Meaning and background
The story behind Cute
Cute is a deliberately affectionate word choice for a dog's name. Merriam-Webster's main sense concerns attractiveness with a youthful or delicate quality, while the entry also retains clever, impertinent and affected senses. The owner's likely compliment is therefore one part of a broader word history. Choosing Cute can make that affection explicit, and its status here is an ordinary English word used as a name rather than an asserted traditional given-name derivation.
- Association
- English adjective for youthful or delicate attractiveness, with other clever or affected senses. Source
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Everyday moments“Cute, come here!”
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About Cute
Recorded as a dog’s name
Cute appears in 3 dog licence records in the 2022 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
/kjut/
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
/kjut/ · primary stress on syllable 1K Y UW1 T
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 — all seven available extract years, retrieved 24 October 2026 — Recorded name spellings in NYC licence-period rows, extract years 2016–2018, 2022–2024 and 2026. Evidence selects one stated year per name. Annual snapshots overlap; never sum them as unique dogs. No national popularity, etymology or owner naming-intent claim.
- 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.