Meaning and background
The story behind Monkey
Monkey is an English word for several groups of nonhuman primates. Merriam-Webster also records figurative and mechanical uses, so the familiar animal image is only part of the dictionary entry. A playful animal comparison can explain a household pet nickname without becoming a claim about the dog’s species or ancestry. The researched basis is ordinary word association, rather than an independently verified traditional personal-name meaning.
- Association
- Monkey is an English word for several groups of nonhuman primates. Source
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Everyday moments“Monkey, come here!”
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About Monkey
Recorded as a dog’s name
Monkey appears in 25 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
/mʌŋki/
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
/mʌŋki/ · primary stress on syllable 1M AH1 NG K IY0
These are US dictionary readings. Personal, regional and other language pronunciations may differ.
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Sources and research notes (2)
Gender association: NYC licence-period records. Any dog can use this name.
- 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.