Meaning and background
The story behind Shiva
Shiva is a documented Sanskrit-derived name connected with the major Hindu deity Shiva. In that tradition the word carries senses including auspicious, kind or benign, although descriptions of the deity also encompass destruction and restoration. The same Latin spelling has a separate Persian given-name entry, and Hebrew shiva is another unrelated word. Those histories should never be collapsed into a single translation for every pet named Shiva.
- Origin
- In Hindu naming, from Sanskrit śiva, associated with the Hindu god Shiva; separate personal-name histories also share the spelling. Source
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About Shiva
Recorded as a dog’s name
Shiva appears in 6 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
/ʃivə/
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
/ʃivə/ · primary stress on syllable 1SH IY1 V 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 — 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.