Unique Cat Names – Over 140 Unusual Names For Cats

ByMeg Austwick
unique cat names

It’s not always easy to dare to be different. And when it comes to finding unique cat names the pressure is seriously on. Will your off the wall idea be celebrated, or leave people raising their eyebrows in confusion? I’ve named a lot of pets over the years and have found the best way to come up with something no one else has thought of is to work along a theme. It might be the names of your favorite castles, unusual plants, or even someone you met once on a train that had a friendly face. If you go with something that has meaning as well as the cool factor, you’re always going to be on to a winner. And today I’ll help you along the journey by providing inspiration, ideas and stepping stones for you to hop across on your travels to the perfect original cat name.

Contents

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Bold and Brave or Meek and Mild?

A cat’s personality is a great place to start – every cat is different and their personalities start showing from such a young age! Using their personality as inspiration is a great way to think of a name that is unique to your cat and that suits it perfectly. Here are some examples:

  • Pouncer
  • Arty
  • Hunter
  • Racer
  • Melody
  • Creep
  • Trust
  • Bubbles
  • Solumn
  • Fidget
  • Scratches
  • Chatterbox
  • Tickler
  • Jumper
  • Fickle

Not sure any of these are quite right? Our readers suggest ‘Bruiser’, ‘Sneak’, ‘Hero’ and ‘Lucifer’ may all work well for some cats too!

picture of my copy of 5001 cat names book(paid link)

Cute Creative Girls Names

Human names are a really popular choice when it comes to naming our pets, but this does not mean that these names cannot be unique. Choosing a human name can be difficult, as you might want to avoid the names of your family and friends. However, they tend to fluctuate in popularity, so a name that is less popular now could be the perfect fit for your cat. Here are some examples of less popular names now that could make a great unique name for your kitty.

  • Bridget
  • Carly
  • Debra
  • Eileen
  • Elaine
  • Janet
  • Jean
  • Joanne
  • Juliet*
  • Millie*
  • Sally
  • Sandra
  • Sheila
  • Tracey
  • Wendy
  • Willow*
  • Ursula
  • Yvonne
  • Zenda
unique cat names

Adorable But Not Trending Boys Names

Here are some less popular male human names that you might think are the perfect choice for your cat! They might not be current celebrity faves, but you could be your very own trend setter.

  • Archibald
  • Cecil
  • Chester
  • Clarence
  • Clive
  • Dean
  • Dennis
  • Egbert
  • Gary
  • Frederick
  • Horace
  • Malcolm
  • Nigel
  • Sidney
  • Roy
  • Terrance
  • Wayne

Inspired By Coat Color

A great way to set off on ideas for unusual names is to take a close look at your pet. Is there a tint to the fur or a notch in the ear? Appearance can be awesome inspiration.

Black Cats

When naming your black cat, it’s tempting to go for typical names that describe your cat’s fur color. These names are great, however, they’re often too popular to be unique.

To find a more unique name, we could look at the meaning behind the name. This is a clever way of complementing your cat’s gorgeous dark fur but still choosing a name many other cats won’t have! Here are some names with meanings that flatter our black cats’ coats.

  • Achlys (darkness)
  • Amaro (dark)
  • Bruna (dark haired)
  • Cerin (little dark one)
  • Kalan (black)
  • Krishna (black)
  • Zila (shade)
  • Collyer (charcoal merchant)
  • Ohanzee (shadow)
  • Sauda (dark beauty)

White Cats

We can also use the above technique when looking for names for white cats!

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  • Abyaz (white)
  • Earwin (white river)
  • Finna (fair)
  • Atali (pure)
  • Zaki (bright, pure)
  • Edur (snow)
  • Neve (snowy)
  • Morvan (pale)
  • Pandu (pale)
  • Olwen (white footprint)
unique cat names

Naturally Gorgeous Names

Cute cat names are a great way to show off just how adorable your new pet is, but it can be difficult to think of something that’s both cute and unique! We can get inspiration from nature and the world around us to think of cute names that could suit our kitties perfectly! Here are some you might like.

