Old-Fashioned Cat Names

Rocking out on the porch with buddies Hubert, Norbert, and Osbert.

The jazziest nickname for Charles.

So far out it's almost ready to be let back in.

Obie has multiple origins, functioning as both a standalone name and a nickname. It emerged as a traditional diminutive for names like Obadiah, a Hebrew biblical name meaning 'servant of God.' It's also used as a nickname for names beginning with 'O' such as Oscar, Osborne, or Oswald. In some cases, Obie derives from the German surname 'Obie,' which likely originated as an occupational name or location-based surname. The name has maintained consistent but low-level usage in English-speaking countries throughout the 20th century. Obie gained some cultural recognition through figures like American football player Obie Trotter and through the Obie Awards in theater. The name's short, straightforward phonetic structure gives it a friendly, approachable quality. Its versatility as both a formal name and nickname has contributed to its endurance, though it has never been among the most popular masculine names in recorded statistics.

This jazzy old name could make a comeback, the way Josephine and Ella have. In England the name was popularized by Queen Victoria's daughter Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, after whom her governor general of Canada husband named the North American province. Jazz singer Alberta Hunter was a noted bearer.

Ralphie is one of those short forms that have been out of style for so long it just might have a chance of coming back in, if you can get past seeing it as a desperate attempt to cute-ify a stodgy old man's name.

If Frances and Fran are too serious for you, and Fanny too saucy, you might like Franny, still identified by some with J. D. Salinger's Franny and Zooey stories.

Prime pert-teenager name in midcentury TV shows, replaced by Maggie.

Velma likely originated as a phonetic spelling of the German name Wilma, itself derived from Wilhelmina. Velma Dinkley is a smart, if nerdy, character in Scooby Doo.

The Spanish Alonso and the Italian Alonzo are both widely used in the US, so you may meet more guys named Lonny than you expect.

An old-fashioned nickname that hasn't been heard in ages--Cute and unusual, but lacking the legs to stand on its own. Maybe save it for your kitten.