Meaning and background
The story behind Prairie
Prairie describes the broad grassland plains particularly associated with central North America. English borrowed the word from French prairie, traced through Old French to Latin pratum, meaning a meadow. That gives it a clear landscape connection rather than a traditional human-name meaning. It has a gentle two-syllable sound and may call to mind open country, but the name alone tells us nothing about where a dog lives or what sort of exercise it enjoys.
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About Prairie
Recorded as a dog’s name
Prairie appears in 2 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
/pɹɛɹi/
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
/pɹɛɹi/ · primary stress on syllable 1P R EH1 R IY0
These are US dictionary readings. Personal, regional and other language pronunciations may differ.
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Sources and research notes (3)
- 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
- City of Seattle Seattle Pet Licenses — DOG-only name aggregate, current source dated 6 October 2026 — Secondary spelling corroboration from dog-only licence rows. No cats, owner fields, national ranking or unique-dog claim.
References support the individual facts shown. A source link does not mean the entire profile has been verified.