namely
/ˈneɪmli/adverb, adjective
namely is spelled N-A-M-E-L-Y: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 10 times per million words in written English, the 6,884th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adverb, namely means “Specifically; that is to say” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in namely?
| Letters | 6: N-A-M-E-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 10 times per million words; the 6,884th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is namely?
Namely appears 10 times per million words in written English, the 6,884th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce namely?
- /ˈneɪmli/
Namely has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-namely.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with namely?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as namely.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: meanly.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of namely
- more namely comparative
- namelier comparative
- most namely superlative
- nameliest superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does namely mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adverb
- 1
Specifically; that is to say.
Some of the students – namely Paul, Alice and Jake – seem to have trouble with geometry.
- 2
archaicEspecially, above all.
adjective
- 1
Notable, distinguished; famous, renowned; well-known.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate namely?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of namely: CCU.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Namely in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense specifically:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | nommément, c'est-à-dire, à savoir |
| German | und zwar, nämlich |
| Portuguese | leia-se, nomeadamente |
| Spanish | específicamente, a saber, nombradamente, concretamente |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does namely come from?
From Middle English namely, nameliche, namelike, equivalent to name + -ly. Cognate with Saterland Frisian nämmelk, West Frisian nammentlik, Dutch namelijk, German Low German nämlich, German nämlich, Danish nemlig, Swedish nämligen, Icelandic nefnilega.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).