

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 "Jonestown"?
"Jonestown" is spelled J-O-N-E-S-T-O-W-N.
What does "Jonestown" mean?
As a proper noun, "Jonestown" means: A former settlement in northern Guyana founded by the Peoples Temple cult, and the site of an infamous mass murder-suicide in November 1978.
What is the origin of the word "Jonestown"?
From Jones + town, after Reverend Jim Jones, leader of the Peoples Temple. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “Jonestown”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is J-O-N-E-S-T-O-W-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • 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.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list