# Naming your cat - what inspires you?



## Vespa (Nov 2, 2009)

I was curious as to how others named their cats. Such as a favorite aunt or cartoon character. I've always thought it funny when somebody's animal has a human name like Ted or Bill.

My pets are usually named after TV or movie characters. Mayzie for example was named after the little girl in the movie Uncle Buck. Symyn's name was inspired after Mike Meyer's character in the recurring skit on SNL.

What inspires you to name your cats?


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## Mitts & Tess (Sep 4, 2004)

I run out of names!!! I name cats and kittens after movie and book characters I like. Sometime they get new names added on later. My faux feral, Toby, from a disney movie, now is named scrapper by my SO. Toby aka Scrapper chased a coyote out of my sisters yard and I got frantic phone messages to get him into my sisters house. Then he got bit by a rattle snake and survived. So my beloved started calling him Scrappy! the name stuck.


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## sweet kitten (Sep 7, 2013)

my cat's name is Bucy, and I didn't name her my neighbor did, and we had fights over her, but we won and took the cat, it was a long story and I'm glad it ended this way


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## gizmothecat (Jun 26, 2013)

gizmo was jersey (she is from new jersey) but i took one look at her and saw gizmo....from that movie the gremlins  

Marshall...has always been marshall....and it fits him so i kept it. sometimes i call him Mr. Marshall...and weirdly...i think he likes it hahahaha


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## Auroraei (Jun 18, 2013)

For Phoenix it was just a word I always liked the sound of, doesn't necessarily mean the bird or Phoenix, Arizona. It's just a word that's stuck with me.

For my other cat Luna, I thought it was a cute dainty name with a space theme and I loved it.


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## DeafDogs&Cat (Mar 27, 2013)

All of my pets are named after literature... though Munch's name ended up being spelled different than the author whom he's named for... as I finally quit waffling between names and chose Munch after he bit through my finger stealing a dog treat, landing me in the hospital 12 hours later.


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## Kbbargho (Mar 26, 2013)

I've never had a name in mind when adopting a cat. Mika started as Neko (Japanese for cat) but it sounded too masculine so we adapted it. Her pre-adoption name was Meg. After watching family guy, we couldn't keep that name.

Squees pre-adoption name was Tammy. I had a cat years ago called Tammy who was unfortunately hit by a car and killed, and I'm a firm believer in not re-using names. And Squee just came to me and it suits her. She just runs around the house, trilling, jumping, generally being kitten like (she's 2) and it suits her.

Although I do frequently have to repeat myself when talking about her because people don't know what I'm saying...


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## Vespa (Nov 2, 2009)

Very interesting so far.

My first cornish rex was named Topper, as in the old movie. In that movie the Kirbys did good deeds for Topper. Topper was a rescue (as in over 70 poor cats living in squalor) from a crazy lady. 

My second rex, Kerbi is actually named after the Kirbys from that movie since they did the good deeds/saving and that's what he did for me.

I just changed the name since I have a thing for cutesy spelling for the cat's names.


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## cat face (Apr 4, 2013)

*Black Betty (B.B.)* was named at the shelter. 
I kept it, even though she was just a tiny kitten because the girl that named her was so proud of her choice. All I could think was it's going to be a pain to call her to supper, so... I kept the name, formally, but, as a nick name, I call her "B.B."

*Sadie Woo* was a name that seemed to tumble out of my mouth whenever I looked at her. Sadie, a female name, not too frilly and a whole lot of 'sassy'. It just fit her and her 'in your face' personality. 
The 'Woo' was added organically, it just came out every time I called her name lol. Plus it's fun to say. 

*Belle* was the prettiest, girliest name I could think of. It's classic and it describes her demeanour to a tee. 
She is SUCH a girlie girl! A little_ pink _mouse that I bought for her when I first got her, is her ultimate favourite! 
She still has it and it is the only toy she doesn't share. All her other mice (she clearly has a thing for mice) are various colours and she will share them all, but not "pinky mouse". 
Originally I named her "Spats" because of her white socks but she never liked it and would not respond to it. So after a couple weeks of trying, I decided she was right and another name was in order and the perfect fit was "Belle". She seemed to like it also since she started responding to it after a day or two.


