Looking for the perfect girl cat name? These are 151 of our favorites from the 1,315 female cat names in the Mad Cat Cartel name book, from classics everyone loves, like Luna and Lily, to rare finds you will not hear twice at the vet.
Every name comes with what it means and the kind of cat it suits. Tap Pick a name for her and the Cartel chooses one for you.
A chart-topping cat name today, Luna is the Latin word for the moon, which the Romans also honoured as a goddess. Latin luna also gave English lunacy, the old word for madness thought to wax and wane with the moon, so the name hints at a dreamy cat who dozes all day and tears down the hallway at midnight.
Each one with the note it got from the Cartel desk that approved it.
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Cat ID · 01 · Common
Luna
Classic · Elegant · Latin
A chart-topping cat name today, Luna is the Latin word for the moon, which the Romans also honoured as a goddess. Latin luna also gave English lunacy, the old word for madness thought to wax and wane with the moon, so the name hints at a dreamy cat who dozes all day and tears down the hallway at midnight.
Memo from the desk of Lady Purrington
I have dressed many Lunas, and the name never tires, because the moon never repeats a silhouette. She sleeps in a crescent on the pillow and stretches into a full moon on the rug. Draw the curtains back on clear nights so she can watch her namesake.
Cleo began as the pet form of Cleopatra, Greek for glory of the father, and the last queen of Ptolemaic Egypt left it a legend of wit, ambition and kohl-lined eyes. Sharp and self-possessed, it suits a cat who studies every visitor before deciding whether they deserve attention.
Memo from the desk of Miss Meowlin
Inside any museum gift shop, Cleo would be the cat on the bestselling postcard. The ancient world did most of the image-making for this name, and I am happy to take the credit. Hang her portrait level with the guests' faces, never below the mantelpiece.
From Latin novus, new, comes nova, the astronomers' word for a star that suddenly flares brighter and then slowly fades. The bright, modern sound suits a cat who bursts into sudden evening sprints and then winds down into a long sleep. For American baby girls it is now among the fifty most popular choices.
Memo from the desk of Lady Purrington
I keep one page of every sketchbook for a shape I have never drawn, and lately Nova fills it. She curls into poses no model would attempt, never long enough for ink. This name promises novelty, the one thing in fashion that never dates.
Nefertiny belongs to a dainty cat with a queen's bearing, chin high and front paws neatly together on the footstool. The name trims Nefertiti, the Egyptian queen famed for her beauty, until her name ends in tiny. Royal nicknames are rarely this cheeky, and that cheek is the charm.
Memo from the desk of Meowchi "Chi"
When we all line up for the group photograph, I put Nefertiny on the front step and no one argues. She holds the same regal pose through every frame and only relaxes once the photographer packs up.
Purrsephone suits a cat of two moods, sunny and sociable for months, then gone to ground in a dark wardrobe once the evenings draw in. The pun slips purr into Persephone, the Greek goddess whose yearly stay in the underworld was said to bring winter to the earth.
Memo from the desk of Lady Purrington
You must forgive her the winters, since every great beauty keeps a season to herself. Now I leave a silk cushion in her hiding place, and she still finds fault with the colour.
Medusa, the snake-haired Gorgon whose gaze turned onlookers to stone, gets a meow dropped into the front of her name. It is a theatrical pick for a cat who stops a room with one wide, unblinking stare and then walks off unbothered. Shouted across the flat, the pun lands a beat before the menace, so it stays playful.
Memo from the desk of Lady Purrington
Watch how your guests lower their voices when this cat looks up at them, which is the effect I chase in silk and rarely catch. Meowdusa gets there from the floor, with no tailoring at all.
Cassandra was the Trojan princess cursed to speak true prophecies that nobody believed, and Hissandra gives her a hiss for a cat who warns early and is ignored every time. Only the first two letters change, so it stays graceful enough to be said at a christening.
Memo from the desk of Miss Meowlin
Hissandra makes her statements as I wish every client did: one syllable, no follow-up questions. Guests take it personally. She saves the longest version for the postman.
Part praise, part spice, Bella Canela suits a striking cat in a brown coat with a quick temper, sweet one moment and swatting the next. Bella leads with plain praise and canela supplies the heat, so the order works like flattery with a warning attached. Both words are everyday Spanish, so the pair reads as fond rather than fancy.
Memo from the desk of Miss Meowlin
My one test for any name is how it looks in a caption. Bella Canela looks like a scent sold only by appointment, which in print is everything. The society pages agreed. At the spring ball, half of them ran her photograph instead of the hostess's.
Miss Viper puts a prim schoolroom title ahead of a venomous snake, and the cat behind it is quick and polite right up to the moment she strikes at a dangling toy. The prim Miss lends polish, while Viper adds a sharp edge that makes the name fun to shout down the hall.
Memo from the desk of Clawdia
Miss Viper files her claws and leaves her opinions unfiled, a ratio that satisfies the standards of my department. Her swipes at the curtain cord land within a centimetre every time, and I measured. Announce yourself before reaching over her, and keep any loose sleeve well out of range.
Latin sol is the sun, and solaris means belonging to it, which English kept in solar. Solaria recasts that adjective as a feminine given name, a radiant modern coinage. The cat for it is warm-natured and sociable, drawing the household around her the way planets keep to a star.
Memo from the desk of Lady Purrington
My designs are usually made for evening, yet Solaria keeps arriving in the morning. She walks into the workroom, circles the gold brocade and leaves the dark blue untouched. Her vote is clear. The gold goes to the front of the next show.
