Philemon

/fɪˈliːmən/

//fɪˈliːmən// name

"philemon" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Philemon” is uncommon English (frequency #66,923 among 4,417 “P” headwords), classed as a proper noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#66,923
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The eighteenth book of the New Testament of the Bible, the epistle of Saint Paul to a fellow Christian called Philemon.

Corpus desk

Index EN-philemon · Philemon · English

Philemon · rank #66,923 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #66,923
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH photoelectric

Nearest frequency peer: photoelectric (+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 “Philemon”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for Philemon
PropertyValue
HeadwordPhilemon
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/fɪˈliːmən/
Letters8
Frequency rank#66,923
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “Philemon” 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).Philemonfalls in this rarity band:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “photoelectric” (#66,924), “Pernod” (#66,921), “photosensitive” (#66,925). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “Philemon” is #66,923. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

Philemon is uncommon English at frequency #66,923 among 4,417 “P” headwords, classed as aproper noun, transcribed /fɪˈliːmən/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for Philemon, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Ancient Greek Φιλήμων (Philḗmōn), from φιλήμων (philḗmōn, “kindly, affectionate”), from φιλέω (philéō, “I love”). The correct English form is Philemon, spelled P-H-I-L-E-M-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    The eighteenth book of the New Testament of the Bible, the epistle of Saint Paul to a fellow Christian called Philemon.
  2. 2
    A male given name from Ancient Greek.
  3. 3
    A surname transferred from the given name.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy our brother, unto Philemon our dearly beloved, and fellow labourer.

Etymology

From Ancient Greek Φιλήμων (Philḗmōn), from φιλήμων (philḗmōn, “kindly, affectionate”), from φιλέω (philéō, “I love”).

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 "Philemon"?
"Philemon" is spelled P-H-I-L-E-M-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /fɪˈliːmən/.
What does "Philemon" mean?
As a proper noun, "Philemon" means: The eighteenth book of the New Testament of the Bible, the epistle of Saint Paul to a fellow Christian called Philemon.
How do you pronounce "Philemon"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Philemon" is /fɪˈliːmən/. 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 "Philemon"?
From Ancient Greek Φιλήμων (Philḗmōn), from φιλήμων (philḗmōn, “kindly, affectionate”), from φιλέω (philéō, “I love”). 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 "Philemon", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list