Meaning and background
The story behind Willingham
Willingham is an English surname taken from several settlements bearing the name, rather than a modern invented combination of willing and ham. Historical place-name evidence connects the endings with an Old English settlement term, while the first element differs between locations. Because there is no single recoverable family branch in a dog's name, the safest explanation is its place-name origin. The longer surname sound offers several possible informal short calls.
- Origin
- English habitational surname derived from places named Willingham, with locally differing Old English place-name histories. Source
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About Willingham
Recorded as a dog’s name
Willingham appears in 3 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
/wɪlɪŋhæm/
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
/wɪlɪŋhæm/ · primary stress on syllable 1W IH1 L IH0 NG HH AE2 M
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.