Inspiration For Names

[huxleysmom]

I am getting ready to adopt a new cat (when I get back from all my trips in August). I know I have plenty of time to think about this, and will also need to get to know the cat before I name him/her, but I was wondering if anybody had some name suggestions for male/female cats based on color/fur pattern, personality, or maybe past cats that meant a lot to you or friends.
As my name says, my last cat was Huxley. Well, technically he was Mr. Huxley. Also known as Hux the Tux or Huxy and many, many more nicknames. I named him that way because he first came down from the top of the stackable wash and drier in the tiny bathroom I had set up for him when he first moved in and cuddled with me as I was reading a book out loud to him and one of the characters in the book was Mr. Huxley.
He was the best cat ever!

 

[rubysmama]

When I was ready to adopt a cat, I knew I wanted an orange tabby. And I wanted a name that would fit an orange cat. So I Googled and made up a list of possible names, but didn't make the final decision till I'd actually met Ruby.

So I think it's hard to choose a name before you meet the cat.

TCS does have an article that might be helpful:

How To Choose The Best Name For Your New Cat

 

[MeganLLB]

We had a cat who was named Pansey because they thought her markings looked like a flower, but I never really thought so, but we still kept the name.

 

[kashmir64]

I think you need to meet the cat first. With the exception of Samai (the name came to me in a dream, and I thought it was a pretty name), all my cats pretty much named themselves. Like my cat Magic. I got her from the HS and when I got in the car, the song Magic by The Cars was on the radio. It just fit.

 

[Shikaslate]

For me, some names just happen upon you and it feels right. My favorite cat growing up's name was Gizmo and he was black/white. We also had a blue tux cat named Mr. Skibbons. I really don't know how we came up with that one lol.

We haven't gotten our kitten yet but we already named her Shika loosely based off a video game my bf and I play. The pics we have of her looks like a Shika too so it feels right.

 

[2rescuekitties]

When I first adopted Stella my black kitten the name came to me in the car on the way home. I had met her the day before and spent time with her but the name didn't pop into my head until we were on our way home from the county shelter. And Toby got his name because he has these markings under his eyes that give him that same look Toby has in the show The Office hehe and also because Stella hated him at first just about as much as Michael Scott hated Toby

 

[RajaNMizu]

Well, we're a bit unconventional so our process went something like this: we had noticed a lot of the cats at the shelter happened to have the names of many popular drag queens (unintentional I'm sure). So we started paying attention to how many we could find...A Roxy, a Raven, a Trixie...etc. So while tossing out name choices, my son named one of his favorites...Raja and we all liked it. My other son did not want to feel left out with picking a name so he insisted on naming our other kitten after his favorite cosplayer, Phil Mizuno...Mizu for short.

 

[1 bruce 1]

I have a hard time naming until I know them. But when their personalities show up, I go from there.
A sweet, quiet, gentle kitten will have a different name than a silly, obnoxiously outgoing and "into everything" kitten.
With our dogs it's different because we like to match a registered name with a call name, or loosely. And with dogs sometimes they're named for their breed, which is why there's 2,000 Huskies named "Sitka" or something Arctic related, or herding dogs named things that sound old West-ish, or sport dogs with names like "Dash", "Fly", Jet", etc. for speed. Get creative =D
With cats, we make up registered names for fun (non-registered, non-breeding cats, we're not breaking any laws here, strictly for our amusement!)
Think of your favorite books, TV shows, and movies and think of characters you like and consider. Same with songs, if you like a song a lot, think of naming the cat after the performer or writer, or things in nature (water could = babbling "Brooke", or a favorite flower, Rose, Lilac, Lilly, etc..)

 

[huxleysmom]

Well, we're a bit unconventional so our process went something like this: we had noticed a lot of the cats at the shelter happened to have the names of many popular drag queens (unintentional I'm sure). So we started paying attention to how many we could find...A Roxy, a Raven, a Trixie...etc. So while tossing out name choices, my son named one of his favorites...Raja and we all liked it. My other son did not want to feel left out with picking a name so he insisted on naming our other kitten after his favorite cosplayer, Phil Mizuno...Mizu for short.

I really like Mizu! Adding that one to the list!

