Nicodemus

name

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

The verdict

“Nicodemus” is uncommon English (frequency #53,730 among 1,534 “N” headwords), classed as a proper noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#53,730
frequency rank, English
1,534
“N” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A Pharisee, a secret follower of Jesus in the New Testament.

Corpus desk

Index EN-nicodemus · Nicodemus · English

Nicodemus · rank #53,730 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #53,730
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,534
  • PHOTO-FINISH Nikko

Nearest frequency peer: Nikko (+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.

Long-tail ranks near “Nicodemus”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “Nicodemus” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for Nicodemus
PropertyValue
HeadwordNicodemus
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
Letters9
Frequency rank#53,730
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “Nicodemus” in English

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “Nikko” (#53,731), “neuroimaging” (#53,728), “Nessa” (#53,727). Among 1,534 “N” headwords, “Nicodemus” is #53,730. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

Nicodemus is uncommon English at frequency #53,730 among 1,534 “N” headwords, classed as aproper noun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for Nicodemus in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Ancient Greek Νῑκόδημος (Nīkódēmos), from νῑ́κη (nī́kē, “victory”) + δῆμος (dêmos, “people”). The correct English form is Nicodemus, spelled N-I-C-O-D-E-M-U-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    A Pharisee, a secret follower of Jesus in the New Testament.
  2. 2
    A male given name from Ancient Greek.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how Nicodemus appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God:

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek Νῑκόδημος (Nīkódēmos), from νῑ́κη (nī́kē, “victory”) + δῆμος (dêmos, “people”).

This word in other languages

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 "Nicodemus"?
"Nicodemus" is spelled N-I-C-O-D-E-M-U-S.
What does "Nicodemus" mean?
As a proper noun, "Nicodemus" means: A Pharisee, a secret follower of Jesus in the New Testament.
What is the origin of the word "Nicodemus"?
Borrowed from Ancient Greek Νῑκόδημος (Nīkódēmos), from νῑ́κη (nī́kē, “victory”) + δῆμος (dêmos, “people”). 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 "Nicodemus", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list