Meaning and background
The story behind Spartacus
Spartacus was the name of the Thracian gladiator who led a major enslaved people’s revolt against Rome in 73–71 BCE. That historical figure is a well-established source of the name’s modern resonance. Its precise deeper linguistic derivation is less certain: a modern naming reference gives a Latin relationship to Sparta, but historical sources centre on the Thracian bearer. The documented association is stronger than an oversimplified translation.
- Origin
- Historical name of Spartacus, a Thracian gladiator and leader of a slave revolt against Rome in the first century BCE. Source
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About Spartacus
Recorded as a dog’s name
Spartacus appears in 10 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
/spɑɹtəkəs/
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
/spɑɹtəkəs/ · primary stress on syllable 1S P AA1 R T AH0 K AH0 S
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.