Meaning and background
The story behind Avatar
Avatar has two major English senses. It comes from Sanskrit avatāra, “descent”, and traditionally describes the manifestation of a deity in physical form; in computing it also means the picture or character representing a user. Both are authentic associations, but neither makes this an ancient British given name. As a dog name its three syllables are recognisable to people familiar with games and digital culture.
- Origin
- English loanword from Sanskrit avatāra “descent”, originally religiously a divine manifestation, later also a computer-user representation. Source
- Meaning
- A divine physical manifestation in its religious sense; a representation of a user on a screen in digital contexts. Source
- Pronunciation
- /ˈæv.ə.tɑː/ (British English). Source
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About Avatar
Recorded as a dog’s name
Avatar appears in 3 dog licence records in the 2022 New York City dataset.
How to read this count
These records cover New York City and may count the same dog in more than one licence period. They are not a national popularity ranking.
Pronunciation and rhythm
/ævətɑɹ/
US English sound sequence, converted from the CMU dictionary. Stress marks are shown separately.
Stress on the first syllable in the recorded US readings.
View dictionary notation
/ævətɑɹ/ · primary stress on syllable 1AE1 V AH0 T AA2 R
These are US dictionary readings. Personal, regional and other language pronunciations may differ.
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Sources and research notes (2)
- New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene NYC Dog Licensing Dataset — all seven available extract years, retrieved 24 October 2026 — Recorded name spellings in NYC licence-period rows, extract years 2016–2018, 2022–2024 and 2026. Evidence selects one stated year per name. Annual snapshots overlap; never sum them as unique dogs. No national popularity, etymology or owner naming-intent claim.
- Carnegie Mellon University / CMU Sphinx maintainers CMU US English Pronouncing Dictionary — US English dictionary readings; not owner-specific or exhaustive multilingual pronunciation
References support the individual facts shown. A source link does not mean the entire profile has been verified.