Meaning and background
The story behind Lassie
Lassie is both a familiar Scots word and one of fiction’s most recognisable canine names. In Scots and northern English, lassie is an affectionate small form of lass, a girl or young woman. The fictional collie appeared in Eric Knight’s 1940 novel Lassie Come-Home and later on screen. These connections are firmly documented and far more useful than a made-up description of what any dog called Lassie must be like.
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Everyday moments“Lassie, come here!”
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About Lassie
Recorded as a dog’s name
Lassie appears in 13 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
/læsi/
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
/læsi/ · primary stress on syllable 1L AE1 S IY0
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.