Meaning and background
The story behind Grim
Grim is both a common English adjective and a recorded surname with multiple older histories. As an adjective it once meant fierce or severe and later gained its familiar sombre sense. A surname might instead go back to Old Norse Grímr, an epithet associated with someone masked, or to other family-name routes. It would be misleading to label every dog called Grim either 'sad' or 'masked' without knowing which path inspired the name.
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Everyday moments“Grim, come here!”
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About Grim
Recorded as a dog’s name
Grim appears in 3 dog licence records in the 2024 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
/ɡɹɪm/
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
/ɡɹɪm/ · primary stress on syllable 1G R IH1 M
These are US dictionary readings. Personal, regional and other language pronunciations may differ.
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Sources and research notes (3)
- 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
- City of Seattle Seattle Pet Licenses — DOG-only name aggregate, current source dated 6 October 2026 — Secondary spelling corroboration from dog-only licence rows. No cats, owner fields, national ranking or unique-dog claim.
References support the individual facts shown. A source link does not mean the entire profile has been verified.