Meaning and background
The story behind Socrates
Socrates is the Latinised form of the Ancient Greek name Sokrates. Its elements are traditionally analysed as words connected with being safe or whole and with power. The best-known bearer was the Athenian philosopher whose arguments are mainly known through the writings of others. Those historical links are much firmer than any suggestion that a dog bearing the name is unusually wise or philosophical.
- Origin
- Latinised Ancient Greek Sokrates (Σωκράτης), from elements meaning “whole, unwounded, safe” and “power”. Source
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About Socrates
Recorded as a dog’s name
Socrates appears in 4 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
/sɑkɹətiz/
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
/sɑkɹətiz/ · primary stress on syllable 1S AA1 K R AH0 T IY2 Z
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.