McCarthy
/məˈkɑː.θi/
"mccarthy" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“McCarthy” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #10,576. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #10,576
- frequency rank, English
- 36,575
- “M” headwords
- 12
- tracked misspellings
- 2
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A surname from Irish.
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 | McCarthy |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Proper noun |
| IPA | /məˈkɑː.θi/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #10,576 |
| Misspellings tracked | 12 |
| Confusable pairs | 2 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “McCarthy” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 12 spelling variants around McCarthy (IPA /məˈkɑː.θi/), aproper noun. Corpus frequency is #10,576 among 36,575 “M” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for McCarthy, with forms such as "cmcarthy", "mcacrthy", and "mcarthy". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "McCarty", "McCartney", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Irish Mac Carthaigh (literally “son of Carthach”). The correct English form is McCarthy, spelled M-C-C-A-R-T-H-Y.
Definition
- 1A surname from Irish.
- 2A census-designated place in Copper River Census Area, Alaska, United States.
Etymology
Borrowed from Irish Mac Carthaigh (literally “son of Carthach”).
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- cmcarthy
- mcacrthy
- mcarthy
- mccarhty
- mccarrthy
- mccarthhy
- mccarthyy
- mccartthy
- mccartyh
- mccatrhy
- mccrathy
- mmccarthy
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of McCarthy - 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
How do you spell "McCarthy"?
What does "McCarthy" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "McCarthy"?
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Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “McCarthy”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is M-C-C-A-R-T-H-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /məˈkɑː.θi/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “McCarty” - see the side-by-side comparison. McCarthy vs McCarty
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Same frequency band
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.