Twiggy borrows the stage name of the English model born Lesley Hornby, the wide-eyed face of Swinging Sixties London, which grew out of Twigs, her childhood nickname for a slender build. It looks best on a delicate cat with a model's way of holding a pose on the windowsill.
Memo from the desk of Miss Meowlin
Headline writers adore a one-word name, and this cat hands them one with a joke built in. I am putting Twiggy at the top of the press release myself.
Luxelle pairs luxe, French for luxury and long since borrowed into English, with the feminine ending -elle, so the result feels polished and expensive at once. It belongs to a glamorous cat with demanding habits, the one who sleeps only on the softest throw and waits for her chair to be warmed first.
Memo from the desk of Miss Meowlin
Luxelle reads well in print, sight unseen, and that alone spares me a week of work. She lives up to it with good posture and an unhurried blink for every lens. My advice is plain. Buy her a proper velvet throw and keep it clear of the dog.
The lily, with its trumpet-shaped blooms, has stood for purity and grace in European art for centuries, and Lily has been used as an English given name since the nineteenth century. It feels light and composed, a name for the cat who settles slowly and arranges every limb as if posing in a vase.
Lucy, from Latin Lucia and lux, light, is at home on a cat with bright eyes who tracks every movement across the floor. It sounds cheerful and clear, with nothing fussy about it. Its two light syllables carry through a house, handy with a pet who rarely stays put.
The Lion King made Nala famous in 1994 as the lioness who finds the exiled Simba and persuades the young king to come home. It promises a steadfast cat that sticks close to its people and squares up to whatever frightens them. Baby-name lists often say it means gift in Swahili, but the word has no clear meaning there.
A young cat named Chloe tends to greet the morning before the alarm goes off, and the name has that fresh, springlike mood. It is Greek for a green shoot, a title of Demeter, goddess of the harvest, and it has long been a familiar given name. It is also the name of the fashion house Chloe, founded by Gaby Aghion, so the fashion echo stays light.
Daisy comes from the Old English for day's eye, since the flower opens at dawn and closes at dusk, and it is traditionally a pet form of Margaret, whose French form, Marguerite, also means daisy. Fresh and unfussy, the name calls up a sunny-natured cat that wakes with the light and wants company the moment the curtains open.
Willow suits a cat that can thread itself between the vases on a crowded shelf without disturbing a single one, as supple as the tree's bending branches. Woven into baskets for centuries and planted by rivers, the willow gives this popular girl's name a soft, lyrical grace.
Lola started in Spain as a pet form of Dolores, from María de los Dolores, Mary of Sorrows. Nothing about it sounds sorrowful now: the showtune Whatever Lola Wants, from Damn Yankees, made Lola a woman who always gets her way. It belongs on a self-assured cat who expects doors opened and bowls refilled on request.
The French version of Greek Sophia, meaning wisdom, Sophie belongs with a cat who studies any new object at length before touching it. It sounds polished and gentle, sensible rather than showy, and it has been a favourite across Europe for generations.
Latin for star, Stella became an English name through Philip Sidney's sonnets Astrophel and Stella, in which the star-lover Astrophel adores a woman beyond his reach. Luminous and faintly aloof, it belongs to a cat who lets admirers close and then glides off to shine elsewhere.
As a diminutive of Penelope, Penny recalls the faithful queen of the Odyssey who outwitted her suitors at the loom, and it suits a cat who waits up for you at night and figures out the snack cupboard. It is also the humblest coin, and a penny found on the pavement is said to bring luck.
Rosie, the affectionate form of Rose, borrows a cheerful glow from rosy, meaning pink-cheeked and hopeful. It pictures a plucky cat who marches into the kitchen to supervise and checks out every new noise first. It also recalls Rosie the Riveter, the wartime emblem of women in factory work, and her can-do spirit.
Ruby is taken from Latin rubeus, red, and has been a favourite given name for well over a century, warm and old-fashioned at once. The gem's fire carries over, and the cat who answers to it is usually a spirited one, quick to bristle and just as quick to forgive.
With its bouncy, cheeky ring, Coco suggests a cat who ambushes shoelaces and vanishes before anyone can complain. Through Coco Chanel, the name has a note of Parisian chic too. Spanish ears also catch coco, the coconut, and el Coco, the bogeyman of nursery tales, a sly second side.
The evergreen climbing plant of old walls gives Ivy its meaning, and as a girl's name it is short, crisp and quietly elegant. It goes to a cat who climbs everything in reach and then clings to one favourite person as tightly as the plant holds brick.
Olive derives from Latin oliva, and for girls it is a vintage favourite that has climbed back into fashion in recent years. Its cat is a steady peacemaker who settles between two sulking housemates until both calm down. The olive branch has stood for peace since antiquity, so the name arrives carrying goodwill.
Hazel brings the hedgerow tree and its nuts to a cat who forages through houseplants and knows every hiding place in the garden. It feels countryside-gentle and old-fashioned in the best way. In English hazel also describes eyes of mixed green and brown, so the name doubles as a compliment.
Molly, which grew out of Mary centuries ago, is sung across Dublin in Molly Malone, the street seller of the city's unofficial anthem. That cheerful image calls for a sociable cat that pays daily visits to the gardens and greets everyone. In cat terminology a spayed female is occasionally called a molly, much as a neutered tom is a gib.
Millie is a pet form of Mildred, Millicent and similar names, and Mildred's Old English roots mean gentle strength, so it feels warm but never flimsy. It belongs to a gentle cat who purrs for every guest yet quietly places herself between the children and anything unfamiliar.
Princess is the most direct royal title a pet can carry, and it has long been one of the classic pet names in English. It is playful pomp, half joke and half sincere. The cat behind it expects the softest blanket, the first greeting of the day and someone to open every door it stares at.
