Onslow

name

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

"onslow" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Onslow” is uncommon English (frequency #51,889 among 1,431 “O” headwords), classed as a proper noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#51,889
frequency rank, English
1,431
“O” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A male given name from the Germanic languages.

Corpus desk

Index EN-onslow · Onslow · English

Onslow · rank #51,889 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #51,889
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,431
  • PHOTO-FINISH ominously

Nearest frequency peer: ominously (-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 “Onslow”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for Onslow
PropertyValue
HeadwordOnslow
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
Letters6
Frequency rank#51,889
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “Onslow” in English

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).Onslowfalls in this rarity band:

#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. Rare peers in the same band: “ominously” (#51,888), “optioned” (#51,890), “ornithology” (#51,891). Among 1,431 “O” headwords, “Onslow” is #51,889. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

Onslow is uncommon English at frequency #51,889 among 1,431 “O” headwords, classed as aproper noun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for Onslow, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English Ondeslow, Ondeslowe, Ondeslawe, Andeslawe, Hundeslawe, Hundreslawe, Andreslawe, from Old English *Andrǣd (a male given name) + hlāw, hlǣw (“hill”) (literally, "Ander's hill"). The correct English form is Onslow, spelled O-N-S-L-O-W.

Definition

  1. 1
    A male given name from the Germanic languages.
  2. 2
    A surname originating as a patronymic.
  3. 3
    An English earldom.

Etymology

From Middle English Ondeslow, Ondeslowe, Ondeslawe, Andeslawe, Hundeslawe, Hundreslawe, Andreslawe, from Old English *Andrǣd (a male given name) + hlāw, hlǣw (“hill”) (literally, "Ander's hill").

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 "Onslow"?
"Onslow" is spelled O-N-S-L-O-W.
What does "Onslow" mean?
As a proper noun, "Onslow" means: A male given name from the Germanic languages.
What is the origin of the word "Onslow"?
From Middle English Ondeslow, Ondeslowe, Ondeslawe, Andeslawe, Hundeslawe, Hundreslawe, Andreslawe, from Old English *Andrǣd (a male given name) + hlāw, hlǣw (“hill”) (literally, "Ander's hill"). 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 "Onslow", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Osorio#51,893Nikhil#51,879pecker#51,908penner#51,909

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list