I am a writer with a great interest in German Shepherds, cats, and animals in general. I hope you enjoy my articles.

You've Got a Cat, Now You Need a Name

If you’ve just gotten a new cat, you must be excited about all the playtime, purring, and cuddles you have ahead of you. Of course, you’ll also need to pick out a good name. For some people, names come easily while for others, it can be difficult to find a unique cat name you like and fits your pet.

The internet provides plenty of suggestions, but it can be tricky to choose from the thousands of names on website lists. Luckily, I'm here to help. In this article, I offer you some advice on what to think about when deciding on a cat name, and some suggestions for both male and female names inspired by popular culture other interesting themes.

Cat Names From Literature and Movies

If you’re looking for inspiration, there are a lot of famous cat characters in books and movies. You can even pick a character whose personality seems similar to that of your cat. You might want to follow along with the gender of the character, but a lot of these names will work for both female and male. I’ll also include some names of more exotic cats, in case you think your pet deserves to be named after someone with a bit of a wild side.

Great Cat Names From Books and Comics

Good Cat Names From Movies and TV

Pay Attention to Cat Personality and Markings

It’s great when your cat’s name can match his/her personality. Spend a little while observing your kitty to see what he/she likes and how he/she acts. You may want to come up with a name that relates to the cat’s habits or favorite things. When I was young, my parents rescued a kitty that had been abandoned. On the way home, they tried to get the him to eat something. They tried cat food, but he just wasn’t interested. Finally, they stopped at a Burger King, and he devoured a Whopper. From that point on, the cat’s name was Whopper Chopper. The story is actually a little exaggerated. It was more like a sniff and one small attempt at biting it. But it is a perfect example of using a funny story or habit to come up with a name. You can be sure that doing this will make your cat's name very unique.

You can also come up with a name based on how your cat looks. If your kitty has stripes, do any of the stripes and swirls resemble a shape? Does it have a distinctive marking? If you have a cat with a black patch around her eye, for example, you could name her Pirate. With a patch on her nose, she could be Rudolph. If your cat has a splotch that looks like a heart, you could name her Cupid. Look at what makes your cat unique, and you might come up with plenty of ideas for names.

If you love books but think that naming your cat after a character is too predictable, you could give your kitty a name that is a pun on an author’s name. Courtesy of buzzfeed, these names are particularly great for cat owners who are literary aficionados and appreciate a bit of wit and silliness. Many of these names may be a mouthful, but you can slim them down to some cute nicknames.

Cat Names Based on Food

If you’re looking for a really cute name, a popular idea is to name your cat based on some kind of food. Still, you don’t want to be the millionth person to name your orange cat Pumpkin. Here are a few names that might not be quite as overused but would still be a good choice for your beloved kitty.

Historic Cat Names

Cats can undoubtedly take on regal airs. If your cat sits around the house, expecting everyone to treat him or her like some king, queen, leader, scholar, or warrior, you might want to pick a historical name.

Mythological Cat Names

If you can't get enough of history, then maybe a little bit of fictional history can help. In mythology you'll find some very nice cat names. First of we'll look at some names from Greek mythology and then Norse mythology. You'll have some nice larger than life story to tell if you choose one of these beautiful cat names.

Greek Mythology

Norse Mythology

Cat Names Based on Superhero Stories

These days cinema and TV seem to focus on superheroes a lot. The Marvel and DC cinematic universes offer us some great heroes and villains. Choosing a cat name based on these comic book stories will probably not be that unique, but you'll find a lot of interesting names to choose from.

Choose a Name That Will Make the Whole Family Happy

Often, a pet cat will belong to the whole family. It can be nice to involve kids in the process of choosing a name, but sometimes kids don’t come up with the most original names. When I was 6, my parents gave me free reign to name our cat, and I chose Pretty Kitty. I’ll admit, this wasn’t my most original moment.

If you don’t mind a silly or generic name, feel free to let your kids choose. But if you want to avoid something you don’t like, you could always come up with a few options you’re happy with and let your kids choose between them. You can also have a family brainstorming session so that everyone can participate in coming up with name ideas. Then decide on one you all like together.

Hopefully, these names give you good options to choose from or will at least provide you with some inspiration to come up with your own original names.

Good luck, and enjoy spending time with your new cat!

© 2015 Sam Shepards

Comments

Sam Shepards (author) from Europe on May 13, 2019:

@Mdam58X nice. We also hear a lot of Super Hero and Philosopher names in my neighborhood.

I don't necessarily mean Black Panther or Spiderman, but t'challa and (Peter) Parker, their given names. Also Gamora, Rocket,... But of course also Thor which was already popular, because deities were also a popular name category.

Madam58X on May 12, 2019:

We named our cat Liberty because she showed up on the 4th of July at the back door as a stray it fits her perfectly

Sam Shepards (author) from Europe on November 11, 2015:

You're welcome.

Michelle B- Grand on November 10, 2015:

really helpful thanks