60 Unique and Magical Names for Cats

Cats, especially black cats, have long been associated with magic and witchcraft. Cats were sacred in Ancient Egypt, and have been considered lucky household spirits in Japanese lore. In 1600s Great Britain, it was tradition for visitors to kiss the family cat upon their arrival to ensure a pleasant visit. In many cultures, to do ill to a cat can only bring bad luck, loss of love, or death.

If you have a new cat, finding the appropriate name is the first rite. To celebrate your new lucky talisman, consider these magical cat names from history, literature, and the magician's closet.

Bane: Curse, Scourge, or poison that typically causes death e.g. wolfbane.

Bokor: Sorcerers of Voodoo for hire. Bokors can be either male or female.

Coven: A gathering of witches.

Grimalkin or Greymalkin: An especially evil-looking female cat associated with witchcraft. In the middle ages, possession of a Grimalkin could be enough proof of an individual practicing witchcraft to get one burned at the stake.

Grimoire: Pronounced “grim-war,” a book of magic spells. These spell books typically teach the magician how to create magical objects, summon spiritual beings of both positive and negative forces, and how to place charms and curses on individuals. A famous Grimoire is the Book of Shadows.

Heka: The Egyptian magical system (the deification of magic and medicine) in ancient Egypt, and the phonetic spelling of the German word for witch (hexe).

Hex: A Magick spell or curse. As a verb, hex means to spellbind, allure, beguile, or tickle to death!

Hoodoo: Voodoo, witchcraft or to bewitch.

Imp: From German folklore, imps are small goblins with mischievous natures that like to play pranks and practical jokes on their human friends. Typically, they are perceived as lonely creatures in search of a friend. In order to get the attention they crave, they pester the human who either takes them in or drives them away in annoyance.

Jade: Jade is a stone used in Magick for healing and protection. Green jade is used for calming and soothing, while red jade promotes friendships and prosperity. Name your kitty Jade if you want a lucky talisman to aid you in gaining friendships and amassing great wealth.

Jinx: A Magick spell or enchantment that brings calamity. Name your kitty Jinx if you have a vermin population that needs to be eradicated.

Juju: A lucky talisman, fetish, or charm (West African).

Kikimora: A Russian house spirit. When the home is in order, a kikimora will assist in care of the household; however, if the home is not in order, she will break dishes and engage in destructive behavior throughout the night. The kikimora living in an inharmonious home spins flax at night with evil intentions for the world.

Malachite: Malachite is an opaque green stone that is used in Magick to promote visionary powers and wealth by bringing hope to its possessor. Malachite aids in courage by bringing an understanding of the source of one's fears. Additionally, malachite promotes prosperity.

Mambo: Female Bokor and priestess of Voodoo; she may practice both white and black magic to create talismans, fetishes, house spirits, or zombies.

Picatrix: A famous Arabic grimoire (book of spells) based on Astral magic. You can call your kitty Trixie for short.

Sodalite: This is a bright blue stone with crisscrossing white lines and flecks, used in Magick to promote calmness and good digestion. It is thought to aid in sleep, lower blood pressure, and bring clarity of thought to the mind. This bright stone represents the spiritual light of a balanced spirit and mind. Name your kitty Sodalite, then call it Soda for short.

Sorginak: The Basque name for both male and female witches. The Sorginak (pronounced "shor-in-yak") are said to have the ability to transform themselves at will into animals, most commonly cats.

Tarot: The tarot deck is a pack of playing cards from the 15th century used for fortunetelling and divination.

Vamp: One who bewitches, beguiles, or charms.

Wicca: A modern Pagan religion revolving around ancient paganism and witchcraft. There is no central religious authority and Wicca has many denominations with their own hierarchical structures. Wiccans worship both a masculine horned god and a feminine moon goddess.

Zemi: Considered a good luck piece, amulet, or charm by the Taíno people of the Caribbean.

Chanceux: "Lucky" in French (pronounced shan-soo).

Crow: Because crows are also black and because both crows and black cats have a history of being linked with witches.

Karma: The Hindu or Buddhist belief that the repercussions for your actions in this life will carry over into your next life.

Kismet: Destiny or fate.

Mystery: "Myster" for short.

Omen: An event or sign that is a portent or prophecy of the future.

Pagan: One whose religious beliefs predate those of the main world religions; pantheistic, polytheistic, or animistic.

Goth: One who finds beauty in things which other people consider dark; a genre of literature that focuses on macabre or dark themes.

Raven: (See "Crow.")

Sphynx: In ancient Greece, a creature with a woman's head, a lion's body, and wings. If you can't answer the sphynx's riddle, you die.

Suerte: "Lucky" in Spanish.

Ariel: The mischievous and magical spirit that is enslaved by Prospero in Shakespeare’s The Tempest.

Aslan: A male name of Turkish origin meaning "lion," Aslan was the lion in C. S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia series.

Binx: In the film Hocus Pocus, a teenager named Binx is transformed by three witches into an immortal talking cat.

Cleo: In the film The Mummy, a cat named Cleo is able to ward off evildoers because cats are guardians of the underworld. In one scene, O’Connell holds up Cleo, whose hiss drives off the villain.

Dinah: Alice’s pet cat in Alice in Wonderland. Alice mentions Dinah frequently on her adventures, and her boasts of Dinah’s hunting prowess causes much consternation amongst the Wonderland residents (who happen to be the kind of creatures Dinah likes to hunt).

Endora: Overbearing mother and witch on the TV series Bewitched.

Jiniri: The female jinn or genie, also spelled jinni. It is a mighty jinni that helps Aladdin in One Thousand and One Nights, also known as the Arabian Nights.

