Meaning and background
The story behind Bunny
Bunny is an affectionate word for a rabbit, formed from the dialectal bun. Earlier uses and the word’s ultimate origin are less straightforward, with more than one explanation proposed. For a dog, the cross-animal reference may be the joke, or it may recall a particular rabbit or soft toy. That personal image is stronger than assigning a temperament such as gentle. The familiar ending gives Bunny a fuller call than Bun, so compare both if you expect to shorten it in everyday use.
- Origin
- English affectionate rabbit word, a diminutive of dialectal bun; its ultimate origin has competing explanations. Source
Try Bunny out loud
Everyday moments“Bunny, come here!”
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About Bunny
Recorded as a dog’s name
Bunny appears in 39 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
/bʌni/
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
/bʌni/ · primary stress on syllable 1B AH1 N IY0
These are US dictionary readings. Personal, regional and other language pronunciations may differ.
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Sources and research notes (2)
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.
- 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.