Meaning and background
The story behind Chili
Chili is one of the English spellings for the pungent pepper whose name comes from Nahuatl chilli. The same spelling can also shorten dishes such as chili con carne, especially in American English. Those food meanings should not be confused with Chile, the South American country, whose place-name history is different. For a dog, Chili offers an accessible two-syllable food association, not an established prediction of a fiery temperament.
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Everyday moments“Chili, come here!”
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About Chili
Recorded as a dog’s name
Chili appears in 27 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
/tʃɪli/
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
/tʃɪli/ · primary stress on syllable 1CH IH1 L 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.