Zephaniah

/zɛfəˈnaɪə/

//zɛfəˈnaɪə// name

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

"zephaniah" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Zephaniah” is uncommon English (frequency #82,005 among 2,810 “Z” headwords), classed as a proper noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#82,005
frequency rank, English
2,810
“Z” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A book of the Old Testament and the Hebrew Tanakh.

Key facts for Zephaniah
PropertyValue
HeadwordZephaniah
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/zɛfəˈnaɪə/
Letters9
Frequency rank#82,005
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “Zephaniah” 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). Zephaniah lands here:

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

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

Rare enough to double-check

Zephaniah is uncommon English at frequency #82,005 among 2,810 “Z” headwords, classed as aproper noun, transcribed /zɛfəˈnaɪə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

Zephaniah doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Hebrew צְפַנְיָה (ts'fanyá). The correct English form is Zephaniah, spelled Z-E-P-H-A-N-I-A-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    A book of the Old Testament and the Hebrew Tanakh.
  2. 2
    Hebrew prophet associated with the Book of Zephaniah
  3. 3
    A male given name from Hebrew.

Etymology

From Hebrew צְפַנְיָה (ts'fanyá).

This word in other languages

Sofonías(Español)Sophonie(Français)Zephanja(Deutsch)

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 "Zephaniah"?
"Zephaniah" is spelled Z-E-P-H-A-N-I-A-H. The IPA pronunciation is /zɛfəˈnaɪə/.
What does "Zephaniah" mean?
As a proper noun, "Zephaniah" means: A book of the Old Testament and the Hebrew Tanakh.
How do you pronounce "Zephaniah"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Zephaniah" is /zɛfəˈnaɪə/. 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 "Zephaniah"?
From Hebrew צְפַנְיָה (ts'fanyá). 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 “Zephaniah”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is Z-E-P-H-A-N-I-A-H - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /zɛfəˈnaɪə/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Other uncommon English words near this rank

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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list