Meaning and background
The story behind Garfield
Garfield has a triangle-field surname explanation in Behind the Name, using Old English place-name vocabulary. The entry also identifies American president James Garfield and the cat in Jim Davis’s comic strip as separate bearers. This makes the geography, historical namesake, and cartoon association distinct layers of the name. A dog called Garfield may deliberately borrow the comic reference while retaining an accurate account of the surname behind it.
- Origin
- Surname-derived name meaning triangle field in Old English; later associated with James Garfield and the cartoon cat. Source
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Everyday moments“Garfield, come here!”
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About Garfield
Recorded as a dog’s name
Garfield appears in 2 dog licence records in the 2016 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
/ɡɑɹfild/
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
/ɡɑɹfild/ · primary stress on syllable 1G AA1 R F IY2 L D
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.