Meaning and background
The story behind Napoleon
Napoleon comes through the older Italian name Napoleone, but its deeper etymology remains uncertain. Behind the Name presents possible connections with Germanic Nibelungen or the city of Naples rather than choosing one as established. It also identifies Napoléon Bonaparte as the best-known historical bearer. The emperor association is secure, while translating the name definitively as sons of mist or as a reference to Naples would overstate the evidence.
- Origin
- From Italian Napoleone; deeper etymology uncertain, with proposed Nibelungen and Naples connections. Source
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About Napoleon
Recorded as a dog’s name
Napoleon appears in 20 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
/nəpoʊliən/
US English sound sequence, converted from the CMU dictionary. Stress marks are shown separately.
Stress on the second syllable in the recorded US readings.
Other dictionary readings and notation
/nəpoʊliən/ · primary stress on syllable 2N AH0 P OW1 L IY0 AH0 N
/nəpoʊljən/ · primary stress on syllable 2N AH0 P OW1 L Y AH0 N
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.
Dictionary readings have 3 or 4 syllables.
- 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.