Philip

/ˈfɪlɪp/

//ˈfɪlɪp// name

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

The verdict

“Philip” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #4,473. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#4,473
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
6
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - One of the twelve disciples of Jesus in the Bible; one of the seven deacons.

Corpus desk

Index EN-philip · Philip · English

Philip · rank #4,473 · 8 variants · 6 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #4,473
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 6 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH peaceful

Nearest frequency peer: peaceful (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “Philip”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

Philip vs Philly
67% similar
Philip vs Phillip
86% similar
Philip vs Philips
86% similar

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

Key facts for Philip
PropertyValue
HeadwordPhilip
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/ˈfɪlɪp/
Letters6
Frequency rank#4,473
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs6
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “Philip”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).Philiplands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “peaceful” (#4,472), “photographer” (#4,474), “odds” (#4,471). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “Philip” is #4,473. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around Philip (IPA /ˈfɪlɪp/), aproper noun. Corpus frequency is #4,473 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for Philip, with forms such as "hpilip", "phhilip", and "phiilp". 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 6 confusable-pair relationships, "Philly", "Phillip", "Philips", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English Philip, ultimately from Ancient Greek Φίλιππος (Phílippos), name of ancient kings of Macedonia, from φίλιππος (phílippos, “fond of horses”), from φιλέω (philéō, “to love”) + ἵππος (híppos, “horse”). The correct English form is Philip, spelled P-H-I-L-I-P.

Definition

  1. 1
    One of the twelve disciples of Jesus in the Bible; one of the seven deacons.
  2. 2
    A male given name from Ancient Greek.
  3. 3
    A surname originating as a patronymic.
  4. 4
    A small city, the county seat of Haakon County, South Dakota, United States.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Philip Berold, conceiting this his name, very Clerkly proves that Philip is an Apostolical name by Saint Philip the Apostle, a Royal name by King Philip King of Macedonia, and an Imperial name by Philip the first Christian Emperour.
  2. I used to envy my brother his name, and recall once accusing my mother of having favored him, else why did she name me Nathan and him Philip, tell me that, ma, tell me that. He had king Philip and if day-dreaming that association wasn't pleasure enough, there was the then movie star, Phillips Holmes. All I had was Nathan Hale.

Etymology

From Middle English Philip, ultimately from Ancient Greek Φίλιππος (Phílippos), name of ancient kings of Macedonia, from φίλιππος (phílippos, “fond of horses”), from φιλέω (philéō, “to love”) + ἵππος (híppos, “horse”).

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • hpilip
  • phhilip
  • phiilp
  • philipp
  • philpi
  • phliip
  • pihlip
  • pphilip

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Philip - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

hpilip2phhilip1phiilp2philipp1philpi2phliip2pihlip2pphilip1
Edit distance from "Philip"

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 "Philip"?
"Philip" is spelled P-H-I-L-I-P. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈfɪlɪp/.
What does "Philip" mean?
As a proper noun, "Philip" means: One of the twelve disciples of Jesus in the Bible; one of the seven deacons.
What words are commonly confused with "Philip"?
"Philip" is commonly confused with "Philly", "Phillip", "Philips". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Philip"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Philip" is /ˈfɪlɪp/. 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 "Philip"?
From Middle English Philip, ultimately from Ancient Greek Φίλιππος (Phílippos), name of ancient kings of Macedonia, from φίλιππος (phílippos, “fond of horses”), from φιλέω (philéō, “to love”) + ἵππος (híppos, “horse”). 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 "Philip", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list