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## Kaylesh (Aug 22, 2010)

Hmmm I never really have a "type" of name in mind when i adopt a moggie. I've named them based on colour, personality,favourite tv character.
Currently I've got two moggies:
Midnight- yep cos he is an all black moggie. lol

Feadan- feadan - Wiktionary


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## Lotu (Apr 26, 2013)

When we named our kittens as a family, it was difficult to all agree. We threw out names and everyone had to at least not HATE it. I picked "Decimal" since my husband is a math major and I thought it was cute that a math guy (who really wanted a cat for a long time) had a kitten named "Decimal" and she adores him! We had a more difficult time naming our last minute addition--Decimal's black litter mate. I was throwing out names that went with being a black cat and came up with "Jet" and my son who seemed to be vetoing every name said how about "Delta"--like the airlines, but Delta is also a greek letter and has to do with math and so it fit. My daughter said she liked the name and my husband and I didn't hate it. I guess since we gave our kids practical, less creative names, when I think of names for a cat, I like to go a bit out of the box...like "Decimal"...something unique, fun, and maybe tells people a little bit about us. Last night we were at a restaurant doing Algebra problems on a napkin that my daughter was learning in school--fun times


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## Marcia (Dec 26, 2010)

I always adopt senior or adult cats so normally they have names. If the name fits we keep it if not I like people names:

Missy was Rhiannon - Hated Rhiannon and Missy just seemed to fit her personality better - she started responding to it almost immediately so it was meant to be.

Zipper was always Zipper

Maddie was Madison so an easy transistion

Jack was Gigantor. Ugh. Jack is named after the bruiser Jack Bauer of "24"

Lacey was 1201-1306 or some such number. Just didn't have a ring to it - "here 1201-1306!!", no had to change that. Lacey just popped into my head when I had to sign the adoption papers, Shortly afterwards I started calling her Lacey Mae. Hubby calls her Lacey Potatoes for some unknown reason!


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## Blakeney Green (Jan 15, 2013)

Of my three, the only one I got to name was Zephyr. Maisie and Bentley were both two years old at the time of adoption and knew their names already.

There's not really a big story behind Zephyr's name. I liked it, and the reference to the West Wind suited his enthusiastic and energetic personality. I also like the Red Hot Chili Peppers song, but he's not directly named after the song, it's more sort of a bonus association with a name I chose for other reasons.

I chose Zephyr's name very hastily because we originally thought he was a girl so I had to pick a boy name later, and I had to give something to the vet for records so there was a deadline, but I haven't regretted it at all. It ended up fitting him perfectly.



Auroraei said:


> For Phoenix it was just a word I always liked the sound of, doesn't necessarily mean the bird or Phoenix, Arizona. It's just a word that's stuck with me.
> 
> For my other cat Luna, I thought it was a cute dainty name with a space theme and I loved it.


I assumed these were Harry Potter references! Either one of them wouldn't necessarily have made me think that, but _both_ your cats' names happen to be related to Harry Potter.


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## Auroraei (Jun 18, 2013)

Blakeney Green said:


> I assumed these were Harry Potter references! Either one of them wouldn't necessarily have made me think that, but _both_ your cats' names happen to be related to Harry Potter.


Seriously? Oh god, I don't even like Harry Potter. I wouldn't have known that, lol. I've already been asked if Luna was named after some cat in Sailor Moon, another show I've never seen :-? Lmao.


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## Pushkabounce (Nov 6, 2012)

I love these stories!!

