McClellan

/məˈklɛlən/

//məˈklɛlən// name

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

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

The verdict

“McClellan” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #30,130. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#30,130
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

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

Corpus desk

Index EN-mcclellan · McClellan · English

McClellan · rank #30,130 · 11 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #30,130
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH maxima

Nearest frequency peer: maxima (-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 “McClellan”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “McClellan” 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).

McClellan vs McClelland
90% similar

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

Key facts for McClellan
PropertyValue
HeadwordMcClellan
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/məˈklɛlən/
Letters9
Frequency rank#30,130
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “McClellan”

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).McClellanlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “maxima” (#30,129), “McCulloch” (#30,131), “Mehta” (#30,132). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “McClellan” is #30,130. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around McClellan (IPA /məˈklɛlən/), aproper noun. Corpus frequency is #30,130 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Dominant gloss: "A surname.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for McClellan, with forms such as "cmclellan", "mccelllan", and "mcclelaln". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "McClelland", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Anglicized form of Scottish Gaelic Mac Gille Fhaolain and Irish Mac Giolla Fhaoláin (“son of the servant of Faolán”), a personal name thought to be a diminutive of Irish faol (“wolf”). Compare the surname Gilliland. The correct English form is McClellan, spelled M-C-C-L-E-L-L-A-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    A surname.

Etymology

Anglicized form of Scottish Gaelic Mac Gille Fhaolain and Irish Mac Giolla Fhaoláin (“son of the servant of Faolán”), a personal name thought to be a diminutive of Irish faol (“wolf”). Compare the surname Gilliland.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • cmclellan
  • mccelllan
  • mcclelaln
  • mcclelan
  • mcclellann
  • mcclellna
  • mccllelan
  • mccllellan
  • mclcellan
  • mclellan
  • mmcclellan

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of McClellan - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

cmclellan2mccelllan2mcclelaln2mcclelan1mcclellann1mcclellna2mccllelan2mccllellan1
Edit distance from "McClellan"

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 "McClellan"?
"McClellan" is spelled M-C-C-L-E-L-L-A-N. The IPA pronunciation is /məˈklɛlən/.
What does "McClellan" mean?
As a proper noun, "McClellan" means: A surname.
What words are commonly confused with "McClellan"?
"McClellan" is commonly confused with "McClelland". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "McClellan"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "McClellan" is /məˈklɛlən/. 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 "McClellan"?
Anglicized form of Scottish Gaelic Mac Gille Fhaolain and Irish Mac Giolla Fhaoláin (“son of the servant of Faolán”), a personal name thought to be a diminutive of Irish faol (“wolf”). Compare the surname Gilliland. 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 "McClellan", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

McCulloch#30,131lightness#30,119mortified#30,142navigable#30,150

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

Lambeth11 variantsinquired11 variantsgifting11 variantsrewatch11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list