Meaning and background
The story behind Bona
Bona has a documented medieval personal-name history. The Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources connects it with Latin bona, whose senses include good, kind and pleasant. Its evidence includes the exact spelling in French records around 823 and in later Italian, Czech and Swiss material. The dictionary also notes a twelfth-century Italian saint and a fifteenth-century duchess of Savoy. This gives Bona a firmer historical basis than an unexplained modern meaning claim.
- Origin
- Medieval feminine name from Latin bona, good, kind or pleasant. Source
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About Bona
Recorded as a dog’s name
Bona appears in 4 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
/boʊnə/
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
/boʊnə/ · primary stress on syllable 1B OW1 N AH0
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.