Cat names
What’s in a name?
You’ve picked out your new kitten but how do you go about choosing the right name for him or her? One way to reduce the number of names you are considering is to start with the type of name you would like for your cat.
It may be surprising, but more than half of all pet names are either human names or nicknames. People largely name their animals as they would name themselves. Another fifth of names are based on the pet’s appearance or personality. A black cat becomes Blacky or Midnight, and an active dog Comet or Dash.
You can have some fun playing around with different types of names with our pet name search tool.
Some more tips for deciding on a name
Here are our some useful tips in choosing a name for your cat. Please remember that the name you choose will be used dozens of times a day to call, praise and perhaps scold.
- Pick a name that the pet can easily recognise. Animals respond better to one or two syllable names.
- Choose a name that’s both easy to call out and one that you are happy calling out.
- If choosing a long name keep in mind the shortened version. A long name will inevitably be shortened, but it may ruin the effect that you were originally looking for.
- The pet’s breed heritage can provide some useful inspiration. For example Orientals (Siamese and Burmese) for cats.
- Waiting a few days to study your kitten/cat’s behaviour can help with picking the right name.
- Pick a name that will grow with the pet. For example “Kitty” may be less appropriate for a full-grown cat.
Other than this, be adventurous! Naming pets has far more leeway than naming children, where thought has to be given to peer group acceptance, blending first and last names and how the initials may appear.
Most popular cat names
We have compiled these name lists from the names on thousands of pet ID tags that we process each year. For more name lists and suggestions, please visit our pet names website.
Australia’s top 10 most popular names for cats in 2020:
