Meaning and background
The story behind Cheddar
Cheddar is a Somerset place name best known today through the cheese first associated with the village. Over time the word has become an everyday label for a broad family of cheeses made far beyond Somerset. Its use as a dog name is an unmistakable food association, but the village name is the historical link worth explaining. The deeper Old English derivation of the place is less secure and should not be presented as settled fact.
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Everyday moments“Cheddar, come here!”
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About Cheddar
Recorded as a dog’s name
Cheddar appears in 15 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
/tʃɛdɚ/
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
/tʃɛdɚ/ · primary stress on syllable 1CH EH1 D ER0
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.