Meaning and background
The story behind Excalibur
Excalibur is King Arthur’s sword in the Arthurian tradition. The British Library points to a drawing in the Red Book of Bath labelled Caliburnus and identifies it with Excalibur; another manuscript catalogue describes Arthur wielding Excalibur in a battle illustration. These surviving manuscript references give the name a specific legendary and book-history connection. For a dog, it may recall Arthurian stories or an interest in medieval art. The evidence concerns a named sword and literary tradition, rather than a conventional human given name.
- Association
- King Arthur’s sword in Arthurian legend, documented in British Library manuscript descriptions and a Caliburnus-labelled drawing. Source · Source 2
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About Excalibur
Recorded as a dog’s name
Excalibur appears in 5 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
/ɛkskæləbɚ/
US English sound sequence, converted from the CMU dictionary. Stress marks are shown separately.
Stress on the second syllable in the recorded US readings.
View dictionary notation
/ɛkskæləbɚ/ · primary stress on syllable 2EH2 K S K AE1 L AH0 B 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 — 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.