Tinker - He came with this name and he responded with it so I didn't want to change it

Oscar - When I decided I wanted a kitten I just kept dreaming that it was a boy called Oscar so it stuck before I even got my kitten

Wilson - Wilson is Oscars brother and I couldn't leave him behind. I am a massive Tom Hanks fan and I went through so many times from films etc and Wilson suited him. From the film 'Cast Away'. When I tell people they always respond with the 'WILSON! NOOO!' bit from the film


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## cat face (Apr 4, 2013)

Pushkabounce said:


> I love these stories!!
> 
> Tinker - He came with this name and he responded with it so I didn't want to change it
> 
> ...


ROFL that's what I just did before I read that last sentence!!! hahahaaahahaha WILSON!! NOOOOOOOO!!


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## OctoberinMaine (Sep 12, 2006)

Uncle Buck, what a great movie. Who can forget when he used a shovel as a spatula to make his gigantic pancake?

I just like names that are kind of whimsical without being disrespectful. If I had a couple more boy cats, they'd be named Crosby and Ramsey. If I had a girl cat, she'd be named Caribou.


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## Resty (Jun 23, 2013)

Killer was named Mimi originally. However, at 4 lbs she was a tiny lil thing but when she launched herself off the stand behind me and landed on my shoulders with all 4 sets of claws firmly planted in my back---she became "Killer" then and there. 

Problem was, Killer wasnt none to adept at jumping and actually landing on what she aimed for. She would invariably land a lil shy with a resounding THUD, shed dust herself off, give a shake of the head, glare at me like I pushed her then walk away.

This cat knows how to open any door in the place. She loves to stretch out on my desk top here..making a better door than window because she'll lay between the keyboard /me and the monitor.


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## librarychick (May 25, 2008)

Jitzu was originally named Crunchy (after the chocolate bar)...blech. When my bf and his roommates got her they decided to change it, as they were brainstorming she lept perfectly over their beer can tower "like a ninja". They named her Jitzu, as in nin-jitzu - the way of the ninja. I had no part in it...but it suits 

My bf picked Torri's name, its actually Torrier (Tor-ee-A) , which - aside from being a beautiful name (IMO) is the name if a snow goddess in Icelandic mythology...but we pronounce it wrong. Mostly we call her Torri, or Princess...no elaboration needed.

Doran...was originally Dora. I found him at 10 days old and wasn't planning on keeping him, but I had to call him something! Unfortunately for Doran I though he was a girl until he was 7-8 weeks old and since he just wouldn't sit still I'd named him Dora the day I got him...when he jumped out of my arms onto the floor. Twice. On purpose. Thank goodness for thick carpet! Once it was unveiled that she was a he I had a problem, since he knew his name and had been answering to it, not to mention we'd decided to jeep him. Doran means 'outcast' in Gaelic and since he was abandoned and I'm Irish...plus it sounded like Dora, that's what we went with.

Muffins name is actually Fuzz Muffin. Actually. We were NOT going to keep another kitten, and to make sure we gave him the dumbest, most common name we could think of. Plus he had a teeny face and a huge forehead, so he looked like he had risen. We called him Fuzz Muffin as a joke...and by the time we decided to keep him he knew his name...and it fits. I'm a terrible mum.
Sometimes we call him Loaf, cause he's too big to be just a muffin....lol. We did try out a bunch of names, but none of them fit.
To even it out I think he's the cat with the most nicknames: Sir Fuzz Muffin, Muffin Naughty-paws Underfoot, Muffy the Fin (pirate name, lol), ect.

The moral of the story here is never give a foster kitten a dumb name...just in case. You may regret it. Like, for instance when you need to pick up compounded meds from a drug store pharmacy and realize at least 2 pharmacists stayed late just to see who owned a cat named Fuzz Muffin. And then they tried very hard not to laugh until you had paid...but didn't do a very good job. Lol


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## krazykiwi (Oct 21, 2012)

I just realised that as an adult, I have never actually got to pick a pet's name. Not even once! My purebred dogs came registered with call names and I never hated any of those badly enough to change any, the one time I bred, my co-breeder did the naming. My kids fought over naming the two shelter/foster-who-stayed dogs, so I never got a look in, and now the cats came with names so completely perfect for them, so they kept theirs too. 