  • Acorn
  • Bean
  • Briar
  • Clementine
  • Daffodil
  • Echo
  • Fig
  • Fir
  • Foxglove
  • Ivy
  • Feather
  • Moss
  • Mustard
  • Orchid
  • Pea
  • Pepper
  • Pickles
  • Rosebud
  • Sprout
  • Tansy

Cool Cats

Lots of people use human inspiration when naming their cat, but another way to find a cool, unique name is to look at inspiration in the media. Some famous cat names, like Garfield or Bagpuss, have been used time and time again as pet names, however this doesn’t mean that there are no unique ones. Here are some examples of cat’s from the media that you might like, and where they appeared.

  • Monkey (Perry Mason)
  • Mrs Paw (Big Barn Farm)
  • Muffy (Shipping Wars)
  • Spot (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
  • Toonces (Saturday Night Live)
  • Jonesy (Alien)
  • Sassy (Homeward Bound)
  • Orion (Men in Black)
  • Mittens (Bolt)
  • Benny (Top Cat)
unique cat names

Historically Unique Cat Names

Another way to find more unique names for our pets is to use inspiration from different historical periods. This gives you a huge scope for names, as you could look at any historical era, or any region! Historical names can also have a great story behind them that you can share with your friends when they meet your kitty!

  • Millard
  • Rutherford
  • Grover
  • Warren
  • Marlon
  • Averil
  • Ovidius
  • Durand
  • Gershom
  • Pascoe
  • Augustus
  • Oswald
  • Artistotle
  • Joan
  • Constance
  • Eluned
  • Haidee
  • Idonea
  • Oriel
  • Adela
  • Alba
  • Pelagia
  • Tatiana
  • Theodosia
  • Zenais
  • Mary

Feisty Cat Names

Kittens are often bags of energy, and these names would fit an outgoing pet really well.

  • Baloo
  • Baron/Baroness
  • Beastie
  • Buffy
  • Diva
  • Grumble
  • Hennessy
  • Ike
  • Jaffa
  • Jaz
  • Killian
  • Major
  • Majesty
  • Mufasa
  • Wookie

Punny and Funny

Fancy something more light hearted? Our readers recommend these ‘punny’ cat names.

  • Charlie Catlin
  • CleoCatra
  • Ferris Mewller
  • Luke Skywhisker
  • Meowna Lisa
  • Neferkitti

Tasty Inspiration

We loved hearing how many of your unique cat names are inspired by foods. You suggested:

  • Coconut
  • Fish
  • Snickers
  • Peanut
  • Pickles

There’s lots of fun to be had looking in the cupboards for inspiring food names. What about ‘Chilli’ for a feisty personality, or ‘Cucumber’ for a more chilled kitty?

We’d love to hear about the most unique pet names you’ve heard before! Can you think of any names to add to our list.

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164 Comments

    3. I had a friend who named her cat C.A.T. (see-ay-tee) saying the letters. She had a dog to called D.O.G. (dee-oh-gee). She had a thing for literal naming.

      Reply

    5. I have just lost a strong beautiful cat, he was called Tarn
      actually after “Tarn Howes” small lake in the Lake District my late husband loved the place as did I
      He weighed 12kg and never needed to fight as he just looked so strong the other cats left but he did have two great playmates that he met in his garden, they sat together on a bench like three old men

      Reply

  5. I like the name near, or gunner. What about citrus or cloud or dragon or far or iven or Vacadu or butter or casino or cini. I like those names more.

    Reply

    1. Here are cat names from my childhood onward: Mitzi, Stuffin’, Tyloo, Tiggly-Wig, Gidget (with extra digits/polydactyl), Onyx (aka Onster-the-Monster), Stuffin’, KitKat

      Reply

  8. Luke Skywhisker.
    I work for a dog and cat rescue, and a Star Wars fan adopted him just because of the name. He adopted his sister who had a different name, but
    changed her name to Leia.

    Reply

    1. This is so nice. I know two black and white cats, who both had moustache-like markings under their noses, called “Adolf Kitler and Charlie Catlin” – the latter had white gloves. Our own ginger was “Toscat from Purrchini”.
      Then there also are the exquisite paintings by Susan Herbert: Meowna Lisa, Girl with the purr earring, The Kits and Vincent van Claw to name a few.?