Phoebe means bright or shining, from Greek phoibos, and in myth it was the name of a Titan goddess who became grandmother to Apollo and Artemis. Later poets used it for the moon, and it remains a popular given name in English. Called out at the door, it sounds bright and friendly, and a sociable cat who greets every visitor will take to it happily.
Group 02 · 15 names
Cute girl cat names
Soft, sweet and a little silly, for the kitten who runs the house from the sofa.
Angorita puts the Spanish diminutive -ita on Angora, the former name of Ankara and of the cats bred there. Once the ending is added, the grand breed word becomes affectionate, the way abuela becomes abuelita. It belongs to a silky cat whose long coat ends in a plumed tail carried high, playful yet still rather formal.
Flora ruled flowers and spring in Roman myth, and Florita, her Spanish diminutive, has a fresh, garden-party grace. It conjures a cat who strolls through the herb bed without bending a single leaf. The name also travelled with Spanish to the Philippines, where it lives on as a Tagalog given name.
Moonette shrinks the moon by means of -ette, the suffix that makes Jeannette out of Jeanne. It belongs to a cat who spends daylight asleep and opens wide, luminous eyes at dusk. English moon makes it easy to read on a tag, while the ending lends it a dancer's lightness.
Pearllette adds -ette, the small-making ending of French, to pearl, a little pearl to hang on a white cat of delicate manners. The doubled l is unusual, since the expected spelling would be Pearlette, and it makes the name look fussy and hand-lettered. That extra letter matches a cat who likes everything arranged just so.
Mewsette is the country cat voiced by Judy Garland in Gay Purr-ee, the 1962 animated film in which she leaves a Provence farm for the glamour of Paris, so the name fits an elegant cat with city ambitions. The French -ette ending, as in Lisette or Colette, makes a mew pass for a mademoiselle.
Bluebell is the spring woodland flower of Britain and Ireland, with nodding violet-blue bells, and it lends a delicate, slightly shy cat the hush of a country walk. The flower carpets old woodland before the trees close over, and the colour link to a blue-grey coat is plain.
Mei is a Chinese name element that often means beautiful, and puff, in front, brings a cloud of fur. Puffmei is a pretty, airy choice for a cat in a coat that drifts as she walks.
Nubella fits a drowsy cat who drifts from nap to nap like a cloud crossing the sky, since nube is Spanish for cloud. The invented name finishes with a fond, Italian-style -ella, which shrinks the cloud to lap size.
Starbelle is a name for a cat whose bright eyes seem to glow in a dim hallway. Star is plain English, while belle comes from French, where it means beautiful, and English kept it for the loveliest woman at a dance. Joined, the halves suggest the star turn of a ballroom programme.
Freya, or Freyja, presides over love, gold and magic in the Norse pantheon, and in the old stories her chariot is pulled by two cats. Adding paws to the end leans into that link instead of inventing one. The cat behind it is affectionate and graceful, meeting every guest at the door and fully expecting to be admired.
Scots speakers say snib for fastening a door, and older Scots also used it for shutting someone in. Adding the French belle, beautiful, gives a pretty name to a mischievous cat who hides in cupboards and wardrobes and waits for someone to come looking.
Pibblina takes pibble, the affectionate nickname for a pit bull, and gives it the girlish -ina of Paolina. That puts a dog with a fearsome reputation in a frilly frock. It belongs on a cat who greets strangers with a club bouncer's stare and then collapses into the nearest lap.
A gremlin is the imp RAF airmen held responsible for every fault in their aircraft, and the French -ette of kitchenette and novelette gives it a dainty, ladylike finish. The result is a pretty cat with a gremlin's habits, sweet-faced while she unties shoelaces and hides earrings under the rug.
Mochimella pictures a springy kitten who lands every tumble and comes straight back for more. Japanese describes that soft, springy give as mochimochi, a word cooks apply to chewy bread and noodles as well as mochi itself. The added -mella lends the food word a lilting, Italian-sounding finish.
Italian marmellata and English marmalade both come from Portuguese marmelada, a paste of quince, the fruit Portuguese calls marmelo. Marmellina suits a ginger cat with a bright, tangy temper, since British owners have long called orange tabbies marmalade cats. The -ina ending shrinks the breakfast jar to something you can call across the garden.
Group 03 · 15 names
Elegant girl cat names
Graceful names for a cat with perfect posture and strong opinions.
Silvelle hangs -elle, the ending French uses to make things smaller, on silver, the way ruelle makes a lane out of rue, the street. It belongs to a pale, shimmering grey cat who picks a way along the shelves without disturbing a thing. The same ending carries Danielle and Gabrielle, so the coinage passes for a French girl's name.
Elysia is a girls' name shaped on Elysium, the Elysian Fields where Greek myth sent favoured heroes to an afterlife of ease. It has a light, blissful sound, and the cat to match lies stretched out all afternoon as if nothing in the world could disturb her.
Clio was the Muse of history, usually shown holding an open scroll, and her name comes from a Greek verb for making famous or celebrating. It sounds bright and clever on a cat who watches everything that happens in the house and seems to be keeping a record of it.
Minerva ruled wisdom and crafts for the Romans, often shown with an owl, the bird that still stands for learning. It lends calm, wise authority to a watchful cat who studies a problem from a distance before deciding whether it deserves a paw.
The Meliae of Greek myth are nymphs of the ash tree, and melia is what the Greeks called the ash itself. The name has a light, lilting sound, close to Amelia without the formality. Graceful climbing cats take to it, heading for the nearest tree or trellis to watch the garden from above.
