# Metcalf

> English word · Proper noun · frequency rank #33,327

## Definitions
1. A Northern English surname.

## Etymology
Possibly from Old English *metecealf (“meat calf”), a calf to be fattened up for eating. The use as a surname could have started off as a jocular nickname for an individual thought to be as "fat as a prize-calf"; or else in reference to the occupation involved in fattening up such a calf.

## Easily confused with
- **Metcalfe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/metcalf-vs-metcalfe)
- **metal** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/metal-vs-metcalf)
- **metals** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/metals-vs-metcalf)

## Common misspellings (11)
`emtcalf`, `mectalf`, `metaclf`, `metcafl`, `metcalff`, `metcallf`, `metccalf`, `metclaf`, `mettcalf`, `mmetcalf`, `mtecalf`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/metcalf