‘Favorite,’ ‘Niece’ Among America’s Most Misspelled Words

Scripps National Spelling Bee Continues In Maryland NATIONAL HARBOR, MARYLAND - MAY 28: Beatriz Lucille Whitford-Rodriguez, 14, of Chicago, Illinois spells her word in the semifinals of the 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center on May 28, 2025 in National Harbor, Maryland. 243 spellers from all over the globe ages 8 to 14 compete from May 27 - May 30 during the 100th anniversary of the event. (Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images) (Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)

An analysis of Google search data from the first five months of the year revealed the “most misspelled” words in America include “favorite,” “through” and “niece.”

The study, conducted by Unscramblerer.com ahead of the National Spelling Bee, examined searches like “How do you spell…” from January through mid-May.

The top 10 most misspelled words in the U.S. were: bougie, favorite, through, business, tomorrow, because, definitely, beautiful, niece, and separate.

The report also broke down the most misspelled word by state. California struggled most with “different,” Florida with “school,” Texas with “recycle,” and New York with “judgement.”

Other unusual state-level trouble words included “Chihuahua” in Georgia, Oklahoma, and Wyoming, “ukulele” in Minnesota, and “spaghetti” in North Carolina and Virginia.

Matt Ray

Matt Ray

Matt is a Jacksonville native and has been in radio for over two decades. Matt also owns his own production company that produces Award winning Radio and TV commercials all over the country for a variety of clients.

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