Rumpelstiltskin

/ˌɹʌmpəlˈstɪltskɪn/

//ˌɹʌmpəlˈstɪltskɪn// name

"rumpelstiltskin" is a 15-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Rumpelstiltskin” is uncommon English (frequency #90,921 among 3,094 “R” headwords), classed as a proper noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#90,921
frequency rank, English
3,094
“R” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A fairy tale about a dwarf who saves the miller’s daughter by spinning straw into gold in exchange for her first-born child, but is foiled when she guesses his name.

Corpus desk

Index EN-rumpelstiltskin · Rumpelstiltskin · English

Rumpelstiltskin · rank #90,921 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #90,921
  • LEN-MEGA 15 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,094
  • PHOTO-FINISH rutted

Nearest frequency peer: rutted (+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 “Rumpelstiltskin”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for Rumpelstiltskin
PropertyValue
HeadwordRumpelstiltskin
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/ˌɹʌmpəlˈstɪltskɪn/
Letters15
Frequency rank#90,921
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “Rumpelstiltskin” 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).Rumpelstiltskinfalls in this rarity band:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “rutted” (#90,922), “saccharin” (#90,923), “sadden” (#90,924). Among 3,094 “R” headwords, “Rumpelstiltskin” is #90,921. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

Rumpelstiltskin is uncommon English at frequency #90,921 among 3,094 “R” headwords, classed as aproper noun, transcribed /ˌɹʌmpəlˈstɪltskɪn/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for Rumpelstiltskin, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From German Rumpelstilzchen; Wikipedia discusses the hypotheses. The correct English form is Rumpelstiltskin, spelled R-U-M-P-E-L-S-T-I-L-T-S-K-I-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    A fairy tale about a dwarf who saves the miller’s daughter by spinning straw into gold in exchange for her first-born child, but is foiled when she guesses his name.
  2. 2
    The fictional dwarf who is the title character of that story.

Etymology

From German Rumpelstilzchen; Wikipedia discusses the hypotheses.

Synonyms

Tom Tit Tot

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 "Rumpelstiltskin"?
"Rumpelstiltskin" is spelled R-U-M-P-E-L-S-T-I-L-T-S-K-I-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌɹʌmpəlˈstɪltskɪn/.
What does "Rumpelstiltskin" mean?
As a proper noun, "Rumpelstiltskin" means: A fairy tale about a dwarf who saves the miller’s daughter by spinning straw into gold in exchange for her first-born child, but is foiled when she guesses his name.
How do you pronounce "Rumpelstiltskin"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Rumpelstiltskin" is /ˌɹʌmpəlˈstɪltskɪn/. 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 "Rumpelstiltskin"?
From German Rumpelstilzchen; Wikipedia discusses the hypotheses. 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 "Rumpelstiltskin", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 15 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list