The Most Fantastic Cat Names Ever? Bring Them On!

[mservant]

I guess my favourite current name has to be Mouse, though Mouse actually came from Mouser (Mouse gets called this when he's being especially smart and cat like ).

I've always liked Sphinx too but that's a rather scary creature in Greek mythology so maybe not for anyone feint-hearted.

Praxis is another name I'm fond of, and believe it means putting theory in to action: quite appropriate for a cat.

I'm a big fan of using Google Translate to see what options come up in other languages for words that I like in English.
Malaika is a name I'd love, esp for a female cat though no reason it couldn't be male: it means Angel in Swahili. You have to be careful when looking at names in languages you're not very familiar with though. I almost called Mouse Pepo, which I saw along with Malaika when looking at Swahili words. I read it meant Spirit, only a few months later and still looking things up I realized it referred to evil spirits. Perhaps Spirit would be better.

Mind you, most of the cats I've lived with end up being called Pest or Pestis more than anything else.

 

[abyeb]

Here are some names that can certainly be used for any cat, but have special meaning for cats of certain breeds:

Cosey- Female- The name of the Maine Coon who was named Best in Show at the Madison Square Garden Cat Show, the first major cat show in the US

Zula- Female- The name of the first documented Abyssinian cat

Wong Mau- Female- the first Burmese to arrive in the US

Kallibunker- Male- the standout kitten in a barn cat's litter who became the foundation cat for the Cornish Rex breed

Skogkatt- Either- The local name for Norwegian Forest Cats

 

[muffy]

So Bart?

I had two black feral kittens I named Bart and Lisa.

Muffy

 

[Margret]

From Star Trek: The Next Generation: Data created a daughter whom he named Lal, which, according to the show, is Hindi for "Beloved."

Margret

 

[Margret]

Isn't "Linda" Spanish for "beautiful"? I remember being told that "Loma Linda" (town in California) means "Beautiful Hill."

Margret

 

[abyeb]

Isn't "Linda" Spanish for "beautiful"? I remember being told that "Loma Linda" (town in California) means "Beautiful Hill."

Margret

Yes, that's right! I love that idea for a cat name!

 

[ileen]

I thought linda meant cute in Spanish.

 

[CrazyCatLadyofKirbyLake]

Bastet - Female - Ancient Egyptian cat-headed goddess.

When I was around 2 my oldest sister named our new male Siamese kitten "El Gato"---which is Spanish for "The Cat." Apparently I couldn't pronounce this and called him "Gotzie" instead. He remained Gotzie for all is long years in our family. (In a similar vein, my brother once named a white lab "Guerro"---which means "Whitey". My mom couldn't pronounce it, she always called him "Weirdo". I couldn't pronounce that, either, so he was always "Weirdo" for us, much to my brother's chagrin.)
Re: letting your cat name itself, or the name come to you. I have 2 Siamese rescue cats and spent several weeks trying to come up with suitable names---I even enlisted help from my coworkers and friends, but none of us could come up with ones that I liked. One morning while getting ready for work, the female pounced on my bare foot with all claws extended. I yelped in pain, crying out, "Why, you little minx!" A bright light shown, a chorus of angels began singing, and I had my names: Minx, and, of course, Jinx.

 

[hypatia]

