Explain your cat's name

Moka

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Salem's name may not be terribly original for a black cat, but it is sort of historic. I was thinking of naming her Orion, but when I first picked up this tiny, 4 week old ball of fluff, I realized she did not have a speck of white on her. It reminded me of this "fact" I had recently read about black cats during medieval times. Apparently, black cats were considered witches, familiars or just evil and killed in mass number during the this time period. But, if the cat had a speck of white, it was considered to be touched by God and was spared. This caused an unintentional selective breeding and now supposedly 90% of the black cats of today have some sort of white mark on them. I have no clue of this is really true or not, but I like the idea that one of Salem's ancestors escaped the killing to pass of their genes.
 

scarlettleia

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I'm a Brit, who is also ex royal navy. I left the navy to move to Norway with my fiancé, a week after which we got our first cat together. I wanted to honour my ex boss and my country, so we called her Queen Elizabeth. Two weeks later we got her a companion, who of course, we named Prince Philip. We sadly lost Philip 3 weeks ago to a bladder blockage, and got Percival. We toyed with 'Charles' 'Henry' etc but none of them really stuck, or felt right, so we settled for the original arthurian hero, because he's our little hero in these sad times, and he's doing a fantastic job of standing by the side of our own english royal.
 

maggie101

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Peaches, because she made me think of a peach. White,grey, tan
Maggie I couldn't think of a description so I used the alphabet. Black with grey stripes
Coco made me think of cocoa with marshmallows and chocolate sprinkles. Brown and white with spots and stripes. Dark streak down her back( chocolate shavings)
 

gilmargl

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I'm a Brit, who is also ex royal navy. I left the navy to move to Norway with my fiancé, a week after which we got our first cat together. I wanted to honour my ex boss and my country, so we called her Queen Elizabeth. Two weeks later we got her a companion, who of course, we named Prince Philip. We sadly lost Philip 3 weeks ago to a bladder blockage, and got Percival. We toyed with 'Charles' 'Henry' etc but none of them really stuck, or felt right, so we settled for the original arthurian hero, because he's our little hero in these sad times, and he's doing a fantastic job of standing by the side of our own english royal.
I'm also a Brit! I foster cats in Germany and a small, very pregnant black cat was brought to me in a trap. She had been living with a feral colony and the idea was to let her have her kittens, sterilise her and then release her where she was found. I didn't even see her for a couple of days but I needed a name for the records. At the time HRH The Duchess of Cambridge (Kate Middleton) was expecting her first born. It was such a contrast, the whole world watching one pregnant woman, with all medical assistance available to her, and the situation in my cellar and a terrified little cat. I called her Katy! And she stayed with us!

Another young black female foster was brought to me a few years later, and she became Meghan (she also stayed!).

A grey tabby had 4 kittens on a building site but by the time she and her kittens came under my care, she'd been recorded in our documents as "Emily". I assumed we'd find a new home for her, but Emily had other ideas. Although her kittens could be rehomed at 12 or 13 weeks old, Emily refused to show herself to anyone interested in taking her. I had people who called themselves "cat whisperers" lying on the floor trying to entice her out from under a sofa. 18 months later I took her off the list of cats available for adoption. She is a very contrary madam who only tolerates me! And woe betide me, if she mistakes me for someone else she'll take a hefty swipe at me. No-one messes with Emily. So she stayed.

The only cat I still own, who I actually acquired because I wanted a cat is Mogi. I'd had tom cats before and I found them far easier-going than females. So when a local shelter offered a 6 week old black kitten, who'd been injured and left for dead in a rubbish skip, we took him immediately. My grandsons chose the name Mowgli. I was rather surprised that Mowgli did not seem to be developing into the large tom cat I was secretly hoping for. The earlier injuries to his back legs and hindquarters meant that he hated being held so that we could not have a good look at him. Anyway, the vets who'd treated his injuries, his fleas and given him his first vaccinations had classified him as male.

I still had my doubts, and expressed them when I took him to the vet to be sterilised. I said I wanted "him" neutered regardless of "his"sex. After the operation I was presented with the ovaries! Mowgli had always answered to "his" name, so we simply altered it to Mogi.
We took Mogi from the German wird "Mogelpackung" which means a bluff or sham package. She certainly was that!

