Leander

/liːˈændɚ/

//liːˈændɚ// name

"leander" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Leander” is uncommon English (frequency #50,039 among 2,297 “L” headwords), classed as a proper noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#50,039
frequency rank, English
2,297
“L” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The lover of Hero who swam every night across the Hellespont to meet her, and finally was drowned.

Corpus desk

Index EN-leander · Leander · English

Leander · rank #50,039 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #50,039
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,297
  • PHOTO-FINISH Lemieux

Nearest frequency peer: Lemieux (+2 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “Leander”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “Leander” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for Leander
PropertyValue
HeadwordLeander
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/liːˈændɚ/
Letters7
Frequency rank#50,039
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “Leander” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).Leanderfalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “Lemieux” (#50,041), “li'l” (#50,042), “larch” (#50,035). Among 2,297 “L” headwords, “Leander” is #50,039. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

Leander is uncommon English at frequency #50,039 among 2,297 “L” headwords, classed as aproper noun, transcribed /liːˈændɚ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for Leander in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Ancient Greek Λέανδρος (Léandros), from λέων (léōn, “lion”) + ἀνήρ (anḗr, “man”). The correct English form is Leander, spelled L-E-A-N-D-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    The lover of Hero who swam every night across the Hellespont to meet her, and finally was drowned.
  2. 2
    A male given name from Ancient Greek, also of a Spanish sixth century saint.
  3. 3
    A city in Williamson County, Texas.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how Leander appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Leander, he would have lived many a fair year, though Hero had turned nun, if it had not been for a hot midsummer night.

Etymology

From Ancient Greek Λέανδρος (Léandros), from λέων (léōn, “lion”) + ἀνήρ (anḗr, “man”).

This word in other languages

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 "Leander"?
"Leander" is spelled L-E-A-N-D-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /liːˈændɚ/.
What does "Leander" mean?
As a proper noun, "Leander" means: The lover of Hero who swam every night across the Hellespont to meet her, and finally was drowned.
How do you pronounce "Leander"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Leander" is /liːˈændɚ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "Leander"?
From Ancient Greek Λέανδρος (Léandros), from λέων (léōn, “lion”) + ἀνήρ (anḗr, “man”). 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "Leander", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list