StevensvsStevensonWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#16,243
“Stevens” frequency rank
#21,777
“Stevenson” frequency rank
38020
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Stevens Stevenson
Definition Nom de famille anglais. Nom de famille anglais.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Stevens and Stevenson apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
Stevens
9 ch
Stevenson

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Stevens and Stevenson are indexed as a confusable French pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “Stevens” sits inside “Stevenson”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38020, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Stevens is recorded at frequency rank #16,243, classified as aname, pronounced \sti.vənz\. Stevenson is at rank #21,777, tagged as aname.

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 38020, this pair ranks #258,273 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Stevens vs Stevenson

Shared letters: enstv. Private to "Stevens": -. Private to "Stevenson": o.

"Stevens" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCC  ·  "Stevenson" · 9 letters · shape CCVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Stevenssetvens · sstevens · steevns · stevenns · stevenss · stevesn · stevnes · stevvens
  • Stevensonsetvenson · sstevenson · steevnson · stevennson · stevenosn · stevensno · stevensonn · stevensson

Frequency comparison

Stevens#16,243
Stevenson#21,777

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Stevens" and "Stevenson" be used interchangeably?
No. They differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “Stevens” sits inside “Stevenson”, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Which is more common, "Stevens" or "Stevenson"?
"Stevens" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,243 in our French list, against #21,777 for "Stevenson". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Stevens vs Stevenson

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Stevens” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list