Titania is the queen of the fairies in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, a name borrowed from Ovid, who used it for goddesses descended from the Titans. A cat called Titania holds court from the pillow and keeps late, dreamy hours. Astronomers later named the largest moon of Uranus after her, which keeps a hint of starlight in it.
Leucothea, Greek for white goddess, is the sea deity the mortal queen Ino became, and her cat is a pale, gentle one who comes running whenever someone in the house is upset. In the Odyssey she rises from the waves and lends her veil to the shipwrecked Odysseus so the sea cannot drown the hero, and the story adds rescue to beauty.
Eos is the dawn goddess whom Homer calls rosy-fingered, and an affectionate cat who adores each new visitor on sight shares her famous habit of falling for mortals. Only three letters long, the name is bright and quick to call.
Love and beauty belong to Aphrodite, and Hesiod has her rising from the sea foam off Cyprus. Given to a pet, it sounds glamorous and asks for a cat who settles wherever the light is best and accepts compliments as tribute. The Greeks heard aphros, foam, inside her name, though modern scholars doubt that link.
Juno was queen of the Roman gods, wife of Jupiter and protector of women, and the month of June is often said to be named after her. Regal and assured in sound, the name belongs to a cat who runs the household calmly and expects to be consulted on every change.
Cassiopeia was a queen of Greek legend whose boast that she outshone the sea nymphs in beauty brought a sea monster down on her kingdom. It is regal and vain in the best way, a name for a cat who studies her own reflection in the glass door. Astronomers know it as the W-shaped constellation said to show the queen on her throne.
Nikaia was what the ancient Greeks called Nice, a name given in honour of a victory, and also Nicaea in Asia Minor. In myth she was a naiad and a devoted huntress of Artemis who refused every suitor. Victorious and aloof, it hints at a cat who stalks each toy to the finish and allows admiration only at arm's length.
In myth Elara was the princess Zeus hid deep under the earth from Hera's jealousy, and it describes a secretive cat who disappears under the bed whenever the doorbell rings. Astronomers later borrowed it for a moon of Jupiter, so it moves between hiding places and the night sky.
Fae is an old word for the fairy folk, from Old French fae, and modern fantasy uses it for the hidden court of fairies. As a given name it echoes Faye, so it sounds familiar while keeping its enchanted edge. It belongs on a cat who is light on her feet and curious, slipping into the garden at dusk and coming back with leaves caught in her coat.
Aurora is the Latin word for dawn and the name of the Roman goddess of the dawn, and Auroria stretches it with an extra, lilting -ia into a new coinage. The cat to match is up with the first light, bright-eyed and eager to start the day before the alarm.
Group 04 · 15 names
Goddess and mythology names
For the cat who expects to be worshipped. The ancient Egyptians would agree.
Bastet was the Egyptian goddess of the home, protection and joy, shown as a cat or as a woman with a cat's head. Lady Bastet hands a house cat her own deity, and the dignified sound goes to a protective cat who keeps a calm watch over the household. Adding Lady is a light English courtesy to a goddess whose city, Bubastis, held a great festival in her honour.
Brigid, honoured in Ireland as goddess of poetry, healing and smithcraft, suits a warm, clever ginger cat who sits close to the hearth and watches every task with interest. Flame recalls the sacred fire long tied to her name, which nuns kept burning at Kildare. The name is still given to girls across Ireland, often spelled Bridget.
Themis was the Titaness of justice, divine order, law and custom, so the name already carries a sense of fairness. Paired with gold, she brings worth and a warm ginger coat to a fair-minded cat who shares the bed evenly and settles every quarrel between the other animals with one steady look.
In Slavic folklore Zorya is the dawn, often told as two sisters: one opens the gate of the Sun's palace at daybreak, the other closes it at dusk. The cat who answers to it keeps both shifts, wide awake at sunrise and again at sunset, asleep through everything in between. Rooted in zora, dawn in the Slavic languages, it has a soft, clear sound.
Aine, written Áine in Irish, is the goddess of summer and sovereignty, and her name is glossed as brightness or splendour. With Starpurr attached, the cat is warm and contented, purring steadily and expecting to be treated as minor royalty. The star keeps the brightness of the Irish name, and the purr brings it down to lap level.
Maia is one of the stars of the Pleiades, the Seven Sisters cluster that rides high in the winter sky, matching a watchful cat who prefers the windowsill after dark. Star repeats the point plainly, light and easy to love.
Rhiannon is the otherworldly lady of the Welsh Mabinogion who rode a white horse at an easy pace that no rider could ever catch. Rhiannon Moon belongs to a cat who never hurries, yet somehow reaches dinner first. The moon beside her brings a pale, serene glow, keeping the name dreamy rather than regal.
Theia, the Titaness linked with sight and the bright light of the sky, names a bright-eyed cat who notices every flicker of movement, and astronomers later gave her name to the body thought to have struck the young Earth and formed the Moon. With glow on the end, it remains soft and luminous rather than blinding.
Hera is the queen of the Greek gods and the goddess of marriage, famous for her pride and her long memory for any slight. Her sacred bird is the peacock, whose tail was said to carry the hundred eyes of her watchman Argus. On a cat it has a regal ring, best given to one who watches over every person in the house.
Epona Silvermane joins the Gaulish goddess of horses and riders with a silver mane, and it calls up a long-haired gray cat with a ruff like a show pony's. Epona's name grows from the Celtic word for horse, and Roman cavalry honoured her across the empire.
Persephone is the daughter of the harvest goddess Demeter, carried off to rule the underworld, and in the Greek story her yearly return to the surface brings spring. That seasonal rhythm shapes the name, and the cat behind it is sociable all summer and much harder to find once the evenings turn cold.
