Meaning and background
The story behind Buffalo
Buffalo refers to several kinds of large bovine animal, including African buffalo and Asian water buffalo. In North American English the name is also popularly used for the American bison, a different animal. The word therefore does not identify one exact species in every context. It can serve as an unusual dog name because it is a recognisable animal term, but it would be inaccurate to claim it means strength or courage in an original language.
- Meaning
- A large bovine animal; in American English also commonly applied to the American bison. Source
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About Buffalo
Recorded as a dog’s name
Buffalo appears in 3 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
/bʌfəloʊ/
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
/bʌfəloʊ/ · primary stress on syllable 1B AH1 F AH0 L OW2
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.