Meaning and background
The story behind Baloo
Baloo is the bear who teaches Mowgli in Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Books. Kipling’s own notes explain that the name comes from a Hindustani word for “bear” and that he pronounced it BAR-loo, stressing the first syllable. The character gives the name a well-known literary connection; the exact pronunciation many people use today may differ from Kipling’s guidance.
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Everyday moments“Baloo, come here!”
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About Baloo
Recorded as a dog’s name
Baloo appears in 20 dog licence records in the 2026 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.
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Sources and research notes (1)
Gender association: NYC licence-period records. Any dog can use this name.
- New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene NYC Dog Licensing Dataset — extract_year 2026 — Dog licence periods, not unique dogs; NYC only. No owner-level fields retrieved.
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