Meaning and background
The story behind Gershwin
Gershwin offers two closely related musical namesakes. Merriam-Webster records composer George Gershwin and his brother Ira, the lyricist, with their earlier Gershvin spellings also noted. A dog name might honor one brother, their collaboration or a household's musical memories. Stating the intended tribute makes that connection more precise. The biographical evidence does not provide the surname's literal meaning or establish that it originated as a dog's name.
- Association
- Namesake association with composer George Gershwin or his brother, lyricist Ira Gershwin. Source
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About Gershwin
Recorded as a dog’s name
Gershwin appears in 5 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
/ɡɝʃwɪn/
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
/ɡɝʃwɪn/ · primary stress on syllable 1G ER1 SH W IH0 N
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.