Meaning and background
The story behind Baldwin
Baldwin is a Germanic personal name formed from elements meaning “bold” and “friend”. It travelled through medieval northern Europe and was brought to Britain by the Normans. Unlike similarly spelt Balder, it has a compositional personal-name meaning with two clearly identified parts. The name sounds formal on paper, yet has the useful short forms Baldy or Winnie if an owner prefers something more casual.
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About Baldwin
Recorded as a dog’s name
Baldwin appears in 5 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
/bɔldwən/
US English sound sequence, converted from the CMU dictionary. Stress marks are shown separately.
Stress on the first syllable in the recorded US readings.
Other dictionary readings and notation
/bɔldwən/ · primary stress on syllable 1B AO1 L D W AH0 N
/bɔldwɪn/ · primary stress on syllable 1B AO1 L D W IH0 N
These are US dictionary readings. Personal, regional and other language pronunciations may differ.
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Sources and research notes (3)
- 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
- City of Seattle Seattle Pet Licenses — DOG-only name aggregate, current source dated 6 October 2026 — Secondary spelling corroboration from dog-only licence rows. No cats, owner fields, national ranking or unique-dog claim.
References support the individual facts shown. A source link does not mean the entire profile has been verified.