Jinn: The male form of genie. They are said to have been made by Allah of smokeless fire, unlike man who was made of clay. Additionally, unlike angels, jinn have free will to do good or evil. Jinn exist in another dimension unseen to man.

Ling-Ling: In the Bewitched TV series, Samantha the witch tries to help her husband Darrin, an advertising executive, find and exotic woman for a new ad campaign. Samantha transforms a stray Siamese cat into the exotic and seductive Ling-Ling. Ling-Ling is an advertising success, while the usual antics that follow teach us that magic is never the best solution.

Lucinda: Black cat and witches' familiar in Bewitched.

Merlin: The wizard of Arthurian legend, Merlin advises King Arthur and is known to be a shape-shifter that disguises himself in a variety of human forms.

Minerva: In the Harry Potter series, Minerva McGonagall, the transfiguration teacher, often transforms herself into a cat.

Moriah: A large black cat in The Forgotten Beasts of Eld, by Patricia A. McKillip. Moriah is renowned for her knowledge of secret charms and spells.

Prospero: A powerful sorcerer and the main character of Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Prospero conjures a great storm which sets the action of the play in motion.

Pyewacket: The name of the cat and witches' familiar in Bell, Book and Candle. Pyewacket has been both a black cat and Siamese cat in film and stage revivals.

Sabrina: The teenage witch.

Salem: Black cat and familiar in Sabrina the Teenage Witch; also the name of the town where the infamous witch trials took place in Salem, Massachusetts.

Samantha: Lead role and leading good witch on Bewitched.

Tabitha: Mischievous daughter and baby witch of Samantha and Darren on Bewitched.

Aliester: Aleister Crowley was a mystic famous for his controversial writings who referred to himself as "the beast."

Astral: The substance of a second body that accompanies a human throughout life. The astral body may leave the physical body at times and travel through the universe, in astral projections. The astral body survives the body at death. Name your cat Astral if you are seeking a constant companion.

Aura: Similar to a halo, an aura is a luminous field of radiation that surrounds all living things. Colors emitted from auras are said to be indicative of an individual's mental, spiritual, and physical wellbeing.

Chakra: Chakras are meeting points or nodes in one’s energy field or “subtle body.” Chakras are the loci of life energy that keep the mental, physical, and spiritual energies in balance. Some psychics read clients' chakras to determine their current state of mind and spirit, in order to advise them as to where they should focus their energies to improve their future outcomes. Name your cat Chakra if she is at the center of your sense of peace and well-being.

Halo: A ring of light surrounding the head of a holy individual or deity. Halos have been used in the iconography of most world religions.

Myth: Tradition, story, or legend, especially regarding supernatural beings.

Nostradamus: This famous mystic who wrote predictions about what would happen in the future has been dead for 500 years, but his book is still in print.

Raven: In Greek mythology, the raven is associated with Apollo and prophesy. The raven was the worldy messenger of the gods and a seen as a symbol of bad luck.

Rumi: Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi, born in the early 1200s in Afghanistan, was a famous mystic and poet.

Abracadabra: Term used by magicians to effect a magical turn of events. Name your kitty Abracadabra and you can call her Abra for short.

Cardini: Famous magician that invented card-manipulation techniques.

Charm: A delight, trick, or deception.

Hoax: A trick or a charm.

Hocus Pocus: Similar to abracadabra, the magician waves his magic wand and effects a change in the material world when he states “hocus pocus.”

Hoodoo: A charm or spell.

Houdini: Harry Houdini was a magician who became quite famous for his escape acts.

Obi: Magical enchantment or sorcery.

Presto: Indicates a quick change in the material objects, such as pulling a rabbit from a previously empty hat.

Rune: A mysterious or magical mark or letter; a small talisman used in divination.

Sim Sala Bim: Magician Dante's magic words, taken from a Danish fairy tale, similar to hocus pocus.

Taboo: A thing or subject that is forbidden.

Voila: French for "here it is."

Banshee: From Irish mythology, the banshee is a member of the fairies, and she heralds death of a family member by wailing or shrieking in the dead of night.

Cherub: One of the second order of angels, an innocent being.

Chimera: A fire breathing mythical being with the body of a goat, head of a lion, and serpent's tail. A terrifying creature.

Kelpie: Scottish mythology holds that the kelpie, a water spirit in the form of a horse, foretells or warns of impending drownings.

Pagan: Lower case "pagan" is synonomous with "heathen," however, with an upper case "P," Paganism refers to a religion which honours the Earth.

Pixie: A mischievous Irish fairy.

Psyche: The human soul, mind, or spirit.

Revenant: Human that returns as a spirit following their death.

Seraph: One of the celestial beings of God's throne; one of the highest order of beings.

Shade: Ghost or shadow.

Shaman: The intermediary between the natural world and the supernatural. They foretell the future and produces cures via magic.

Specter: Ghost or apparition of a terrifying nature.

Spook: Ghost, specter, or spy.

Sprite: An elf, fairy, or goblin.

Wraith: The apparition of a living being which portends their death.

Akuba: "Witch" in Japanese.

Alohomora: In Harry Potter, "alohomora" is the spell for unlocking things (locks, doors, etc.).

Charisma: A quality of personal magic that inspires devotion; a special, magnetic charm or appeal.

Circe: (Pronounced sir-see) the sorceress in Homer's Odyssey.

Laveau: Marie Catherine Laveau was a voodoo priestess in the late 1800s in New Orleans.

Lumos: In Harry Potter, "lumos" is the spell for making light.

Mantra: A sacred word or sound believed to have psychological or spiritual powers when repeated.

Shazam: A word used to introduce an amazing or magical act or transformation.

Ursula: Ursula Southeil lived in the 1500s and was considered England's greatest clairvoyant of her time.

For more ideas, read 55 Unique Witch Names for Cats From History and Literature.