Wolfe

name

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

"wolfe" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Wolfe” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #17,060. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#17,060
frequency rank, English
1,759
“W” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
16
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A surname transferred from the given name of English and German origin, a variant of Wolf.

Corpus desk

Index EN-wolfe · Wolfe · English

Wolfe · rank #17,060 · 7 variants · 16 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #17,060
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 16 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,759
  • PHOTO-FINISH windshield

Nearest frequency peer: windshield (-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 “Wolfe”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “Wolfe” 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).

Wolfe vs wore
40% similar
Wolfe vs woof
40% similar
Wolfe vs wove
40% similar

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

Key facts for Wolfe
PropertyValue
HeadwordWolfe
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
Letters5
Frequency rank#17,060
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs16
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “Wolfe”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).Wolfelands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “windshield” (#17,059), “zodiac” (#17,061), “whispering” (#17,058). Among 1,759 “W” headwords, “Wolfe” is #17,060. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around Wolfe, aproper noun. Corpus frequency is #17,060 among 1,759 “W” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for Wolfe, with forms such as "owlfe", "wlofe", and "wofle". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 16 confusable-pair relationships, "wore", "woof", "wove", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct English form is Wolfe, spelled W-O-L-F-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A surname transferred from the given name of English and German origin, a variant of Wolf.
  2. 2
    An unincorporated community in Mercer County, West Virginia, United States.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. His family, who live in West Des Moines, Iowa, have been left “devastated,” his owner Tracy Wolfe said in GWR press release. “He was just the best giant boy,” she added.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • owlfe
  • wlofe
  • wofle
  • wolef
  • wolffe
  • wollfe
  • wwolfe

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Wolfe - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

owlfe2wlofe2wofle2wolef2wolffe1wollfe1wwolfe1
Edit distance from "Wolfe"

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 "Wolfe"?
"Wolfe" is spelled W-O-L-F-E.
What does "Wolfe" mean?
As a proper noun, "Wolfe" means: A surname transferred from the given name of English and German origin, a variant of Wolf.
What words are commonly confused with "Wolfe"?
"Wolfe" is commonly confused with "wore", "woof", "wove". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What language does "Wolfe" come from?
"Wolfe" is a English word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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 "Wolfe", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

abyss#17,066Alvin#17,070torso#17,046Torah#17,045

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

arson7 variantsbarren7 variantsbasal7 variantsbuzzer7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list