Meaning and background
The story behind Bonny
Bonny is a dictionary spelling in its own right, with Bonnie listed as a variant of the adjective. Merriam-Webster labels it chiefly British and gives senses involving attractiveness and excellence. The final y therefore need not be explained as a modern respelling. For a dog, Bonny can carry an affectionate compliment, although the word entry alone does not establish the full history of its use as a given name.
- Association
- Bonny is a chiefly British adjective meaning attractive or fair, and also fine or excellent. Source
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Everyday moments“Bonny, come here!”
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About Bonny
Recorded as a dog’s name
Bonny appears in 7 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.
Pronunciation and rhythm
/bɑni/
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
/bɑni/ · primary stress on syllable 1B AA1 N IY0
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 — extract_year 2026 — Dog licence periods, not unique dogs; NYC only. No owner-level fields retrieved.
- 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.