Meaning and background
The story behind Mendoza
Mendoza is an established Basque place-derived surname. The place names combine Basque mendi, mountain, with a form of hotz, cold, and a definite article. That geographical description belongs to the original locality, not to the characteristics of a dog bearing the name. Mendoza is also familiar as a place name in South America, though an individual naming choice need not refer to that city. Its three syllables give it a distinctive, surname-based rhythm.
- Origin
- Basque habitational surname from places called Mendoza, formed from mendi “mountain”, hotz or otz “cold”, and a definite suffix -a. Source
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About Mendoza
Recorded as a dog’s name
Mendoza appears in 4 dog licence records in the 2022 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
/mɛndoʊzə/
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
/mɛndoʊzə/ · primary stress on syllable 2M EH0 N D OW1 Z AH0
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.