Meaning and background
The story behind Spades
Spades is both the plural of the digging tool spade and the name of the black, pointed-leaf suit in playing cards. It is also the name of a trick-taking card game. That ambiguity offers several ordinary explanations for the name without showing that any of them is the one intended. The final -s gives the dog name a sharper ending than the singular Spade.
- Meaning
- The spades suit of playing cards or more than one digging spade; also a trick-taking card game. Source
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About Spades
Recorded as a dog’s name
Spades appears in 6 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.
Pronunciation and rhythm
/speɪdz/
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
/speɪdz/ · primary stress on syllable 1S P EY1 D 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 — 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.