Demeter, who watched over grain and the harvest, grieved so deeply for her lost daughter that the fields were said to turn barren. Bloom answers that story with spring, so the pairing speaks of growth and return. It belongs on a nurturing cat who mothers each new arrival, kitten or houseplant.
Niamh is an Irish name meaning bright or radiant, pronounced NEEV, and in legend Niamh of the Golden Hair carried the poet Oisín away to Tír na nÓg, the land of youth. Light repeats the meaning in English. The doubled brightness makes a soft, luminous name for a cat who slips silently through a doorway and somehow lifts the mood.
Astraea, the starry maiden of the Greeks and a figure of justice, makes a fitting name for a fair-minded cat who shares the sofa evenly. She was the last immortal to leave the earth as people grew violent, and she rose to become the constellation Virgo, often pictured holding the scales of justice.
Asteria, whose name means starry, was a Titan goddess who escaped Zeus by diving into the sea and became the island later called Delos. The story fits a restless cat who leaps for the curtain rail and watches the sky from the tallest ledge she can reach. Sky finishes the thought, putting the stars back overhead where her name began.
Group 05 · 15 names
Funny girl cat names
Names that make the whole waiting room smile when the vet calls them out.
Chonquette names a heavyset cat of polished manners, taking chonk, meme slang for a well-rounded pet, and finishing it with the French -quette. The spelling copies croquette and banquette, so a cat of serious heft gets a mock-elegant label. Owners tend to say it with a little bow, half tease and half respect.
Zuri is a Swahili given name for beautiful, and putting it beside chonk declares that a heavy cat is a beauty. The cat behind it is proud of every ounce, poses where she will be admired and never apologizes for taking up the whole sofa. Read together, the two words make a compliment unwilling to choose between elegance and size.
Miaoura opens with miaou, which is how French writes a meow, and ends in aura, Latin from Greek for a breeze, later a glow around a person. Joined, the halves suggest a call that leaves something shimmering behind. The cat for it is elusive, appearing at dusk, sitting at a distance and vanished by the time someone reaches for a camera.
Cloudia swaps the first vowel of Claudia for a cloud, and the pun belongs on a lofty cat who surveys the stairs from above and seldom hurries. Claudia is the feminine of Claudius, an old Roman family name, so the pun keeps an imperial bearing under its weather.
Duchess Fluffington gives fluff the stately English -ington of Wellington and Darlington, then raises it to the top rank of the peerage. The teasing of the aristocracy stays affectionate, a portrait in oils of a powder puff. Expect a lavishly coated cat to receive her brushing like a royal audience.
Pawlette tucks a paw into Paulette, a French feminine diminutive of Paul. Chic and composed, it suits a cat who offers one paw to be admired before she will accept a stroke. The French -ette ending is affectionate, as in fillette, a girl in everyday French, so the pun keeps its warmth.
Bastetoo takes Bastet, Egypt's cat goddess, and adds a sing-song -oo, so it reads as Bastet, too: a second goddess in the house, or a pet form of the first. It makes a playful choice for a cat with temple manners at rest and a kitten's weakness for shoelaces.
A cat stretched long across the bed after dark, slim and black-coated, is the picture here: Nyx the Noodle pairs Nyx, night in goddess form, with noodle, internet slang for any cat built long and bendy. Grand first and silly second, it could title a bedtime story.
Jellybellina describes a kitten who flops over to show off a wobbly belly, then grabs the hand that tries to rub it. Hidden in the name is jelly belly, the comic English phrase for a soft stomach, and cats really do carry a loose flap of skin there, the primordial pouch.
Nibblissa gives the humble verb nibble the grand ending of Clarissa, a lofty name for a cat who dines in slow, ceremonious bites and pauses between each one as if receiving guests. That -issa is the Greek ancestor of the English -ess in princess and duchess, so the name all but makes her a lady of the bowl.
Loafina gives loaf the Italian feminine -ina of ballerina and signorina, so a humble bread word gains a dancer's grace. The loaf here is the pose with legs folded away and body squared off like a fresh bake. Picture a cat spending whole afternoons in that shape, soft, settled and quietly content with it.
Snurl sounds like snore and curl run together, and it is also an old dialect verb for turning up the nose in disdain. With the prim French -ette attached, it sketches a drowsy cat who dozes in a tight curl and grumbles at anyone who tries to lift her.
In Thailand, Ploy is a common pet name for girls meaning gem, while English ploy is a cunning scheme, so Tiny Ploy works as a pocket jewel and a pocket trick. Both readings fit a kitten who lingers like an angel beside the knitting basket, waiting for an empty room before making a move.
Read slowly, Cuddlemella hides a request, cuddle me, and finishes it with the soft -ella of a given name. Think of an affectionate cat who stands against your knee to be lifted, then refuses to be put down until she decides the hug is over.
A streetwise courtyard cat who patrols the block and comes home on her own schedule is the type Lil Murka calls up. Because Russians use Murka as the default name for a she-cat, the pair is the equivalent of a rapper calling herself Lil Kitty. A plain cat name promoted to headline billing keeps the swagger warm, never tough.
Group 06 · 15 names
Food names for girl cats
Sweet, spicy and good enough to eat. Straight from the kitchen.
Brie is a soft French cheese from the Brie region east of Paris, and it is also a girl's given name, which lets it work as a person's name and a pantry word at once. The sound is light and mild, and the cat it describes is just as mellow, ready to take any lap offered and in no hurry to leave it.
Saffron is the red thread of a crocus flower, picked by hand and worth more by weight than any other spice, and English got the word through French from Arabic za'faran. The name shines and feels precious, and the cat it calls up is a poised one with a bright coat who keeps the household waiting.