One of these days I'm going to have to adopt a snake or something, just so I get to name it.

As for the brats that live here now: Sune is a Swedish children's book character, he's a 10 year old, Dennis the Menace or Calvin type, always in trouble, usually of his own making and is pretty sure all the girls he ever met are in love with him. Suits my Sune down to the ground!

Sepideh is persian for white (and poetically for dawn), and my Sepideh although not a persian is a pure white DLH, so, near enough 

I confess they both get called bratcat, occasionally fatso-catso when they are acting like they weren't fed for a month, and I think Sune may think his name is actually "GET DOWN FROM THERE SUNE"


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## Avalonia (Oct 7, 2007)

Usually my cats 'tell' me their names...I look at them and name them what comes to me and seems to suit them. Normie is my best example of that...before we found him I don't think I've even heard of someone called Normie. Then I held this crosseyed, bedraggled orange kitten and that was his name immediately. Miss Grace suited my prim black kitty so much. Emanon is no name backwards and suited my tux when no other names did. Snow Cat was not so creative, but it fit a cat that had a personality so unique that he really didn't need an elaborate moniker. As for Cleo, it wasn't until I'd had my striped gray tabby for months that it occurred to me that people usually use Cleo for black cats. She just looked like a Cleo to me.

For our current cats, Lea was named after Cleo as she's also a striped tabby and shares a super sweet personality with her predecessor. Isabelle was named by my son who refused to allow me to call her Pumpkin and now we call her Isabellie. Sage has a dusty gray tabby coat and it just fits her.


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## bluemilk (Oct 3, 2005)

I try to make their names heroic. When I had my orange boy,there was something knightly about him. There was a wonderful book about Arthur and his knights and I just went down the list. Percival seemed to fit.

At 1st Robin hood was named Beatrix-I thought he was a girl! When THAT was sorted out,I just went with the impression he'd made. He's active,adventurous,acrobatic,rough-and-tumble,and has woodland colors on his coat!


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## dt8thd (Jan 7, 2013)

I like people names for cats, but I prefer unique historical names, like Galileo or Dante, or names taken from classic literature, like Cosette. 

Unfortunately, Autumn and Ramona screwed up my naming scheme. Autumn was named by another trapper who happened to be at the vet's when I dropped Autumn off for her spay appointment. I had just trapped her, so I hadn't even had a really good look at her, but the vet needed a name to log her information under, so Autumn was suggested. I figured that I could change it later, but it kind of stuck.

Ramona was named after about 3 months of being reffered to as "the kitten". I really feel like a name needs to suit the cat, and we couldn't come up with anything that really "fit". the name 'Ramona' wouldn't have even been on the list, but it got to the point where my mom and I ended up just getting out a book of baby names. She rattled them off and I looked at the kitten and answered yes, no, or maybe. When we got to "Ramona" and said the name while looking at her, it was a definite 'yes'.

I try to give my fosters human names as well, since I think it helps potential adopters to subconciously see the cat as more of a family member than a pet. I have 5 fosters currently: Choco-cat - who really, really, really, needs a new name, but now answers to "Choco-cat"!; Mickey - just looked like a 'Mickey', right off the batt; Pepper - whose name was suggested by emilyatl; and the twins, Gilbert & Sullivan - who're obviously named after Gilbert & Sullivan.


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## emilyatl (Sep 9, 2013)

My current ones are named after literary characters (Jem and Scout from To Kill a Mockingbird). I don't have much say in the names of my foster kittens (I work with a rescue group, and we agree on the litters names). Usually their names come from a current movie (one litter was named after the Hunger Games because they were found in a dumpster - so they were Glimmer, Katiness, Peeta, and Cato, which I thought was fitting and cute ). We've had some named after Star Wars, Sesame Street, and Muppets characters too that were some of my favorites. It gets difficult naming kitties in the rescue world because we see so many of them.


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