Meaning and background
The story behind Forbes
Forbes comes through a Scottish surname from a village in Aberdeenshire. Behind the Name explains that place name with Gaelic vocabulary for a field or area of land. The geographical route gives the spelling a concrete background beyond its later famous bearers. For a dog, Forbes can honour a family connection or evoke open country, while the source establishes a settlement-derived name rather than a personal virtue.
- Origin
- Scottish surname-derived name from a village in Aberdeenshire, with Gaelic field or land vocabulary. Source
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Everyday moments“Forbes, come here!”
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About Forbes
Recorded as a dog’s name
Forbes appears in 7 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
/fɔɹbz/
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
/fɔɹbz/ · primary stress on syllable 1F AO1 R B Z
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.