Williams

/ˈwɪli.əmz/

//ˈwɪli.əmz// name

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

"williams" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Williams” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #2,188. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#2,188
frequency rank, English
1,759
“W” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A surname.

Corpus desk

Index EN-williams · Williams · English

Williams · rank #2,188 · 10 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,188
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,759
  • PHOTO-FINISH walked

Nearest frequency peer: walked (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “Williams”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “Williams” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

Williams vs Willis
75% similar
Williams vs Williamson
80% similar
Williams vs William
88% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for Williams
PropertyValue
HeadwordWilliams
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/ˈwɪli.əmz/
Letters8
Frequency rank#2,188
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “Williams”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).Williamslands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “walked” (#2,187), “ya” (#2,189), “values” (#2,186). Among 1,759 “W” headwords, “Williams” is #2,188. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around Williams (IPA /ˈwɪli.əmz/), aproper noun. Corpus frequency is #2,188 among 1,759 “W” headwords. Wiktionary lists 23 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for Williams, with forms such as "iwlliams", "wiliams", and "wililams". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "Willis", "Williamson", "William", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Variant of William with genitival or post-medieval excrescent -s. The correct English form is Williams, spelled W-I-L-L-I-A-M-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    A surname.
  2. 2
    A surname.
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    A surname.
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Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how Williams appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. “I like to put it simply,” says Randy “R Dub!” Williams, a late-night “slow jams” DJ from San Diego who’s also known as “the Sultan of Slowjamastan.” “I ran out of countries, so I created my own.” […] Now that Williams is set to complete his lifetime goal of visiting every country in the world, he’s inviting tourists to visit the Republic of Slowjamastan…

Etymology

Variant of William with genitival or post-medieval excrescent -s.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • iwlliams
  • wiliams
  • wililams
  • willaims
  • williamms
  • williamss
  • williasm
  • willimas
  • wliliams
  • wwilliams

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Williams - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

iwlliams2wiliams1wililams2willaims2williamms1williamss1williasm2willimas2
Edit distance from "Williams"

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 "Williams"?
"Williams" is spelled W-I-L-L-I-A-M-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈwɪli.əmz/.
What does "Williams" mean?
As a proper noun, "Williams" means: A surname.
What words are commonly confused with "Williams"?
"Williams" is commonly confused with "Willis", "Williamson", "William". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Williams"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Williams" is /ˈwɪli.əmz/. 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 "Williams"?
Variant of William with genitival or post-medieval excrescent -s. 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 "Williams", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

schedule#2,178requires#2,175platform#2,170internal#2,209

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

Ireland10 variantsmistake10 variantsliberal10 variantsartists10 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list