Paterson

Name: Paterson, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

/ˈpætəɹ.sən/

//ˈpætəɹ.sən// name

By PlainSpell · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed September 3, 2026

The verdict

“Paterson” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #16,990. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#16,990
frequency rank, English: 4,417
“P” headwords: 11
tracked misspellings: 9
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A surname originating as a patronymic.

Corpus desk

Index EN-paterson · Paterson · English

Paterson · rank #16,990 · 11 variants · 9 confusables

FREQ-MID #16,990
LEN-LONG 8 letters
VOW-3 3 vowels
CONFUS-MID 9 pairs
VAR-MID 11 variants
BOOK-MID 4,417
PHOTO-FINISH parity

Nearest frequency peer: parity (-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.

Otis

83,014
owls

83,013
parity

83,012
Paterson

83,011
persuasive

83,009
pew

83,007

What this shows “Paterson” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

Paterson vs person

63% similar

Paterson vs patron

63% similar

Paterson vs Pierson

75% similar

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

Key facts for Paterson
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)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “Paterson”

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

#16,990

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “parity” (#16,989), “owls” (#16,988), “persuasive” (#16,992). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “Paterson” is #16,990. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around Paterson (IPA /ˈpætəɹ.sən/), aproper noun. Corpus frequency is #16,990 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

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

1
A surname originating as a patronymic.
2
A city, the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, United States.
3
An unincorporated community in Benton County, Washington, United States.
4
A town in New South Wales, Australia.
5
A settlement in the Eastern Cape province, South Africa.
6
An 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.

Edit distance from "Paterson"

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"?

"Paterson" is spelled P-A-T-E-R-S-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpætəɹ.sən/.

What does "Paterson" mean?

As a proper noun, "Paterson" means: A surname originating as a patronymic.

What words are commonly confused with "Paterson"?

"Paterson" is commonly confused with "person", "patron", "Pierson". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.

How do you pronounce "Paterson"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Paterson" is /ˈpætəɹ.sən/. 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 "Paterson"?

From a Middle English short form of Patrick + -son. 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 "Paterson", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

obituary#16,983 populous#16,998 mustache#16,978 ratified#17,010

Similar misspelling depth

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

postwar11 variants prudent11 variants lunches11 variants Slovenia11 variants