Reilly
/ˈɹaɪli/
"reilly" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“Reilly” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #18,938 in English word frequency and used as a proper noun.
- #18,938
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 9
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A surname from Irish.
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 | Reilly |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Proper noun |
| IPA | /ˈɹaɪli/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #18,938 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 9 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Reilly” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for Reilly is 6 letters long, classified as a proper noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈɹaɪli/. Corpus data places it at rank #18,938 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for Reilly, with forms such as "erilly", "reillyy", and "reily". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 9 confusable-pair relationships, "rely", "reply", "Riley", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Irish Ó Raghallaigh, a surname meaning "descendants of Raghallach". The correct English form is Reilly, spelled R-E-I-L-L-Y.
Definition
- 1A surname from Irish.
- 2A unisex given name transferred from the surname, of modern usage.
Etymology
From Irish Ó Raghallaigh, a surname meaning "descendants of Raghallach".
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: erilly,reillyy,reily,reilyl,relily,rielly,rreilly
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Reilly - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
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 "Reilly"?
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Using “Reilly”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is R-E-I-L-L-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈɹaɪli/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “rely” - see the side-by-side comparison. Reilly vs rely
- 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.