Dog name guide

Novella

The meaning, background and naming story of Novella.

Letters
7
Syllables
3Dictionary reading
Starts with
N

Meaning and background

The story behind Novella

Novella has a specific literary meaning in English: a story usually understood as longer than a short story but shorter than a novel. The term was borrowed from Italian, where its older sense was tied to new stories or news. As a dog name it sounds more like a conventional feminine name than Novel, even though the verifiable background is literary.

Meaning
A prose fiction work usually between a short story and a novel in length. Source
Origin
Borrowed into English from Italian novella, ultimately linked to Latin novellus (new). Source

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Everyday moments

“Novella, come here!”

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About Novella

Recorded as a dog’s name

Novella appears in 3 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.

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Pronunciation and rhythm

/noʊvɛlə/

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

/noʊvɛlə/ · primary stress on syllable 2
N OW0 V EH1 L 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.

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

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