MathildevsMatildaWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“Mathilde” and “Matilda” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#10,192
“Mathilde” frequency rank
#46,290
“Matilda” frequency rank
56482
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Mathilde Matilda
Definition Prénom féminin. Prénom féminin.

Where the eye mixes Mathilde and Matilda

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. Mathilde runs 8 letters (CVCCVCCV) against Matilda's 7 (CVCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
Mathilde
7 ch
Matilda

Look-alike desk: Mathilde vs Matilda

A purely visual mix-up. Mathilde (\ma.tild\) and Matilda (\maˈtɪlda\) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56482, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Mathilde is recorded at frequency rank #10,192, classified as aname, pronounced \ma.tild\. Matilda is at rank #46,290, tagged as aname, pronounced \maˈtɪlda\.

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 56482, this pair ranks #120,860 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Mathilde vs Matilda

Shared letters: adilmt. Private to "Mathilde": eh. Private to "Matilda": -.

"Mathilde" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV  ·  "Matilda" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Mathilde ← amthilde · mahtilde · mathhilde · mathidle · mathildde · mathiled · mathillde · mathlide
  • Matilda ← amtilda · maitlda · matidla · matilad · matildda · matillda · matlida · mattilda

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Mathilde" and "Matilda" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ma.tild\ versus \maˈtɪlda\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Mathilde" or "Matilda"?
"Mathilde" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,192 in our French list, against #46,290 for "Matilda". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Mathilde" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Matilda" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #120,860 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Mathilde" and "Matilda" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Mathilda vs Matilda". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #120,860 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list