Mahoney

/ˈmɑ.ni/

//ˈmɑ.ni// name

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

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

The verdict

“Mahoney” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #27,552. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#27,552
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
6
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A surname from Irish.

Corpus desk

Index EN-mahoney · Mahoney · English

Mahoney · rank #27,552 · 10 variants · 6 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #27,552
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 6 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH magneto

Nearest frequency peer: magneto (-1 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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “Mahoney”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “Mahoney” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

Mahoney vs money
57% similar
Mahoney vs Malone
71% similar
Mahoney vs Mooney
71% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for Mahoney
PropertyValue
HeadwordMahoney
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/ˈmɑ.ni/
Letters7
Frequency rank#27,552
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs6
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “Mahoney”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).Mahoneylands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “magneto” (#27,551), “mannered” (#27,553), “magnate” (#27,550). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “Mahoney” is #27,552. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around Mahoney (IPA /ˈmɑ.ni/), aproper noun. Corpus frequency is #27,552 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Dominant gloss: "A surname from Irish.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for Mahoney, with forms such as "amhoney", "mahhoney", and "mahnoey". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 6 confusable-pair relationships, "money", "Malone", "Mooney", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Mathghamhna (“descendant of Mathghamhain”), a personal name composed of the elements math (“bear”) and gamhain (“calf”). The correct English form is Mahoney, spelled M-A-H-O-N-E-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    A surname from Irish.

Etymology

Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Mathghamhna (“descendant of Mathghamhain”), a personal name composed of the elements math (“bear”) and gamhain (“calf”).

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • amhoney
  • mahhoney
  • mahnoey
  • mahoeny
  • mahoneyy
  • mahonney
  • mahonye
  • maohney
  • mhaoney
  • mmahoney

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Mahoney - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

amhoney2mahhoney1mahnoey2mahoeny2mahoneyy1mahonney1mahonye2maohney2
Edit distance from "Mahoney"

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 "Mahoney"?
"Mahoney" is spelled M-A-H-O-N-E-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmɑ.ni/.
What does "Mahoney" mean?
As a proper noun, "Mahoney" means: A surname from Irish.
What words are commonly confused with "Mahoney"?
"Mahoney" is commonly confused with "money", "Malone", "Mooney". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Mahoney"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Mahoney" is /ˈmɑ.ni/. 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 "Mahoney"?
Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Mathghamhna (“descendant of Mathghamhain”), a personal name composed of the elements math (“bear”) and gamhain (“calf”). 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 "Mahoney", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

magneto#27,551magnate#27,550Markham#27,555lashing#27,536

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

mannered10 variantspausing10 variantshearsay10 variantsheadway10 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list