Meaning and background
The story behind Dreyfus
Dreyfus is a western Ashkenazi Jewish surname ultimately associated with Trier, the German city known in French as Trèves. A surname dictionary describes a change from the earlier form Trevis through resemblance to German Dreifuss, 'tripod'. That resemblance is a folk etymology, not a sound basis for saying Dreyfus literally means 'tripod'. The name may be familiar from the historical Dreyfus Affair, but that association is separate from its place-name origin.
- Origin
- Western Ashkenazi habitational surname from Trevis, an older name for Trier/Trèves Source
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About Dreyfus
Recorded as a dog’s name
Dreyfus 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
/dɹaɪfəs/
US English sound sequence, converted from the CMU dictionary. Stress marks are shown separately.
Stress on the first syllable in the recorded US readings.
Other dictionary readings and notation
/dɹaɪfəs/ · primary stress on syllable 1D R AY1 F AH0 S
/dɹeɪfəs/ · primary stress on syllable 1D R EY1 F AH0 S
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.