Pavlova is the meringue dessert with a crisp shell and a soft middle, named for the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova around her 1920s tours of Australia and New Zealand. The cat behind it is poised and light on its feet, with a dancer's posture even when half asleep. Both countries still claim the recipe, so the name brings a friendly rivalry attached.
Canela Luna opens on the spice and closes on the sky, a warm word followed by a cool one. Warm in colour and cool in light, the image fits a brown-coated cat who glows with affection for her own people and keeps a courteous distance from everyone else.
Pepita Miel fits a cheerful cat who trails whoever is doing chores and checks each folded towel. The quick, clipped Pepita sets the tempo and miel slows it at the end, the way such a helper finally gives up and naps on the warm laundry.
Poppy is the red flower of summer fields, and nori, whose Japanese characters mean sea and moss, belongs to the shore. Together they put a meadow beside a beach, a bright, salty pairing with some cheek to it. Expect a spirited cat who darts between garden and kitchen, nose busy, never quite where you left her.
Dulce Miel, sweet honey in Spanish, piles one sweetness on another and echoes the old simile dulce como la miel, sweet as honey. Expect it on a mellow cat who sinks slowly onto any lap, the way honey settles in a spoon, and stays put for the afternoon.
Sucrette means little sugar in French, and its fond, sugary sound matches a cat who stays by your side all day and melts at the first kind word. In the French dating game Amour sucré, the heroine is called Sucrette, and that gives it a romantic streak. French puts the weight on the last syllable, giving it a crisp finish.
Churrita gives a girl's ending to churro, the breakfast pastry that Spanish churrerías pipe straight into hot oil. The impish twist suits a cat who knows she is the only one of her kind in the house and acts accordingly.
Truffellina fits a nose-first cat who can find a hidden toy anywhere in the house, as thorough as anyone hunting truffles. The word truffle probably descends from Latin tuber, a lump or swelling, by way of French truffe, and the -ellina ending shrinks an indulgent luxury to pet-name size.
A cat with a weakness for crinkly wrappers and a mind of its own suits Lolly, since Australians and New Zealanders use lollies for all sorts of sweets. In Britain the word is short for lollipop. It has also served as a pet form of Laura, as for the self-willed heroine of Sylvia Townsend Warner's novel Lolly Willowes.
Of anyone who looks far more innocent than she is, English says butter would not melt in her mouth. Butterbellina keeps that idiom close and caps it with a pretty Italian ending that only improves the act. It belongs on a wide-eyed cat who sits next to the toppled vase looking entirely blameless.
Taken straight from the fruit, Cherry is an English girl's name and sometimes a pet form of Charity. Its bright, cheeky ring calls up a show-off cat who flicks her tail at visitors and expects to be admired.
Peachabella sets the soft blush of a ripe peach beside Bella, so the fruit gets a romantic Italian finish and a long, singing rhythm. The storybook result goes to a cat with a cheerful temper and a face that invites kisses on the forehead.
A midsummer cat, happiest stretched on warm paving stones and slow to come indoors on long evenings, suits Miel Luna, a honey moon taken literally. An old European name for June's full moon is the Honey Moon, which gives the pair its summer glow. Because honey leads, the sweetness arrives before the night does.
Group 07 · 15 names
Witchy and fierce girl cat names
For the cat who stares into the empty corner at 3 a.m. and knows something you do not.
Queen Shadow crowns the darkest part of the room and gives it to a black cat who rules from under the furniture, seen mostly as two eyes and a slow tail. Royalty and darkness together sound grave and slightly gothic, like a portrait hung behind drawn curtains.
A cat who masters the cupboard latch on the second try, clever and composed, carries Rowena easily, an old name often traced to Germanic words for fame and joy. Harry Potter readers know it from Rowena Ravenclaw, the Hogwarts founder whose house prized wit and learning. Called out at home, it sounds gracious and quick, never sugary.
Morgana is the Italian form of Morgan le Fay, the enchantress of Arthurian legend, and Nightspell adds magic worked after dark. The pairing sounds regal and nocturnal, right for a cat who presides over the bed once the household is asleep. Called in full it has the weight of a storybook title, while the first name alone serves well for everyday use.
Ravenna, named for the Italian city famous for its gold Byzantine mosaics, gives a regal cat who rules the windowsill a city's grandeur. Film fans also know it as the sorceress queen in Snow White and the Huntsman, and its opening syllables carry an echo of raven.
Hecate ruled crossroads, magic and the night in ancient Greek belief, and she is often shown carrying torches. Here she belongs to a black cat with a nocturnal streak and a steady, unwavering gaze, the one who sits where two hallways meet and decides which way the evening goes. Noir is simply French for black, and it gives the old goddess a film-noir finish.
Baroness Fang belongs to a cat with impeccable manners and a tooth that shows whenever she yawns at guests. The title promises a drawing room and a coronet, and the second word reminds everyone that this lady bites. Spoken together, the two words feel composed and dangerous at once, like a society portrait with a glint in the eye.
Circe is the enchantress of the Odyssey who serves drugged wine to visiting sailors and leaves them grunting as pigs, and the name hints at a bewitching cat who seems to get exactly what she wants from every visitor without lifting a paw. Madeline Miller's novel Circe brought the name back into fashion, and it now reads as literary rather than wicked.
Enyo was a war goddess of the Greeks, called a sacker of cities in the Iliad, and Storm adds thunder to that charge. It comes out fierce and unstoppable, for a cat who races around the flat at top speed and flattens every toy in her path.
