Otis
/ˈoʊtɪs/
"otis" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“Otis” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #16,987 in English word frequency and used as a proper noun.
- #16,987
- frequency rank, English
- 4
- letters
- 5
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A surname transferred from the given name, notably of the American revolutionary hero James Otis and the innovator and industrialist Elisha Otis.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | Otis |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Proper noun |
| IPA | /ˈoʊtɪs/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #16,987 |
| Misspellings tracked | 5 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Otis” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for Otis is 4 letters long, classified as a proper noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈoʊtɪs/. Corpus data places it at rank #16,987 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for Otis, with forms such as "oits", "otiss", and "otsi". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "OTT", "oui", "OTS", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: A patronymic surname derived from Middle English genitive case of the Germanic given name Ote, Ode, cognate to modern Otto. The correct English form is Otis, spelled O-T-I-S.
Definition
- 1A surname transferred from the given name, notably of the American revolutionary hero James Otis and the innovator and industrialist Elisha Otis.
- 2A male given name from the Germanic languages, transferred from the surname.
- 3An Otis elevator.
Etymology
A patronymic surname derived from Middle English genitive case of the Germanic given name Ote, Ode, cognate to modern Otto.
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: oits,otiss,otsi,ottis,tois
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Otis - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
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 "Otis"?
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Using “Otis”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is O-T-I-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈoʊtɪs/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “OTT” - see the side-by-side comparison. Otis vs OTT
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.