      Reply

      1. My ginger cat looks so much like puss in boots that he got the name Antonio after Antonio Banderas that does puss in boots voice lol

        Reply

  21. My cats are karma, boo, and church. Boo is completely black and scared of everything, karma is a tuxedo cat with an evil streak, and church is white with tabby patches and was born in a chapel house on the side of a church. I also have an akita called luna.

    Reply

  24. I have littermate kittens Mufasa, Pickles, Poet and Millie. Just rescued another litter Echo, Edit and Marx (as in Karl). The dogs are Huckleberry and Finn!

    Reply

  28. I currently share my address with:

    Hemi (because he purrs so loud)
    La Roux
    Not La Roux (because she looks like La Roux, but she is…not. Yes she answers to it)
    Grape
    Hamster
    Kupu

    I have had sooo many cats, and never use the same name twice, so I have to get creative

    Reply

    1. We had a cat named pip who was an orange tabby , pip is the name for an orange seed , his full name was Charlie (as in dickens) pip (also literary as in pip from great expectations )

      Reply

  30. My black and white kitty is Gallifrey, my Maine Coin is SmokeyJoe, my white kitty is A dormir and my tabby is Queen Lizzie

    Reply

  34. I have a question that would mean a lot to me if you could answer this.

    Two names really stuck out to me that I really liked. There was Amaro, which meant dark, and Earwin, which meant white river.

    Could you tell me in what language it means that?

    Like in what language does Amaro mean dark, and in what language does Earwin mean white river?

    Thank you in advance as this would really help me out , I also very enjoyed reading this article <3

    xoxo, Liza

    Reply

    1. I have had several unusual kitty names. We had Sugarfoot, she was black with white dipped feet. Dimples, a tuxedo with white markings on his cheeks. Mango Jerry and Rumm Tum Tugger for the Broadway show Cats. And Mr. L.T. Purrkins.

      Reply

  37. My in laws have named their cats : Vincent van gogh ( he has swirl patterns in his fur that look like Starry Night) and Leah-nardo Da vinchi ( wanted to continue the artist theme but little Leah is a young lady)

    Reply

  38. Growing up we had several cats on the farm and we came up with unique names for most of them.
    We had a black one with a white stripe running under his chin and down his tummy…named him Skunk.
    Had a solid black one was named High Noon instead of Midnight.
    Cinnamon (Cinny) and Nutmeg (Meggy) part Siamese males and their solid black sisters Charlie 1 and Charlie 2. My mom and I didn’t agree on the sexes and I had originally named the males Casper and Popcorn.
    We also had Bartender(Tender)..not sure how we came up with that one, Mogen David, Blue Diamond, Blue Angel, Skeeziks, and IBTC (Itty Bitty Titty Committee) are just some of the unusual names we came up with over the years.

    Reply

    1. We’re hoping to find a unique name for a cat we just adopted this month. She’s a senior, sassy cat who came with the name “Oprah”; no disrespect intended here but she’s 90% white with a few patches of gray/taupe on her back, gray/taupe tail, grey face with a jagged white marking that makes us think of the northern lights … but any translations of it (aka, aurora borealis) don’t fit her personality. We’ve since learned this 10yr young kitty is a “Snow-Shoe Siamese” with her gorgeous blue eyes. And like a typical Siamese, we hear about it at breakfast & dinner-time, LoL

      Reply

  39. – Squeakers (fun)

    – Swiper (cartoon)

    – Casper (white cats)

    – Crash (fun)

    – Zelda (legend)

    Reply

  41. I tend to have some… unusual kitty names.

    My cats so far have been named…

    Ms. Kittles (a play on Mr. Piddles from The L Word, and skittles — we were young and very gay)
    Piggles (nickname for Pygmy, she was an extremely tiny black cat — and to rhyme Kittles and Piggles)
    Luther
    Aphrodite
    Pumpkin
    Milo
    Callie
    Maximus
    aaand Casanova

