Dog name guide

Pique

The meaning, background and naming story of Pique.

Letters
5
Syllables
1Dictionary reading
Starts with
P

Meaning and background

The story behind Pique

Pique is an English word with two related uses: a feeling of resentment at a slight, and the action of stirring someone's interest. Both go back through French rather than originating as a traditional personal name. Spoken as 'peek', it is a compact one-syllable dog name, though its meaning depends on whether the owner has the noun or verb in mind.

Meaning
A feeling of wounded pride or resentment; as a verb, to stimulate interest. Source
Origin
English word borrowed from French pique/piquer. Source

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About Pique

Recorded as a dog’s name

Pique appears in 2 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

/pik/

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

/pik/ · primary stress on syllable 1
P IY1 K

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.

More names to consider

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