Meaning and background
The story behind Maeve
Maeve is an English spelling of the Irish name Medb, conventionally interpreted as “intoxicating”. Its oldest cultural association is the formidable Queen Medb of Connacht in Irish epic tradition, notably *The Cattle Raid of Cooley*. These are two different facts: one concerns name etymology and the other concerns a legendary namesake. In English Maeve is usually one syllable, rhyming with “wave”, which makes it an easy call name.
Try Maeve out loud
Everyday moments“Maeve, come here!”
Say it as you would on a walk or at home. Does it feel natural alongside your usual commands and other pets’ names?
About Maeve
Recorded as a dog’s name
Maeve appears in 16 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
/məɛv/
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
/məɛv/ · primary stress on syllable 2M AH0 EH1 V
These are US dictionary readings. Personal, regional and other language pronunciations may differ.
Compare your favourites
Put Maeve beside another name before you decide.
Explore names like Maeve
Narrow the finder by the features you want to keep.
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.