Dog name guide

Macarthur

The meaning, background and naming story of Macarthur.

Letters
9
Syllables
3Dictionary reading
Starts with
M

Meaning and background

The story behind Macarthur

Macarthur is a Scottish surname Anglicised from Gaelic Mac Artair, literally “son of Arthur”. It is also known as an occasional English given name, notably borne by people named after the surname. The Arthur element has its own debated history and should not be given an invented translation as part of Macarthur. Used for a dog, the longer formal name naturally shortens to Mac.

Origin
Scottish surname from Gaelic Mac Artair, “son of Arthur”; also later adopted as an English personal name. Source

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About Macarthur

Recorded as a dog’s name

Macarthur 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.

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Pronunciation and rhythm

/məkɑɹθɚ/

US English sound sequence, converted from the CMU dictionary. Stress marks are shown separately.

Stress on the second syllable in the recorded US readings.

View dictionary notation

/məkɑɹθɚ/ · primary stress on syllable 2
M AH0 K AA1 R TH ER0

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.

More names to consider

Suggestions by sound, written form or existing editorial selections. Similarity does not imply a shared origin.

Arthur

Same final dictionary sounds

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