Willoughby

Name: Willoughby, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

name

By PlainSpell · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed May 6, 2026

The verdict

“Willoughby” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #25,975. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#25,975
frequency rank, English: 12,113
“W” headwords: 14
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Any of several placenames in England and elsewhere:

Key facts for Willoughby
Property	Value
Headword	Willoughby
Language	English
Part of speech	Proper noun
Letters	10
Frequency rank	#25,975
Misspellings tracked	14
Confusable pairs	0
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “Willoughby” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). Willoughby lands here:

#25,975

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around Willoughby, aproper noun. Corpus frequency is #25,975 among 12,113 “W” headwords. Wiktionary lists 8 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for Willoughby, with forms such as "iwlloughby", "willoguhby", and "willougbhy". 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 is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Old English weliġ (“willow”) and Old Norse byr (“settlement”). The correct English form is Willoughby, spelled W-I-L-L-O-U-G-H-B-Y.

Definition

1
Any of several placenames in England and elsewhere:
2
Any of several placenames in England and elsewhere:
3
Any of several placenames in England and elsewhere:
4
Any of several placenames in England and elsewhere:
5
Any of several placenames in England and elsewhere:
6
Any of several placenames in England and elsewhere:
7
A habitational surname.
8
A male given name transferred from the surname.

Etymology

From Old English weliġ (“willow”) and Old Norse byr (“settlement”).

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

iwlloughby
willoguhby
willougbhy
willougghby
willoughbby
willoughbyy
willoughhby
willoughyb
willouhgby
willuoghby
wilolughby
wiloughby
wliloughby
wwilloughby

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

Edit distance from "Willoughby"

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 "Willoughby"?

"Willoughby" is spelled W-I-L-L-O-U-G-H-B-Y.

What does "Willoughby" mean?

As a proper noun, "Willoughby" means: Any of several placenames in England and elsewhere:

What are common misspellings of "Willoughby"?

Common misspellings include "iwlloughby", "willoguhby", "willougbhy", "willougghby", "willoughbby". The correct spelling is "Willoughby".

What is the origin of the word "Willoughby"?

From Old English weliġ (“willow”) and Old Norse byr (“settlement”). 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.

Using “Willoughby”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

The one correct English spelling is W-I-L-L-O-U-G-H-B-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Same frequency band

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.