    Reply

  42. When I was a kid we had to jet black cats I named one tar baby (from the movie song of the South, my Mom who had a very strange sense of humor name the other one snowball. lol

    Reply

  45. The names of my cats are:
    Sushi
    Kit Kat
    Birdie
    Otter (because he lays on his back like an otter in water);

    Other cats I’ve had:
    Pixie
    Sprite

    Reply

  47. I named a beautiful long haired white cat; Chablis [a white wine]
    A light gray cat with blue eyes, Luna Bleu
    A majestic black cat, Cairo
    A very affectionate cat, Ti’amo (means ‘I love you’)
    A reincarnated cat; Phoenix

    Reply

  53. RASCAL EARNHARDT. He was small when I got him but soon I found out he was part Maine coon. His name was Earnhardt after he got SOOO big. He was named after Dale Earnhardt Sr..He intimidated the German Shepard next door all the time. Some times the dog would go outside if Earnhardt was out..

    Reply

  54. Have a Devon Rex with not alot of fur he’s called GARTH we call him Garth from the under marth as he looks like an alian ?

    Reply

  55. My female Orange Tabby’s name is Mimosa; I named her after the drink!!
    My female Calico’s name is Dixie; sometimes I call her Dixie Pixie.

    Reply

  57. Let’s see…
    Growing up I had:
    *Joshy
    *Tigger
    *Willy
    *Dude
    *Hank

    Now we (my kids) have:
    *Chucky (for his orange fur, obviously lol)
    *Luci (short for Lucifer because she is evil and obsessed with my infants toes at 3am)
    *Cleocatra (she is mine. My boys hated the name, I adored it, I’m the adult, so I won!)
    *Pickles ( toddlers cat, obviously now they won!)
    *Archie (no idea where my 13yo pulled that one from, but it fits!)

    Reply

  61. My dad’s cat is called Musti.

    My mom’s cat is called Spooky, when calling her she often used “Spook” which means “ghost” in our language. She had green eyes and the show Danny Phantom was really popular at the time, since he was a ghost with green eyes, she named the cat ghost too but in our language.

    And my cat is called Sillen but sometimes I call him Silly Sillen.

    Reply

  63. Our current barn cats are: Fred and Barney, 5 gray cats: Pebbles, Mercury, Smokey, Dustin, and Gunner, 3 black cats: Lincoln, Binx, and Salem. We have a Manx female house cat named Bobbi. Past cat names have been: Yani,Miles, Romeo, Matt and Dillon.

    Reply

  64. Some are rescues. Some are ferals that stay here because I feed them and provide shelter and some are strictly inside, but they are all my babies. Names are..

    Harley (my old man)
    Sayde Bug (aka Bug after finding out she is a he)

    ——–
    Ini
    Mini
    Miny (aka Miny Mouse)
    Mo (aka Momo)
    Curly (aka Curly Monster)

    3 sisters & 2 brothers my Pit Bull found abandoned inside our fence. We were thinking of names when my mom started playing “Ini, Mini, Miny, Mo.” Then there was the other boy left so Curly came naturally after Mo and it stuck.
    ———

    Vee
    Pew T. Pie (aka Poo Pie)
    Bean (aka Beanie Baby)
    Boog (aka Boogie Man)
    Quinne
    Boo
    Pinky (albino with pink nose)
    Fitz
    Little (born with dwarfism)
    Marty (rescued from Wal-Mart parking lot)
    Possum
    Pippen
    Ling Ling
    Freckles

    Then there are the tabbies that all look so much alike, we just call them “Tabs.”

    Reply

  66. My first cat, a beautiful calico, was born in 2002. I think her lovely, femine name – ANNABELLE – fit her perfectly. I couldn’t have children so she was my name sake – I’m Ann.

    My second cat was born in 2017. She’s a beautiful gray Tabby who I named Willow.

    Reply

  69. I have four cats three black and white and orange and white.
    1. Female- Lily ( Black & White )
    2. Female- Moo ( Black & White ) I love cows and have always wanted to have either a black & white dog or cat to name this.
    3. Male – Hunter ( Black & White )
    4. Male – Buck ( Orange & White )
    All are rescues from my husbands hunting camp.

