Philip
/ˈfɪlɪp/
"philip" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“Philip” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #4,473 in English word frequency and used as a proper noun.
- #4,473
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
- 8
- tracked misspellings
- 6
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - One of the twelve disciples of Jesus in the Bible; one of the seven deacons.
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 | Philip |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Proper noun |
| IPA | /ˈfɪlɪp/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #4,473 |
| Misspellings tracked | 8 |
| Confusable pairs | 6 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Philip” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for Philip is 6 letters long, classified as a proper noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈfɪlɪp/. Corpus data places it at rank #4,473 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
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
- 1One of the twelve disciples of Jesus in the Bible; one of the seven deacons.
- 2A male given name from Ancient Greek.
- 3A surname originating as a patronymic.
- 4A small city, the county seat of Haakon County, South Dakota, United States.
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.
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
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Using “Philip”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-H-I-L-I-P - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈfɪlɪp/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “Philly” - see the side-by-side comparison. Philip vs Philly
- 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.