naming your cat presents a unique challenge for many people.
you have a fuzzy new member of your household, so you give him a cutesy name like kitty fru fru, a human-sounding name like steven, name him after a famous cat like garfield, pay homage to a character from your book or movie favourite, or do you prefer something completely different?
as we prepared to give our marina del rey location a new name, we began to wonder… what are the most popular cat names?
To find out, we turned to data. We’ve analyzed all of our customers’ cat names over the last 3 years and after selecting over 4,600, a clear winner emerged.
without further ado, here they are…
#20 – sofia
sophie, which means “wisdom” in its original Greek, is a wise name choice for a cat (sorry, we couldn’t resist).
#19 – outer wall
Of European origin, the name bailey is a name commonly used for both male and female cats. In its French origin, it is a name that meant “public official” or “man in charge”.
#14 – simba, tiger, shadow, friend, & cat
lions, tigers and shadows…omg, the 14th most popular name is a 5-way tie.
Although Simba is a male cat name made popular by Disney’s Lion King, does it also mean lion? in Swahili. and tiger means… well, tiger? – and it is a name that is used for both male and female cats.
Not to be overshadowed by names inspired by their larger cousins, shadow is another very popular unisex name for black cats. buddy, of course, is a name that stems from friendship, and is quite an appropriate name for many fuzzy members of the house. the name jack is another typically masculine name, and has its origins as a “pet name” given to men called john during medieval times… making it particularly appropriate as a name for your royal pet.
#12 – coconut & lola
of all the names on our list here, coco and lola are probably the most fun to say. both are also common names for female cats.
coco is a name popularized thanks to coco chanel. But, as a fun fact, her first name was actually Gabrielle. (shrug)
lola is often another “pet name” or nickname given to women named dolores, but it’s also a fun name to give a kitty.
#10 – I read & maximum
tied for #6, both leo & max are names normally given to male cats. leo is another name that translates as ? Lion. meanwhile, max draws its roots from the Latin word maximus, which translates to “greatest”… which makes it the best name for cats? (see what we did there?)
#8 – lily &
Lily is a beautiful name for female cats and comes from the name of the flower, which is also a symbol of purity. (just a quick reminder though that lilies are incredibly poisonous to cats)
Meanwhile, milo is a more commonly used name for male cats and was made popular by the adorable movie milo & otis.
#7 – olive tree
oliver is most commonly used as a name for male cats, and has its metaphorical roots in those of the olive tree. in biblical references, the olive tree symbolizes fertility, which fits with how common the name is. In all likelihood, the name became popular for cats thanks to the Disney movie “Oliver & company”.
#5 – kitty & moon
On its own, the name “kitten” is tied for the fifth most popular name for cats. however, if we were to expand our criteria to include other names that include the word kitty (for example, kitty smalls or mr. kitty), it would quickly jump to the top of the list. but we’re being strict with the rules here, and we list the most popular names, not the most popular types of names. in any case, kitty is derived from the word kitty… what will you remember from high school biology is it kind of a little cat?.
luna means “the moon” in Latin and is a very popular name for female cats. the name has become increasingly popular in recent years, although the internet doesn’t seem to agree why. some say it’s thanks to chrissy tegan sharing photos of her daughter luna, others suggest it’s thanks to the popularity of the character luna lovegood in harry potter. all we know is that it’s a lovely name no matter why people chose it.
#2 – bella, charlie, & lucy
tied for second place, bella, charlie and lucy are great names for a cat. while bella and lucy are often used for female kittens, charlie is a name that can be used for both male and female cats.
bella translates to “beautiful” in Italian, and it’s a…wait…a beautiful name for a cat. Charlie is considered a very friendly name and has its roots in a German word meaning “free man”, although we hope you don’t let your Charlies roam your neighborhood freely. The name Lucy is derived from a word that translates to “light-bringer,” which is an appropriate name for a creature that brings so much light into our lives.
#1 – cloe
which means “little green shoot” in Greek, it’s easy to see why it’s a popular name for cats…because…cats…ummm…do they like to nibble on little green shoots?
yeah, actually, we don’t know why the name became so popular, other than the obvious reasons it’s short, sounds beautiful when you say it, and ends with the “long e” sound so popular for girl names pets. . What we do know is that it is a great name, and we are delighted to be able to take care of so many kittens named Chloe.
