Pet Names · Cat Names
By Sophie Kihm · Updated September 2026
Across 11 pages
of 11
French feminine variation of Albert
"bright, noble"
Albertine and Alberta are old-fashioned feminizations ala Geraldine and Roberta: a little bit clunky, a little bit regal, just waiting for a celeb to use them to make them cool again. Familiar in…
English, Gaelic
"minstrel, poet"
A literary word name, now synonymous with Shakespeare, Bard also refers more generally to a poet, particularly one who recited epics and traditional poems out loud. Similar in sound to Bernard,…
Word name
Bamboo is a plant name that you might want to save for the zoo's name-the-panda contest. It was used for a starbaby in 2000, though, the rapper Big Boi.
German
"brave friend"
One "bald" name we can get behind, thanks to pioneering African-American author James Baldwin – though the name is now also associated with the Baldwin brothers, particularly Alec.
Greek
"bed bug"
This herb is also known as cilantro. It's meaning, "bed bug" is on account of its smell, characterized by the ancient Greeks as bed bug-like.
English word name or variation of Almund or Aleman, German
"almond; noble strength; German"
Almond may seem like a hippy modern name, but its use for American boys goes right back to the mid-nineteenth century. In these cases, it was either a variation of Almund, meaning "noble strength,"…
Brazilian Portuguese fruit and tree name
Fad fruit name or a trendy syllable smash? We aren't certain, but we have noticed a number of babies name Acai on the US charts. Spelled Açai, with a cedilla, it's the name of a Brazilian palm that…
Dutch
"land of legal protection against armed violence"
Fashion icon and Vogue editor-in-chief Diana Vreeland adds an air of glamour to her distinctive Dutch surname. It would make a striking name for the daughter of a parent in the fashion industry. Easy…
English
"nobleman's estate"
One of the many El- names for boys that boomed in the 1910s and 1920s, but has long been out of fashion. This surname/place name has an aristocratic flavor, and a creative namesake in the artist…
Diminutive of Fletcher, English
"arrow maker"
This snappy nickname may remind some of the 1985 Chevy Chase movie of the same name. Writer and actress Jill Kargman has a son called Fletch.
Italian
"fresh; decorative mural"
A fresh artistic option with a lively sound.
Diminutive of Francisco
"free man"
Frisco is a frisky, roguish semi-place-name (San Francisco natives never call it that) that could make a lively, unusual o-ending choice. Frisco is the kind of nickname name sometimes used for cowboy…
Latin
"shadow"
"Avenging murder"
The name of one of the Furies in Greek mythology, a goddess who avenged crimes of murder. She is described as wearing a dripping blood-red robe, with a serpent coiled around her waist.
Irish
"glutton"
Gulliver is an obscure Gaelic surname known almost solely through its literary Travels until actor Gary Oldman used it for his son, instantly transforming it into a lively option. British actors…
English place name
No matter how much you love the novels of Papa H., don't saddle your son with this unwieldy appellation.
Plant name from Algonquian
"hickory"
Greek, place name, meaning unknown
The name of an area in northern Greece, known in the era of Homer's Odyssey as Aeolia, Thessaly makes a spirited and pretty place name. Reminiscent of Tessa, Rosalie, and Thea, the name likely…
Short form of Theodora or Theodosia, Greek
"gift of God"
Theda is most famous as the name of silent film vamp Theda Bara. Today most fashionable little Theodoras and Theodosias are called Thea, but Theda makes an intriguing change.
French, fortune-telling cards
A unique New Age possibility with a pleasing sound.
