Renfrew

/ˈɹɛnfɹuː/

//ˈɹɛnfɹuː// name

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"renfrew" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Renfrew” is uncommon English (frequency #51,948 among 21,470 “R” headwords), classed as a proper noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#51,948
frequency rank, English
21,470
“R” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A town in Renfrewshire council area, Scotland; historically it was the county town of Renfrewshire (OS grid ref NS5067).

Key facts for Renfrew
PropertyValue
HeadwordRenfrew
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/ˈɹɛnfɹuː/
Letters7
Frequency rank#51,948
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “Renfrew” sits in English frequency

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

Renfrew is uncommon English at frequency #51,948 among 21,470 “R” headwords, classed as aproper noun, transcribed /ˈɹɛnfɹuː/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 8 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for Renfrew, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Scottish Gaelic Rinn Friù. from Old British rhyn frwd meaning "point at the current". The correct English form is Renfrew, spelled R-E-N-F-R-E-W.

Definition

  1. 1
    A town in Renfrewshire council area, Scotland; historically it was the county town of Renfrewshire (OS grid ref NS5067).
  2. 2
    A local government district of the Strathclyde Region, Scotland, between 1975 and 1996, which was split between Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire council areas.
  3. 3
    A town in Renfrew County, Ontario, Canada.
  4. 4
    A ghost town in Hants County, Nova Scotia, Canada.
  5. 5
    A neighbourhood of Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
  6. 6
    An unincorporated community in Benewah County, Idaho, United States.
  7. 7
    An unincorporated village in Butler County, Pennsylvania, United States.
  8. 8
    A habitational surname from Scottish Gaelic.

Etymology

From Scottish Gaelic Rinn Friù. from Old British rhyn frwd meaning "point at the current".

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 "Renfrew"?
"Renfrew" is spelled R-E-N-F-R-E-W. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɹɛnfɹuː/.
What does "Renfrew" mean?
As a proper noun, "Renfrew" means: A town in Renfrewshire council area, Scotland; historically it was the county town of Renfrewshire (OS grid ref NS5067).
How do you pronounce "Renfrew"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Renfrew" is /ˈɹɛnfɹuː/. 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 "Renfrew"?
From Scottish Gaelic Rinn Friù. from Old British rhyn frwd meaning "point at the current". 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.

Using “Renfrew”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is R-E-N-F-R-E-W - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈɹɛnfɹuː/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Other uncommon English words near this rank

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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list