So Mogi (black,13yr), Emily (grey tabby, perhaps12 yr), Katy (black, 8 yr) and Meghan (black, cross-eyed, heart problem, perhaps 4 yr) make up my dream team. All female, none of them are easy to photogragh, so I'll not bother you with poor pictures!
 

nomeowing

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I never had kids but own a name your baby book since I do take pet naming seriously and like names. Pictured is Juniper. I liked the name when a read it in the book and then realized it has "purr" in it. So Juniper doesn't just purr, she Juni-purrs! And the name totally goes with her. Her calico littermate sister is Talia.
 

minish

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Adopted from the street as a kitten I had in mind a fancy old language girl name that meant calm and good mannered. I was proud to have come up with this ladylike name and even made her pet register (muunisah). She was staying with mom for a couple of weeks. In two weeks I return and find out she comes tail up high trilling all the way as mom called her minish (little one).
Now she turned out the opposite of muunisah. Very playful and funny. Also she has the most delicate tiny paws she can fit in anywhere.. Minish it is. Of course she has loads of nicknames she also responds to (variations of minish, my favorite food names, other endearments made up for her)
 

klunick

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The "nickname" thread got me wondering how everyone came up with their cat's actual names. I'll start...
Kira... named by my husband after a Star Trek character (deceased)
Torrie... named after a little girl my oldest went to day care with who had the same sleepy eyes that the cat did. (deceased)
Comrade... named because he was everyone's best friend right from the start (deceased)
Gracie... I just decided if we got another animal, I wanted to give it a human name. I think pets with people names are cute. I liked the name Gracie.
Boone... named after hockey player Boone Jenner. I thought that was the coolest name and we were having a hard time coming up with a boy name.
 

ToruPop

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I named Toru after Toru Takemitsu, a Japanese composer. It was between that and Miles (Davis). I went with Toru because I figured I may be the only one still alive who is a big enough Toru Takemitsu fan to name a cat after him.
 

AyaB

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The shelter we adopted Snuggles from said his name was Snuggles because he loved snuggling. (Not true, haha) We still kept it though because it is a cute name, and surprisingly quite uncommon. Explain your cat's name!
My kitty Pyeol is a black Ragdoll. I often call Ragdoll "Void" cats because of their color. When I think of the Void I think of stars, the universe, mystery, and infinite potential. The first name I thought of was "Pyeol" which means "star" in Korean. And he's my little star indeed.
 

klunick

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My cat's name is Friday. He was born on my parents' farm and his mother's name was Tacoma. He had two sisters, Spokane and Seattle and he himself was named after Friday Harbor. :)
I had a cat named Friday growing up but the reasoning behind it isn't as interesting as yours. My dad named him. He asked us what day it was when we got him. You guess it... Friday!
 

BellaGooch

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Hello everybody! I was looking around on here today and noticed that all of the kitties here have fun, adorable names! So I was wondering, how did you come up with your cats' names, and are there any meanings behind them?
For Pants, his foster owner named him Pants because the grey splotches on his hind legs resembled-you guessed it!- grey pants, but we loved the name and obviously kept it :)
Mona was named that because it was the only name we could all agree on 😂
Willow, as some of you may know, was originally going to be called Beans (we knew a cat called Burrito and thought it was hilarious and liked that theme of naming them after foods lol) but after realizing that she's a girl, we decided that Willow fits her better. I don't think we had a particular reason for that name, but we just all liked it :)
Anyways, I'd love to hear the stories of how you guys decided on names for your kitties!!!
 
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di and bob

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Tommy was nicknamed 'Yammy' because of his deep red/orange solid color, he looks just like a yam or sweet potato. Dutch was named because when he showed up as a kitten he was very, very sick, and had a huge black mustache from his nose drainage. Bob said he looked just like a Dutchman in those old portraits. Molly, well, it was what we both liked for her!
 

Katie M

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I love the name Pants :flail:

Charlie is named after Charlie Chaplin. I love his films, and Charlie reminds me of his character in many ways.

Selene is named after the ancient Greek personification of the moon. I'm into Greek mythology, and I felt the name fit because of all the different shades of grey in her fur.
 

