McDonnell

name

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

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

The verdict

“McDonnell” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #21,277. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#21,277
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

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

Corpus desk

Index EN-mcdonnell · McDonnell · English

McDonnell · rank #21,277 · 11 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #21,277
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH McDowell

Nearest frequency peer: McDowell (+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 “McDonnell”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “McDonnell” 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).

McDonnell vs McDowell
78% similar
McDonnell vs McConnell
89% similar

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

Key facts for McDonnell
PropertyValue
HeadwordMcDonnell
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
Letters9
Frequency rank#21,277
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “McDonnell”

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

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “McDowell” (#21,278), “mayonnaise” (#21,275), “mathematician” (#21,274). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “McDonnell” is #21,277. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around McDonnell, aproper noun. Corpus frequency is #21,277 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Dominant gloss: "A surname from Irish.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for McDonnell, with forms such as "cmdonnell", "mccdonnell", and "mcddonnell". 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, "McDowell", "McConnell", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Anglicized form of Irish Mac Dhomhnuill (“son of Donald”). See also MacDonald. The correct English form is McDonnell, spelled M-C-D-O-N-N-E-L-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    A surname from Irish.

Etymology

Anglicized form of Irish Mac Dhomhnuill (“son of Donald”). See also MacDonald.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • cmdonnell
  • mccdonnell
  • mcddonnell
  • mcdnonell
  • mcdonell
  • mcdonenll
  • mcdonnel
  • mcdonnlel
  • mcodnnell
  • mdconnell
  • mmcdonnell

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of McDonnell - 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.

cmdonnell2mccdonnell1mcddonnell1mcdnonell2mcdonell1mcdonenll2mcdonnel1mcdonnlel2
Edit distance from "McDonnell"

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 "McDonnell"?
"McDonnell" is spelled M-C-D-O-N-N-E-L-L.
What does "McDonnell" mean?
As a proper noun, "McDonnell" means: A surname from Irish.
What words are commonly confused with "McDonnell"?
"McDonnell" is commonly confused with "McDowell", "McConnell". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What is the origin of the word "McDonnell"?
Anglicized form of Irish Mac Dhomhnuill (“son of Donald”). See also MacDonald. 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 "McDonnell", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Marseille#21,271moustache#21,288nevermind#21,295nocturnal#21,299

Similar misspelling depth

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

McDowell11 variantsmodesty11 variantsluminous11 variantsloophole11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list