    Reply

  76. My 2 boys are Raffles and Bingo. Getting a new one and thinking of either Nugget or Domino. Husband and daughter (mother of 2 who should know better!) thinks we should call him Lucky Dip. What’s really funny is we only do the lottery every now and again!

    Reply

  83. i always wanted a cat named Pixel. Also, my friend has a cat literally named Dog, And has a dog named Cow.

    Reply

  84. Once had a white/grey chinchilla kitten my mother-in-law named Spuddle. His name just popped into her head. Tinker was another cat years ago. My last 2 cats have been named Tia-Maria and Bailey. Thinking of continuing the alcoholic names for next kitty with Kahlua, Brandy, Shiraz, Sherry or Whiskey, depending on sex and colouring.

    Reply

  85. Legend, Whisper, Magic, Deja Voodoo, Demetri, BellaDonna, Freya, Persephone, FolkLore, Red Romeo, Willow, Icarus, Nightshade, Irony, Sasha, Thornton, Remy LeBeau that just a few of my rescues over the years!

    Reply

  90. My cat’s name is Ethel. She is a tortoiseshell rescue cat. The vets named her? after she was run over and left for dead. But Ethel is quite happy with her name and she is so loving. We have never heard of another cat named Ethel!

    Reply

  93. My cats are: Noisy (she’s 3-legged & very noisy), Georgette, Boondy, Tudot, Mamie, Wilfred, Tabitha (when I’m cuddling her, I would call her Tabitha Patita), Chot.

    Reply

  95. Our rescue babies are…Loki, Thor, Emma, Mika, Pixie, Asha, Daisy, Cheeto, Tarzan, Scout, Cato, Sophie, Simba, Leo, Wonky, Harley, Milo, Fluffy, Cleo, and Oreo.

    Reply

  96. I had 2 black cats named Blackie Chan and Jet Li, then was adopted by a stray tabby who I named Bruce Lee in an effort to keep with my theme. But, that did not last long and as Bruce’s personality got bigger and he took over our hearts, his name got longer as well. My husband and I were new into our relationship and like any toddler/child, Bruce liked to interrupt things and so became Brucifer Lee. We learned how much of an affection hound he was in the years he was with us. Even with so called “cat-haters”, Brucifer would find a way into their laps and before they even realized it they were petting and loving on him. Brucifer Lee was now Brucifer Lee McLovin, Ninja Kitty Extraordinaire. The years went by and we thought Brucifer’s name was complete, but no it wasn’t. Old age caught up with our Brucifer and he developed a cataract and that required another addition to his moniker~ Brucifer Lee McLovin Odinson, Ninja Kitty Extraordinaire. He’s been gone a little while now wearing his angel wings. I’m sure he’s left his halo in someone’s lap and he’s teaching those hater’s that it’s all about the LOVE man, so get your petting on and find your Zen.

    Reply

  97. If I have a cat I would call it moss (mossy) I think that name really suits a grey kitten. and I hope to get moss some day!

    Reply

    1. We currently have one boy, a very white Persian Chinchilla, he is PRINCE DIAMOND. He are expecting our baby Ragdoll shortly and his name will be SUKI (means the beloved one). Super excited!!!

      Reply

  99. I’m looking for a name for my new female Siamese mix. I already have Comet, Gimli, Sweetie, Peanut, Zippy, Bogie, Bashful, Storm, Houdini, Smudge, Josie, Ralphie and OJ.

