Meaning and background
The story behind Tesla
Tesla is a Serbian and Croatian surname associated with a traditional word for an adze, a carpenter’s cutting tool. It is best known through inventor Nikola Tesla, whose surname was later applied to a scientific unit of magnetic flux density. The personal surname, unit and modern commercial associations are distinct historical layers, not interchangeable original meanings.
- Origin
- Serbian and Croatian occupational surname linked to tesla “adze”, a carpenter’s tool; related Slovak forms are recorded. Source
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About Tesla
Recorded as a dog’s name
Tesla appears in 8 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
/tɛslə/
US English sound sequence, converted from the CMU dictionary. Stress marks are shown separately.
Stress on the first syllable in the recorded US readings.
Other dictionary readings and notation
/tɛslə/ · primary stress on syllable 1T EH1 S L AH0
/tɛzlə/ · primary stress on syllable 1T EH1 Z L 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.