Jem

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Bynx, is because he's Black and has a very "human quality" to his look and personality. So the name just suited him...named after Binx in the movie Hocus Pocus.
Chester was an "homage" to our kitty who passed away, Hank. Hank was originally Chester at the shelter but Hank just suited him best. even though we really loved the name Chester, we saved it for when we adopted a kitty who it fit.
And our tiny little Lily, is named after the flower Lily of the Valley. A delicate little bell, for a delicate little bell of a cat.
 

Elphaba09

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I may put too much thought into my cats' names!
Simon Greystoke Thane: Firefly, Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes, and Beowulf. Simon is intimidating large, and smart. He is known for attacking large dogs.
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Evangeline Evaine Snow: Longfellow's poem, a variant of Yvaine from Stardust, Snow White/Snowflower and the Secret Fan/Snow, This line: "Sorrow and silence are strong" because she had lost many kittens to the horrors of the outside world and suffered after being dumped, but she is the sweetest cat in the world. The other two names are because she is our princess and because she reminded me of the character Snowflower.
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Estella Flannery Thyme: Great Expectations, Flannery O'Conner, the plant for courage. She started off as a distant, cold cat because she had been abused, just like Estella from Great Expectations. I love Flannery, and Estella is a brave cat.
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Astrid Cordelia Rose: Astrid Lindgren, Anne of Green Gables, and love and intuition. She is playful like Lindgren with the same compassion and gentleness Lindgren was known for. I love Anne of Green Gables, and Astrid is very affectionate and in tune with the people around her.

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Tara Lenore Tierney: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Raven, Gene Tierney. She is shy but strong and very dramatic when she wants to be.

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Willow Elizabeth Sage: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Queen Elizabeth I, protection and clarification. She is sweet with a wild side. My husband really likes Elizabeth I. Willow was protective of her much larger brothers, Fennimore and Pip (my friend's cat) when we found them. She attacked us! Now she is calm most of the time.

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Fennimore Strider Black: James Fenimore Cooper, Fenn Rd, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter. Honestly, the first name I thought of when I saw him was Fennimore. Strider because, despite his large size (20 lbs), he strides like Aragorn did when he got off the boat with The Dead Men, the Oathbreakers.

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Freya Adeline Prynne: The Norse goddess, Virginia Woolf, Adeline Rittershaus, a few other Adelines that made me love the name, The Scarlet Letter. She is a tiny cat that needed a big, powerful name. They just so happen to be three of my favorite names. In fact, my daughter was planning on naming her son Adeline Freya Jane if he had been a girl. Freya is her cat baby.

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Silas Endeavour Book: Silas Marner, Endeavour Morse, Firefly (As is Shepherd Book). Silas is a favorite boy's name of mine and he looked like a Silas. He was near death when we found him, so Endeavour seemed perfect. Shepherd Book is a fantastic, kind, mysterious character, just like our Silas.

Xanthippe Cressida Frost: Socrates's wife, Shakespeare, Robert Frost. My husband said that Xanthippe seems like a warrior's name, and it fit our kitten. It was almost Calanthe, but he liked Xanthippe better. I reminded him that she was Socrates's wife and considered a "shrew." We agreed it was just some miserable man talking smack about her. (That is really what my husband said! Haha!) I have always felt sorry for the character Cressida, and Xanthippe seemed so in need of love that it seemed fitting. Frost also goes back to Snow. She is our warrior princess. Just not a Xena!

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Cassian Pendragon Fox: Star Wars, King Arthur, and The X-Files. Bravery, magic, and the belief in the impossible. You would have to meet Cassian to understand!

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Iroh Finnian Poe: Avatar: The Last Air Bender, I am unsure, and Edgar Allan Poe. Technically, I did not name him. He was supposed to be my son and daughter-in-law's cat, but things changed. I love the name Iroh and did help with it. Iroh is one of my favorite Avatar characters. Poe is her favorite author. I will have to ask. If I would have picked his name, it likely would have stayed Iroh, but Iroh Ulysses Stark. The other name I would have considered for him is Horatio. I love the name Horatio. Iroh is fitting for him, though. 20200716_012453.jpg
 

BellaGooch

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Aww, so cute! I love Iroh (I'm an avatar fan :)) and Anne of Green Gables is one of my all-time favorite book series. So cute!
 
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