surnom

\syʁ.nɔ̃\

/\syʁ.nɔ̃\/ noun

The verdict

“surnom” is a regularly-used French word, ranked #7,382 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#7,382
frequency rank, French
6
letters
9
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Nom ajouté au nom propre d’une personne ou au nom de famille et qui désigne quelque qualité ou rappelle quelque circonstance particulière.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

surnom vs survol
67% similar
surnom vs surnoms
86% similar
surnom vs surnomme
75% similar

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

Key facts for surnom
PropertyValue
Headwordsurnom
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\syʁ.nɔ̃\
Letters6
Frequency rank#7,382
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “surnom” sits in French 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). surnom lands here:

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

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

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for surnom is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \syʁ.nɔ̃\. Corpus data places it at rank #7,382 in overall French word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for surnom, with forms such as "srunom", "ssurnom", and "sunrom". 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, "survol", "surnoms", "surnomme", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct French form is surnom, spelled S-U-R-N-O-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    Nom ajouté au nom propre d’une personne ou au nom de famille et qui désigne quelque qualité ou rappelle quelque circonstance particulière.
  2. 2
    Sobriquet, désignation substitutive au nom véritable d'une personne.
  3. 3
    Nom de famille, nom qui suit (ou précède dans certaines cultures) le nom de baptême ou nom personnel.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: srunom,ssurnom,sunrom,surnmo,surnnom,surnomm,suronm,surrnom,usrnom

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

srunom2ssurnom1sunrom2surnmo2surnnom1surnomm1suronm2surrnom1
Edit distance from "surnom"

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 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "surnom"?
"surnom" is spelled S-U-R-N-O-M. The IPA pronunciation is \syʁ.nɔ̃\.
What does "surnom" mean?
As a noun, "surnom" means: Nom ajouté au nom propre d’une personne ou au nom de famille et qui désigne quelque qualité ou rappelle quelque circonstance particulière.
What words are commonly confused with "surnom"?
"surnom" is commonly confused with "survol", "surnoms", "surnomme". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "surnom"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "surnom" is \syʁ.nɔ̃\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "surnom" come from?
"surnom" is a French 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.

Using “surnom”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is S-U-R-N-O-M - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \syʁ.nɔ̃\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “survol” - see the side-by-side comparison. surnom vs survol
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words
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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list