Pet Names · Cat Names
By Sophie Kihm · Updated September 2026
Across 11 pages
of 11
Jiminy is a masculine name that gained recognition primarily through the character Jiminy Cricket in Disney's 'Pinocchio.' Rather than having ancient roots, this whimsical name evolved from the…
Popular culture
"sand skin"
The name of the glamorous mean girl in "High School Musical", Sharpay is a spin on the dog breed Shar Pei, which means "sand skin" in Chinese. As such, it's a brilliant name joke skewering the…
French
"bat"
American fruit name from Powhatan
"a dry fruit"
We've adopted Plum, Cherry, and even Apple as baby names, so why not Persimmon? It lends itself to the charming nicknames Percy or Persy. The word "persimmon" is American in origin. It was derived…
English and German surname
"dweller near the hill; lump"
An architectural take on Noel. Knoll honors Florence Knoll, the Michigan-born modernist architect and furniture designer. Her namesake company still produces her designs today. Knoll first charted in…
Word name or short form of Pepper, English and Latin from Sanskrit
"the pepper plant"
Peppy is undeniably cute, but we bet that after a while the jokes aren't.
English from Latin
"crowned with laurels"
English, word name
As the former stage name of TLC founder Perri Reid and the name of the youngest member of the animated Flintstones clan, it's got some pop culture cache. But it'll be too cutesy by half for most…
German
"famous"
This cool and quirky short form of the suave Ludovic could be an even-more-adventurous spin on Nico and Hugo.
Greek mythology name
Remember, the Muse is passive: someone else's inspiration.
English
"small fish"
This adorable fish name debuted on the baby name charts in 2020, inspired by a young girl character in the Netflix movie Love and Monsters . Minnow resembles well-established girl names Minnie,…
Diminutive of Margaret
"pearl"
Sixties-style nickname which is also the name of a small biting insect, particularly prevalent in Scotland.
botanical name
Marjoram is a herb and flower. With nicknames like Margie and Jo at the ready, we think that if Marigold can make a comeback, why not Marjoram?
Greek mythology name, god of sleep and dreams
Though you may pray to the god of sleep for your baby to slumber through the night, a drowsy image is not the greatest one to inflict on your little boy.
Nature name
As a name, it's linked to Sir Mulberry Hawk, a character in Charles Dicken's Nicholas Nickleby.
Word name or short form of Ignacio
Not unless you want your son to grow up to be just like a wacky Jack Black character.
Latin
"song for unaccompanied voices"
Madrigal might be a pretty and highly distinctive choice for a child of a musical family--or for the parent looking for a less conventional path to the nickname Maddie than Madeline or Madison .…
Diminutive of Laura, Charlotte, Dolores, Ololade, or similar
Lolly is a sweet and playful nickname, usually used for Laura or Charlotte, though other full names could be Dolores, Ololade, Lauren, Lorelei, Lorena, Elodie, Ottilie, Louella, Elora, Elowen, Olive…
Greek
"kingfisher bird"
This highly unusual name -- the Halycyone was a mythic bird who could calm the seas -- conjures up images of utter peace and tranquility because of the phrase "Halycon days"...and the sleeping pill.
English word name from Greek
"to attempt, attack"
A bold new word name that conjures up images of peg-legs and eyepatches. It was brought to national attention by pop musician Billie Eilish, whose full name is Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O'Connell.…
