Meaning and background
The story behind Sumi
Sumi has a documented art-material association. Merriam-Webster records a Japanese-derived word for a preparation of soot and glue, formed into cakes and used by Chinese and Japanese artists in monochrome work. That evidence can support an ink or painting reference when choosing the name. It does not show that every Japanese personal name romanized Sumi has that meaning; written characters and individual naming histories would need separate checking.
- Association
- Sumi is a Japanese-derived English word for an artists' ink preparation made with soot and glue, commonly formed into cakes. Source
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About Sumi
Recorded as a dog’s name
Sumi appears in 7 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.
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Sources and research notes (1)
- 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.
References support the individual facts shown. A source link does not mean the entire profile has been verified.