Selene is the moon goddess of the Greeks, who drives her chariot over the night sky, and Starspell pictures a charm cast by starlight. The pairing is dreamy and luminous, right for a cat who keeps vigil at a dark window and naps through the bright afternoons. Selene is also a living first name in Greece and France, everyday as well as mythic.
From Old Norse valkyrja, chooser of the slain, the Valkyries were the riders of Norse myth who picked which fallen warriors would go to Odin's hall, Valhalla. Its cat is fearless and quick, charging into every room as if summoned there. The hard k in the middle makes it fierce to call, while the bright final vowel softens it.
The Morrigan, the Irish war goddess of fate who often appears as a crow, is the namesake for a watchful, slightly ominous cat who perches high and studies everything from above. Her name is read as great queen or phantom queen, depending on how the first part is taken.
Medusa is the Gorgon of the Greek myths, with living snakes for hair and a gaze that turned anyone who met it to stone, and a fierce cat with this name tends to hiss first and ask questions later. Ancient Greeks put her face on shields and doorways as a charm against harm. Many modern readers see her as a wronged figure, so it brings sympathy along with its bite.
Lilith is a night spirit of ancient Mesopotamian and Jewish folklore who became a favourite figure of gothic fiction, and Darkmoon names the new moon, when no moon shows at all. Together they sound brooding and proud, and the cat answering to it refuses to come when called and appears only when she has decided to.
Roman myth made Diana goddess of the hunt and the moon, so with Moonspell added the name gives a cat who stalks by night and counts every moth as quarry. The compound is poised and a little severe, a huntress with a sorceress's patience.
Alkarisi comes from Al Karisi, the red woman of Turkic folklore, a night spirit long blamed for troubling new mothers. In Turkic languages al means red, and the tales also blame her for stolen horses found sweating and exhausted by morning. On a pet, Alkarisi feels spooky rather than frightening, and the cat answering to it gallops along the hall long after dark.
Group 08 · 14 names
Designer and parody names
Couture puns and pop culture twists, straight from the Cartel's runway.
Catniss reworks Katniss Everdeen, the archer heroine of Suzanne Collins's The Hunger Games, by putting the cat right at the front of her name. The cat behind it is brave and independent, a patient stalker of toys who rarely misses.
Clawdemona puts claws on Desdemona, the heroine of Shakespeare's Othello, a name usually traced to the Greek dysdaimon, ill-fated, and the new spelling leaves a demon in plain view. The result is theatrical and wicked in equal measure, a name for the cat who plays the tragic heroine at dinner and the villain by midnight.
Snoozerella swaps the cinders of Cinderella for a snooze, so the fairy-tale heroine who raced the midnight bell becomes one who sleeps straight through it. The cat behind it is a pampered dreamer who treats every evening as an occasion and naps through most of it. The original's rhythm survives intact, so the name is recognised the moment it is called.
Pradina puts the Italian feminine diminutive -ina on Prada, the Milan house that Mario Prada opened selling leather goods. Sharp and rather severe in sound, it goes to a cat who checks each bag that enters the house. The -ina ending softens it just enough for everyday calling.
Minka Maus rings like Micky Maus, the German name for Mickey Mouse, but led by a feminine given name. A short given name before Maus is a pure cartoon pattern, and the alliteration does the rest. The cat it suits is expressive, with comic timing, all double-takes and wide eyes whenever something surprising lands on the floor.
Whiskerella suits a cat with a rags-to-riches story, perhaps a rescue who went from an outdoor shed to a velvet cushion indoors. It trades Cinderella's cinders for whiskers, keeping the -ella ending that gives the heroine her storybook sweetness.
Veloura Rose pairs a plush first name drawn from velour with the most familiar flower in English, and the cat it names is soft to the touch and sweet in temper, curling up as tight as a bud. Together the words sound like an old perfume or a shade of lipstick, plush and romantic.
Pawdora puts a paw into Pandora, the first mortal woman of the Greek stories, whose jar released the world's troubles when she lifted the lid. It fits a nosy cat drawn to anything with a lid or a zip. The paw keeps the pun light, so the name warns of mischief without sounding grim.
A watchful cat that weighs every move before making it is the type behind Athenyan, which joins Athena, patron of wisdom and strategy in Greece, with nyan, Japanese for meow. Nyan is also the cry behind the Nyan Cat meme, so the name is half goddess, half internet. That playful ending keeps all the dignity from turning solemn.
Themis was the Greek Titaness of divine law and order, often pictured holding scales, and Catthemis sets a cat at the front of her name. Stern but fair in tone, it suits a cat who keeps strict hours and expects meals, bedtime and the morning greeting to run on time.
Artemis, the Greek huntress and keeper of the wilderness, ends here in a long meow, and the cat it calls up stalks moths along the curtains at night. The pun keeps the goddess's famously independent streak and only softens the ending into a cat sound.
Chanelle is a variant of the given name Chanel, which was itself drawn from the surname of the designer Coco Chanel, and the doubled l gives it a softer, more personal look. The name belongs on a polished cat, one who keeps every whisker in order and her opinions to herself. The stress falls at the end, so it ends on a flourish when called.
Vellutina adds the girlish ending -ina to velluto, Italian for velvet, and pictures a languid cat who stretches out on every soft throw she can find. Velvet has clothed royalty and upholstered theatres for centuries, so the word brings its own luxury. With that ending it reads as an Italian girl's name rather than a bolt of cloth.
Dolce Coco pairs two names from fashion's front rank: the Dolce of Dolce & Gabbana and Coco, the name Gabrielle Chanel went by. It fits a fastidious cat who grooms until every hair lies right, then acts as if the polish took no effort. Away from the fashion pages, it still works as a fond call over the garden wall.