    Reply

  100. We have 2 ragdolls, a female cat called Bunny (she is a chocolate ragdoll) and our male who is a blue point, his name is Dusty. My ultimate silly name for a cat would be “chicken” for a ginger cat. 🐱 I think it could be cute

    Reply

  101. I have always used cat names that begin with “M”.
    Perhaps because I am italian I love using italian nicknames or colloquiol names.
    Miccio de Micciottis
    Mea Mao…my recently deceased Beautiful Calico Female Kitty. I AM HEARTBROKEN….what a cat! What can I say I am a “cat person”.
    Miccia
    Michetta
    Mishu

    Reply

  103. I work for my vet & we have some creative clients when it comes to their kitties’ names. Among them are:
    Pippi More Toes (she’s a polydactyl)
    Austin Flowers (client’s last name is Flowers)
    Winter (all white kitty)
    Mew Two
    One client has 2 golden teacup persians named:
    Goldie Hawn & Kate Hudson
    Ruckus (He’s REALLY active)
    Chief & Little Bear

    Among my favorites of my own name choices are:
    Joli Bebe (pretty baby)
    Petit Beaute (little beauty, “Beau” for short)
    Hazy Mist (grey & white)
    Evening Mist (black & white, Eve & Misty were her shortened names)
    Fresca (gorgeous dilute calico who looked like she had a fresco on her side)
    Sundown (orange long haired tabby)
    “Image” of Midnight (looked like a kitty I’d had named Midnight)
    “Shades” of Image (looked like Image)
    Cimmaron

    A friend had a kitty who played hard & bounced off the walls when he hit. His name was:
    Ricochet (Ricky for short)

    My sister had a kitten whose rear looked huge from the back. She was:
    Wide Load
    Lucky Dog was in that same litter.
    She’s also had a polydactyl named “Digit.”
    None of this includes a rescue group who uses our clinic for their wellness checks & they have a bunch of creative names of their own. I’ll stop for now.

    I’m loving reading all of these posts & the great names so many of you have given!

    Reply

  106. I think cute names for cats are:

    dandelion (how cute is that!)
    Buddy (a really good names for a friendly cat.)
    Jazz (short for Jasmine)
    Kitty (awwww)

    Reply

  109. Gigantor for my big red Maine coon mis. Pita for the one my son pawned off on me. I tried every name I could think of but nothing stuck. One day I looked down at him and thought what a pain in the arse kittens can be. He’s been Pita ever since. My daughters animals are named after food- popsicle, taco, rocky road, strawberry and jelly bean.

    Reply

  110. I was given a gray cat whose litter-mates got names like Smoky, Dusty, Ashes. I gave mine the more unique name Penumbra (half shadow). It fit because she would hide in the shadows.

    Reply

  112. “ROUSEY” was a tiny kitten who thought she could box my big boy cat who is actually a big “FRAIDY” cat!! So I named her after Rhonda Rousey. Found her abandoned on my front porch. Fraidy was adopted from a shelter. He was a beautiful gray n white tuxedo kitten who grew pretty big but very shy and sweet.

    Reply

  114. My kitty names have been Sam, Menoush(soft in French), Truffle, Isabelle, Amber( an orange Maine Coon mix), Cancun( a Maine Coon), Tigger, Jaspurr & Jax ( brothers), Pete, Presley, and Whispurr & Sailor Moon that are my new 8 wk old kittens. 🥰😻😽

    Reply

  115. We have 4 cats, called:
    – Mañana
    – Mini
    – Mango
    – Moses

    In June we lost our oldest (18yr) cat Cooper. He was the best. My furbaby.

    Reply

  116. My Cats Names Were
    Misskitty, Clyde, Mistifur (We Thought It Was Girl, Not So A Boy So We Add Fur.) Misty, Tiger. Now We Have A Female Cat Name Lit’tle Kitty 😺 Our Next Cats 🐈 Name Will Be Tigeritte

    Reply

  117. I’ve had 2 brother tabby’s one named mr. Rotating ears and Mr. Triangle ears. A beautiful, adventurous orange blind cat named Vegas. I have a flame point named curly. 2 orange cats 1 named oj and the other Garfield. A tabby named Milton. A fluffy tabby named blackberry and her gray sister blueberry and a gray bengle cat named Gandalf.

    Reply

  118. I have five fur babies presently. Stripe. Rue. Token. Phat Girl. and Lil Bit

    I’ve had a lot of feral and domesticated cats over the years.

    Some of the names of them. JoeC. Monkey. LuLu. Roscoe. Smokey Joe. Puzzle. Fraidy Cat. Pantry. Squirrel. and Sally

    Reply

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