McLean
/məˈkleɪn/
"mclean" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“McLean” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #15,448. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #15,448
- frequency rank, English
- 36,575
- “M” headwords
- 9
- tracked misspellings
- 7
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A surname.
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 | McLean |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Proper noun |
| IPA | /məˈkleɪn/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #15,448 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 7 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “McLean” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 9 spelling variants around McLean (IPA /məˈkleɪn/), aproper noun. Corpus frequency is #15,448 among 36,575 “M” headwords. Wiktionary lists 11 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for McLean, with forms such as "cmlean", "mcclean", and "mcelan". 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 7 confusable-pair relationships, "mean", "Milan", "Mulan", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct English form is McLean, spelled M-C-L-E-A-N.
Definition
- 1A surname.
- 2A surname.
- 3A surname.
- 4A surname.
- 5A placename
- 6A placename
- 7A placename
- 8A placename
- 9A placename
- 10A placename
- 11A placename
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- cmlean
- mcclean
- mcelan
- mclaen
- mcleann
- mclena
- mcllean
- mlcean
- mmclean
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of McLean - 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 "McLean"?
What does "McLean" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "McLean"?
How do you pronounce "McLean"?
What language does "McLean" come from?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “McLean”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is M-C-L-E-A-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /məˈkleɪn/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “mean” - see the side-by-side comparison. McLean vs mean
- 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.