Nemea - Female - derived from the Nemean lion, a beast from Greek mythology - best suited for large cats with 'golden' fur since the Nemean Lion was a beast that had golden fur impervious to attack.
Neko - Male - from all the Japanese anime - sounds to me like a name for a sleek cat with adorable behavior like in anime.
Chimera - Female - Greek mythological creature - best suited for cats with multi-colored coats, or ones good at camouflage.
Simha (could also be Singha) - Male - Hindi for lion (Singha is Bengali, I believe), also derived from the Hindu man-lion God, Narasimha - a robust cat with lion-like mane.
Sher - Male - Hindi for tiger - a Bengal cat, maybe?
Panther - Male - kinda self-explanatory - for sleek black cats with killer hunting skills (pun intended).
Crookshanks - Male - from Harry Potter - maybe for a ginger cat owned by a nerdy, smart girl? I don't know why I have that image for that name...
Cole - Male - idea stolen from the YouTube cat channel Cole and Marmalade - for a black cat. Coal... Cole... get it?
Dawon - Male - the lion-pet of the Hindu Goddess Durga - fitting for a loyal cat owned by a female human, who would follow her mistress into battle.
Leopold - Male - for the obvious Leo - for any well-mannered cats who have an air of dignity around them.
Catniss - Female - for the obvious and awful pun - suits any huntress mouser cat with a sleek build.
Lynx - Female - a wildcat in Greek and Norse mythologies - for any beauties who have an air of mystery to them: basically the ones who hide.
Puss - Gender neutral, maybe? - Puss in the Boots - for the rare ones that don't mind costumes... Puss in the dress, Puss in the tiara, etc.
Tom/Thomas - Male - from Tom and Jerry - for the quintessential tom cat.
Bob - Male - from the top of my head - for the quintessential bob cat.
Sylvester - Male - Looney Tunes - for the unsuccessful hunter, for the sly one, for the cat that looks like he'd be perfect in a British super villain's lap.
Cheshy - Male - derived from the Cheshire Cat of Wonderland (can go with the full Cheshire, or Cheshire Cat if you want to be extra ironic) - for the naughtiest bunch.
Tiger - Male - for obvious and ironic reasons - for those who are convinced your kitty is just a tiny tiger. Works best with Toygers.
Snow White - Female - for the white as snow and black as ebony - I think this would be a great name for a Siamese cat with a lot of white.
Snowbell - Gender neutral (I think it's female, but it's based on a male cat character's name) - from Stuart Little - works best with Persians, but for any white cats that have tinkling meows or wear bells.
Sphynx - Gender neutral - a creature from Egyptian mythology - for sphinx cats, if you want to be ironic, but works for any sleek cats. If you are naming a cat after observing it for sometime, Sphynx can be a in-joke kind of name for the cats the prefer to sit in the 'Sphinx position', if you know what I mean, like mine.
Moonracer - Male - a character from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer who is a winged lion - for cats that are active at nights and run around a lot. A lot, a lot.
Shrody - Male - derived from Schrodinger's Cat - works well for smart cats that love boxes and are unpredictable (raise your hand if you got this).
Hunter - Male (can also be female as Huntress, I guess) - when you want to give your cat the name you would have given yourself if you had the chance - for great 'hunters'.
Aslan - Male - from the Narnia series - goes well with a Maine Coon or any large cat breed with a mane.
Bagheera - Male - from the Jungle Book - for adult black cats that you've adopted but make you wonder if they've adopted you.
Savannah - Female - named after the cat breed - for any cats that remind you of their wild African ancestors. Works best with Abyssinians, Bengals, Ocicats, and of course, Savannahs.
Garfield - Male - Garfield the cat - suits the laziest of the bunch.

Unrelated to cat themed names: Apollo and Artemis - Male and female - the Greek twin Gods - I recently saw two cats in a shelter, both of which I wanted to adopt so badly, but couldn't. The female was a black beauty with a lot of poise and was a great hunter. The male was a ginger that was very friendly, playful and had an almost trilling meow. I thought that the names Apollo (because his ginger fur matches the rising sun) and Artemis (because her black fur reminds me of the night) were perfect names for them. I was unable to name those wonderful little things. Maybe someone else who adopts two cats at once will like this idea.

 

[doomsdave]

The Devil is what I named this kitty.

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• doomsdave
• Dec 3, 2016

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• doomsdave
• Dec 3, 2016

 

[ileen]

I love that kitchen photo - it looks like he's smirking!

 

[Margret]

Chimera - Female - Greek mythological creature - best suited for cats with multi-colored coats, or ones good at camouflage.

In the same vein we have Thcrapth, also from Discworld, though in the books Thcrapth is a dog. See Igors

When the Magpyr family went to Lancre they naturally brought along their Igor, who is more traditionally minded than his employers and has a dog named Scraps (or "Thcrapth") that he built himself. See Carpe Jugulum.

