Wilfred
/ˈwɪlfɹɪd/
"wilfred" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“Wilfred” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #27,699 in English word frequency and used as a proper noun.
- #27,699
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
- 11
- tracked misspellings
- 5
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A male given name from Old English, popular in the U.K. in the early twentieth century.
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 | Wilfred |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Proper noun |
| IPA | /ˈwɪlfɹɪd/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #27,699 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 5 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Wilfred” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for Wilfred is 7 letters long, classified as a proper noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈwɪlfɹɪd/. Corpus data places it at rank #27,699 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "A male given name from Old English, popular in the U.K. in the early twentieth century.".
Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for Wilfred, with forms such as "iwlfred", "wiflred", and "wilferd". 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 5 confusable-pair relationships, "wired", "willed", "wilted", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: The name of two early Anglo-Saxon saints Wilfriþ, from Old English wil (“will”) + friþ (“peace”). The correct English form is Wilfred, spelled W-I-L-F-R-E-D.
Definition
- 1A male given name from Old English, popular in the U.K. in the early twentieth century.
Etymology
The name of two early Anglo-Saxon saints Wilfriþ, from Old English wil (“will”) + friþ (“peace”).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: iwlfred,wiflred,wilferd,wilffred,wilfrde,wilfredd,wilfrred,willfred,wilrfed,wlifred,wwilfred
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Wilfred - 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 "Wilfred"?
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Using “Wilfred”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is W-I-L-F-R-E-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈwɪlfɹɪd/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “wired” - see the side-by-side comparison. Wilfred vs wired
- 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.