Napoleon

/nəˈpəʊ.li.ən/

//nəˈpəʊ.li.ən// name

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

"napoleon" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Napoleon” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #10,091. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#10,091
frequency rank, English
1,534
“N” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Napoleon Bonaparte (1769–1821), a French military commander and political leader.

Corpus desk

Index EN-napoleon · Napoleon · English

Napoleon · rank #10,091 · 11 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #10,091
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,534
  • PHOTO-FINISH nailed

Nearest frequency peer: nailed (-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 “Napoleon”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “Napoleon” 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).

Napoleon vs Napoleonic
80% similar

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

Key facts for Napoleon
PropertyValue
HeadwordNapoleon
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/nəˈpəʊ.li.ən/
Letters8
Frequency rank#10,091
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “Napoleon”

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).Napoleonlands 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 “nailed” (#10,090), “neighbouring” (#10,092), “mold” (#10,089). Among 1,534 “N” headwords, “Napoleon” is #10,091. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around Napoleon (IPA /nəˈpəʊ.li.ən/), aproper noun. Corpus frequency is #10,091 among 1,534 “N” headwords. Wiktionary lists 13 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for Napoleon, with forms such as "anpoleon", "naopleon", and "naploeon". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "Napoleonic", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From French Napoléon, from Italian Napoleone, name of an early saint, of uncertain origin; possibly from the Germanic clan name Nibelung. By folk etymology explained as Napoli (“Naples”) + leone (“lion”). The correct English form is Napoleon, spelled N-A-P-O-L-E-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Napoleon Bonaparte (1769–1821), a French military commander and political leader.
  2. 2
    A male given name from Italian sometimes given in honor of the French emperor.
  3. 3
    A village in Silesia, Poland.
  4. 4
    A number of places in the United States:
  5. 5
    A number of places in the United States:
  6. 6
    A number of places in the United States:
  7. 7
    A number of places in the United States:
  8. 8
    A number of places in the United States:
  9. 9
    A number of places in the United States:
  10. 10
    A number of places in the United States:
  11. 11
    A number of places in the United States:
  12. 12
    A number of places in the United States:
  13. 13
    A surname.

Etymology

From French Napoléon, from Italian Napoleone, name of an early saint, of uncertain origin; possibly from the Germanic clan name Nibelung. By folk etymology explained as Napoli (“Naples”) + leone (“lion”).

This word in other languages

Napoleón(Español)Napoléon(Français)Napoleon(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • anpoleon
  • naopleon
  • naploeon
  • napoelon
  • napoleno
  • napoleonn
  • napolleon
  • napoloen
  • nappoleon
  • nnapoleon
  • npaoleon

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

anpoleon2naopleon2naploeon2napoelon2napoleno2napoleonn1napolleon1napoloen2
Edit distance from "Napoleon"

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 "Napoleon"?
"Napoleon" is spelled N-A-P-O-L-E-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /nəˈpəʊ.li.ən/.
What does "Napoleon" mean?
As a proper noun, "Napoleon" means: Napoleon Bonaparte (1769–1821), a French military commander and political leader.
What words are commonly confused with "Napoleon"?
"Napoleon" is commonly confused with "Napoleonic". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Napoleon"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Napoleon" is /nəˈpəʊ.li.ən/. 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 "Napoleon"?
From French Napoléon, from Italian Napoleone, name of an early saint, of uncertain origin; possibly from the Germanic clan name Nibelung. By folk etymology explained as Napoli (“Naples”) + leone (“lion”). 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 "Napoleon", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

McDonald#10,083Matthews#10,080maternal#10,079interval#10,068

Similar misspelling depth

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

pathway11 variantsrepaired11 variantshanding11 variantsgrabbing11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list