Thcrapth is not gender specific, though multi-colored coats tend to be female in cats. Also, as the article notes it is okay to get rid of the lisp on this one.

This name was suggested to me by my husband.

Margret

 

[doomsdave]

I love that kitchen photo - it looks like he's smirking!

She is!

Alas, late.

 

[McPickle]

Colonel Whiskerson- Either-

 

[doomsdave]

My first kitty I called the Panintheass. Because he was. But I loved him so much; he looked EXACTLY like the Devil.

This isn't his picture, but another of the Devil.

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• doomsdave
• Dec 3, 2016

 

[SeventhHeaven]

Apollo- is one of the most important and complex of the Olympian deities in ancient Greek and Roman religion and Greek and Roman mythology.
Found this: German cat names... Love the name Heidi in french meaning nobility
Arlo – hill
Anka – grace
Britta – exalted, lofty
Brunhilde – dark or noble
Elsa – short form of Elizabeth
Frau or Fraulein – meaning Mrs. and miss respectively
Frieda – peace, joy
Fritzi – peace rule
Gretchen – a pearl
Greta – also a pearl
Heidi – of noble kin
Helga – holy
Hilda – Battle
Liesel – god is my oath
Lola – sorrows
Marta – lady
Mischa – who is God?
Sofie – wisdom
Trudi – spear strength
Ursula – female bear
Zelda – woman warrior

Male cats
Arnold – eagle power
Axel – my father is peace
Bach – lives by the stream
Bruno – brown one
Claus – victory of the people
Dirk – famous ruler
Felix – happy and prosperous
Franz – free

 

[mservant]

Was loafing in bed longer than I should have the other morning and had a furry critter within reach - got me thinking of names again...

Stretch
Scritch
Hunter

 

[Margret]

• Rascal, either, seems appropriate for virtually all cats.
• Rapscallion, ditto.
• Nuisance, ditto.
• 'SKitty, either, the apostrophe indicate's that it's short for (Dick)'s Kitty (where Dick is the name of the cat's human)
• 'SCat, as above. I took these names from a trilogy of short stories by Mercedes Lackey, collected in Shipscat Collection. We're talking about extremely intelligent cats here, able to communicate with each other and some humans telepathically. In the book, 'SKitty is a fertile female and 'SCat is her mate. All of their kittens are wanted, because of their genetically engineered talents, and the fact that fertile cats of this particular breed are few and far between.
• Her/His Royal Highness, either, seems to accurately describe most cats. HRH or Highness for short.
• There are numerous cats mentioned in the Liaden Universe S.F. series, by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller; I'll try to make a list and post it. The one that springs immediately to mind is Lord Merlin, male, strong, courageous, extremely loyal, and has certain paranormal abilities, which he uses primarily for the benefit of his family.
• The second cat that springs to mind from this series is named Lucky. Male (in the series, but would work for a female as well). Lucky was used in a truly insane physics experiment, trying to test the Schrodinger's cat concept. A group of several cats were used in the experiment (they needed several because their subjects tended to have short life spans). Lucky was placed in the box numerous times, but always survived, hence the name.

Margret

 

[Margret]

I was just reminded of "Cuddles." This kind of sounds feminine, but the Cuddles I actually knew was a tom cat so it could work for either.

I once knew a dog named "Friend," which seems to be equally good for a cat, of either sex.

And I was dipping into The Last Continent, by Sir Terry Pratchett, and was reminded of Scrappy the kangaroo. Scrappy seems like an appropriate name for any cat of either sex who seems to have gone back for a second helping when they were handing out cattitude.

Margret

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Let's see...

Hekitty. My own cat's name. This is not he kitty, as a male cat, but actually a play on Hekate, the Greek Goddess of magic and the crossroads

A friend in Tennessee has a trio of very active Abyssinians named Tempest, Trouble and Tribulation

But maybe my top favorite name for a cat ever is from a diary on a political website I frequent. One of the members there has a rescue cat named Noble Fur. LOVE THAT!