Meaning and background
The story behind Vicious
Vicious has a strong English adjective association involving dangerous aggression, violence, or malice, with other specialized senses also recorded. A dog owner may choose it as an exaggerated or ironic name, but listeners may reasonably hear the ordinary force of the word. The dictionary supplies that vocabulary context rather than a statement about the animal. A particular musical, fictional, or personal namesake would need its own evidence.
- Association
- English adjective association with aggression, violence or malice. Source
Try Vicious out loud
Everyday moments“Vicious, come here!”
Say it as you would on a walk or at home. Does it feel natural alongside your usual commands and other pets’ names?
About Vicious
Recorded as a dog’s name
Vicious appears in 2 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
/vɪʃəs/
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
/vɪʃəs/ · primary stress on syllable 1V IH1 SH AH0 S
These are US dictionary readings. Personal, regional and other language pronunciations may differ.
Compare your favourites
Put Vicious beside another name before you decide.
Explore names like Vicious
Narrow the finder by the features you want to keep.
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.