 

[huxleysmom]

I have a hard time naming until I know them. But when their personalities show up, I go from there.
A sweet, quiet, gentle kitten will have a different name than a silly, obnoxiously outgoing and "into everything" kitten.
With our dogs it's different because we like to match a registered name with a call name, or loosely. And with dogs sometimes they're named for their breed, which is why there's 2,000 Huskies named "Sitka" or something Arctic related, or herding dogs named things that sound old West-ish, or sport dogs with names like "Dash", "Fly", Jet", etc. for speed. Get creative =D
With cats, we make up registered names for fun (non-registered, non-breeding cats, we're not breaking any laws here, strictly for our amusement!)
Think of your favorite books, TV shows, and movies and think of characters you like and consider. Same with songs, if you like a song a lot, think of naming the cat after the performer or writer, or things in nature (water could = babbling "Brooke", or a favorite flower, Rose, Lilac, Lilly, etc..)

Rose is a very cute name I had not thought of. Thanks!

 

[1 bruce 1]

Rose is a very cute name I had not thought of. Thanks!

A distant friend had a gorgeous long haired cat (HUGE, not fat, just a big, big cat) named Rose and her personality fit. She was so sweet, and really gorgeous...but other cats piss her off and you'd see the thorn =D

 

[RajaNMizu]

I really like Mizu! Adding that one to the list!

Besides making my 19 year old son really happy that you liked his name, we later found out it means water in Japanese, so it has that going for it as well, since you probably don't follow his favorite cosplayer .

 

[1 bruce 1]

Besides making my 19 year old son really happy that you liked his name, we later found out it means water in Japanese, so it has that going for it as well, since you probably don't follow his favorite cosplayer .

What a cool name!!! I like it, and I like the meaning =)

We had a "Martini" (dog) that was registered with a non-AKC registry as "I bet a dime."
Can anyone guess what that's all about? =D

 

[RajaNMizu]

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest? Clever!

Most of our friends recognize who Raja's named for. Mizu takes a little explanation but that's fine. We like different. :-)

 

[1 bruce 1]

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest? Clever!

Most of our friends recognize who Raja's named for. Mizu takes a little explanation but that's fine. We like different. :-)

You guessed it!!
It was either that or "Hit me" which didn't sound very nice for a name =D

 

[aliceneko]

I'd originally always wanted to call female cats Cleo and Muffin if I had girls, and then for a mixed sex pair I'd toyed with Cleo and Figaro, but for me I named my two boys immediately when I first saw them - I agree with those who have said that meeting the cat in question helps a great deal if you're stuck on a name. Toffee I remember was originally going to be named Butterscotch but after spending some more time playing with him and seeing a bit of his personality, I thought Toffee definitely suited him a lot more.

 

[1 bruce 1]

I'd originally always wanted to call female cats Cleo and Muffin if I had girls, and then for a mixed sex pair I'd toyed with Cleo and Figaro, but for me I named my two boys immediately when I first saw them - I agree with those who have said that meeting the cat in question helps a great deal if you're stuck on a name. Toffee I remember was originally going to be named Butterscotch but after spending some more time playing with him and seeing a bit of his personality, I thought Toffee definitely suited him a lot more.

We named some foster kittens after the kids from Malcolm in the Middle because they were absolute holy terrors. =D
I knew a large dog named a human name, and it fitted because he was so gentle and friendly and seemed more human than dog...

 

[DreamerRose]

I Googled lists of male cat names for Mingo. I loved the name because Mingo was the Indian friend of Daniel Boone on the TV show in prehistoric times. Turns out it is also the name of an Indian tribe. Lily came with her name and I kept it because I had been thinking I'd like to call a female cat Lily.

Just Google for popular cat names. There are endless ideas.

 

[1 bruce 1]

I Googled lists of male cat names for Mingo. I loved the name because Mingo was the Indian friend of Daniel Boone on the TV show in prehistoric times. Turns out it is also the name of an Indian tribe. Lily came with her name and I kept it because I had been thinking I'd like to call a female cat Lily.

Just Google for popular cat names. There are endless ideas.

We had an Apache... =)

 

[Kal_shadowsmom]

My last cat, her name was Holly. She was from a litter of kittens that were being sold at a tree farm. When I was in my early teens, my family and I went to the farm to cut down our own Christmas tree. When we went inside the barn to pay for the tree and get hot chocolate, they were selling kittens. I got my parents to buy me one.

She was named Holly, because I wanted a name that was distinct to the holiday.

My current furbaby, Shadow, was technically named by my father. I was trying to think of a name for her, because she has such a strong independent spirit. She was like the alpha of the litter. Meanwhile, my dad started calling her Shadow, and it just kind of stuck. (She's an all gray cat.)

I tend to pick human names for my animals.

I think the most hilarious one was the toy poodle we had.....named Rambo.