Sherman
/ˈʃɜː(ɹ)mən/
"sherman" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“Sherman” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #8,984 in English word frequency and used as a proper noun.
- #8,984
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
- 11
- tracked misspellings
- 11
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An English surname originating as an occupation for a sheep-shearer.
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 | Sherman |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Proper noun |
| IPA | /ˈʃɜː(ɹ)mən/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #8,984 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 11 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Sherman” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for Sherman is 7 letters long, classified as a proper noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈʃɜː(ɹ)mən/. Corpus data places it at rank #8,984 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 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for Sherman, with forms such as "hserman", "sehrman", and "shemran". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 11 confusable-pair relationships, "Sherpa", "showman", "Sherwin", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: Sense 1: From Middle English schereman, scherman; equivalent to shear + -man. The correct English form is Sherman, spelled S-H-E-R-M-A-N.
Definition
- 1An English surname originating as an occupation for a sheep-shearer.
- 2An American surname from German derived from the German Schuermann.
- 3An Ashkenazic Jewish occupational surname for a tailor.
- 4A male given name transferred from the surname.
Etymology
Sense 1: From Middle English schereman, scherman; equivalent to shear + -man.
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: hserman,sehrman,shemran,sheramn,shermann,shermman,shermna,sherrman,shherman,shreman,ssherman
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Sherman - 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 "Sherman"?
What does "Sherman" mean?
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Using “Sherman”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-H-E-R-M-A-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈʃɜː(ɹ)mən/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “Sherpa” - see the side-by-side comparison. Sherman vs Sherpa
- 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.