Meaning and background
The story behind Fergus
Fergus combines Old Irish elements connected with a man and vigour or strength. It also appears in Irish legend and in the names of early rulers, giving it more than a modern strong-sounding impression. Those historical associations are not evidence of a dog’s strength or temperament. The cited British English reading has two syllables with stress at the beginning. An owner can choose the full traditional name for its history, while still enjoying the slightly formal effect of calling a household companion Fergus.
- Origin
- Old Irish name formed from elements for man and vigour, strength or force. Source
Try Fergus out loud
Everyday moments“Fergus, come here!”
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About Fergus
Recorded as a dog’s name
Fergus appears in 17 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
/fɝɡəs/
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
/fɝɡəs/ · primary stress on syllable 1F ER1 G 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.