Romans and modern Italians alike call the moon luna, and Lunessa softens it with -essa for a cat whose evenings start when the curtains close. The coinage is soft and silvery, with none of the grandeur of a goddess name.
Silva, the Latin forest, is clipped to sil- in Silmora and followed by mora, which means blackberry in Spanish and Italian. Woodland and bramble make an outdoor name, and the cat behind it vanishes into the hedges and comes back with burrs and an air of triumph. In Italian, mora also describes a dark-haired woman, so Silmora also reads as the portrait of a brunette.
Catena is Italian for chain, straight from Latin catena, and in Sicily it survives as a female given name tied to the Madonna della Catena. Named this, a cat tends to be the loyal, linked-in kind, never more than a room away from her chosen person. The first three letters spell cat, a quiet joke that saves it from sounding too solemn.
Yuna is a girls' name in both Korea and Japan, and Yunara adds -ra, giving it an extra beat and the look of a longer, more formal version. That longer form is a coinage, yet it would pass unnoticed on any guest list. Its cat is sociable and polished, greeting every visitor in the hall and then retiring once the introductions are done.
Lunoria builds on the Roman luna with the -oria ending of Gloria and Victoria. Its sound is hushed and nocturnal, and the cat in question keeps out of sight all day and reappears on the sill once the moon is up. Because Gloria and Victoria are real names, the invented Lunoria passes for a real first name rather than a word.
Kaida is a Japanese family name, one spelling of which joins the characters for sea and rice field. Baby-name sites in English often gloss it as little dragon, a meaning neither common Japanese spelling carries. The sound is cool and breezy, and the cat behind it guards her own counsel, crossing the room only once she has decided to.
Meilin, a Chinese girls' name that can join mei, plum blossom, with lin, forest, gains a flowing -ara here, so the result is new and noticeably grander. With that much length to carry, it rests best on a stately cat who crosses any room at a trailing pace, as if a train followed her.
Lumaria pairs lumen, the Latin light, with the -aria of the operatic solo, and it belongs to a cat who lifts her head whenever a lamp comes on. Read together, the coinage becomes a light that sings, luminous with a theatrical edge.
A rare modern coinage without an old pedigree, Phaela pairs a Greek-looking Ph with the ending of Raphaela and Michaela. Airy and slightly enigmatic, it suits a cat who keeps her thoughts to herself and expects to be courted before she comes over.
Eiri is a gentle, airy name, and the cat who carries it keeps to quiet corners and rarely raises her voice. It is a rare Norwegian girl's name of uncertain origin, and it sits very close to Eir, the Norse goddess of healing whose name means help or mercy. With no hard consonant in it, the name is easy to say softly at bedtime.
Furiela takes the plain word fur and finishes it with -iela, the ending of Gabriela and Daniela, so a coat word ends up as a woman's given name. It comes out graceful and slightly grand, a match for a cat of great poise who keeps her coat immaculate and takes admiration calmly.
Venusia was the Roman name of Venosa in southern Italy, the city of Venus and birthplace of the poet Horace, and as a pet name it sounds graceful and self-assured, right for a cat who waits to be admired before entering. The longer form makes the goddess name feel closer to a title.
Close to lumen, the Latin word for light, Lumiya has a luminous sound. It conjures a watchful cat who keeps to quiet corners by day and wakes up in the lamplight after dark. Star Wars fans know Lumiya as a Dark Lady of the Sith in the Legends stories, a shadowy edge under the glow.
Mei, which in Chinese can mean plum blossom, opens Meiyara, and the close echoes the given name Yara. The blend is invented, yet it would not look out of place in a family tree going back generations. Plum trees flower while frost is still on the ground, so the name works on a hardy cat who goes out in any weather.
Sundari is the Sanskrit and Hindi word for a beautiful woman, and Sundaria lengthens it for a cat who poses before the camera is even out of its bag. The extra -ia sounds more ceremonial, more marquee than pet bowl. Since sundar is the everyday Hindi adjective for beautiful, the compliment needs no translation for Hindi speakers.
All girl cat names, A to Z
Open the full list, A to Z. Tap any name to read what it means and issue its passport.
Luna. Rover's list of the most popular pet names of 2025 put Luna first for female cats. You will find it at the top of this page, with what the name means.
How do I choose a good name for a girl cat?
Short names of one or two syllables are the easiest to call, and a clear first sound helps her pick hers out. Avoid names that sound like words you use as commands. Then match the name to the cat: a dainty cat can carry Nefertiny, and a cat who stares into corners at night was made for Hecate Noir.
Do cats really recognize their names?
Yes. A 2019 study from the University of Tokyo, published in Scientific Reports, found that pet cats can tell their own name apart from similar sounding words. Whether she comes when you call is another matter.
Can I give a girl name to a boy cat?
Of course. Cats do not read birth certificates. If you want a name that works either way, the Cat Name Generator has 2,394 unisex names.
How many female cat names are there?
The Mad Cat Cartel name book has 1,315 names for girl cats, plus 2,394 unisex names. This page shows 151 of our favorites. Open the A to Z list to see every girl name.
Are the designer names connected to real fashion brands?
No. Names like Pradina and Chanelle are parody, in the same spirit as our Parody Collections, and are not connected to the brands they play on.
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Tell the Cartel about your cat in two questions. It picks from more than 4,500 names and issues a passport with what the name means.
A chart-topping cat name today, Luna is the Latin word for the moon, which the Romans also honoured as a goddess. Latin luna also gave English lunacy, the old word for madness thought to wax and wane with the moon, so the name hints at a dreamy cat who dozes all day and tears down the hallway at midnight.
Lady Purrington
Miss Meowlin
Chi
C. Velluto
