AdánvsAdriánWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“Adán” and “Adrián” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#12,292
“Adán” frequency rank
#12,515
“Adrián” frequency rank
24807
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Adán Adrián
Definition Nombre de pila de varón. Nombre de pila de varón.

Where the eye mixes Adán and Adrián

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

4 ch
Adán
6 ch
Adrián

Why the eye confuses Adán with Adrián

A purely visual mix-up. Adán ([aˈð̞ãn]) and Adrián ([aˈð̞ɾjãn]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24807, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Adán is recorded at frequency rank #12,292, classified as aname, pronounced [aˈð̞ãn]. Adrián is at rank #12,515, tagged as aname, pronounced [aˈð̞ɾjãn].

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 24807, this pair ranks #239,389 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Adán vs Adrián

Shared letters: adná. Private to "Adán": -. Private to "Adrián": ir.

"Adán" · 4 letters · shape VCVC  ·  "Adrián" · 6 letters · shape VCCVVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Adán" for "Adrián" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([aˈð̞ãn] versus [aˈð̞ɾjãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Adán" vs "Adrián" - which ranks higher?
"Adán" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,292 in our Spanish list, against #12,515 for "Adrián". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Adán" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Adrián" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #239,389 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Adán" and "Adrián" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "admitan vs Adrián". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #239,389 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list