# Tarzan

> English word · Proper noun · IPA /ˈtɑɹzæn/ · frequency rank #23,413

## Definitions
1. A heroic fictional character, raised from a baby to adulthood in the African jungle by apes.

## Etymology
Coined by Edgar Rice Burroughs in 1912. A name created by Burroughs for his fiction.
In the fictional ape language of the books, "tarzan" means "white-skin"; possibly echoic in its phonetics of various "exotic" names (see Orientalism).

## Easily confused with
- **Tran** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tarzan-vs-tran)
- **turban** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tarzan-vs-turban)
- **Tasman** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tarzan-vs-tasman)
- **Tara** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tara-vs-tarzan)
- **tarn** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tarn-vs-tarzan)
- **Taiwan** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/taiwan-vs-tarzan)
- **tarmac** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tarmac-vs-tarzan)
- **tartan** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tartan-vs-tarzan)
- **tartar** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tartar-vs-tarzan)

## Common misspellings (9)
`atrzan`, `tarazn`, `tarrzan`, `tarzann`, `tarzna`, `tarzzan`, `tazran`, `trazan`, `ttarzan`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/tarzan