Paterson
/ˈpætəɹ.sən/
"paterson" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“Paterson” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #16,990 in English word frequency and used as a proper noun.
- #16,990
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 11
- tracked misspellings
- 9
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A surname originating as a patronymic.
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 | Paterson |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Proper noun |
| IPA | /ˈpætəɹ.sən/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #16,990 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 9 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Paterson” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for Paterson is 8 letters long, classified as a proper noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈpætəɹ.sən/. Corpus data places it at rank #16,990 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for Paterson, with forms such as "apterson", "paetrson", and "paterosn". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 9 confusable-pair relationships, "person", "patron", "Pierson", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From a Middle English short form of Patrick + -son. The correct English form is Paterson, spelled P-A-T-E-R-S-O-N.
Definition
- 1A surname originating as a patronymic.
- 2A city, the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, United States.
- 3An unincorporated community in Benton County, Washington, United States.
- 4A town in New South Wales, Australia.
- 5A settlement in the Eastern Cape province, South Africa.
- 6An electoral division in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia.
Etymology
From a Middle English short form of Patrick + -son.
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: apterson,paetrson,paterosn,paterrson,patersno,patersonn,patersson,patesron,patreson,ppaterson,ptaerson
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Paterson - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "Paterson"?
What does "Paterson" mean?
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Using “Paterson”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-A-T-E-R-S-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈpætəɹ.sən/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “person” - see the side-by-side comparison. Paterson vs person
- 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.