Pet Names · Cat Names
By Sophie Kihm · Updated September 2026
Across 122 pages
of 122
English place name and surname
"peat bog, mouse clearing"
Mosley, former best known as the surname of author Walter, has been put in play as a first name for girls by football great Peyton Manning, who used the name for his twin daughter, sister of…
Moose is an unconventional masculine name derived from the North American mammal. As a given name, it emerged from nickname usage, typically assigned to individuals with large, strong builds or…
Feminine variation of Nigel; botanical name from Latin
"black"
A name that sounded unthinkably priggish until it became attached to Domestic Goddess British TV chef Nigella Lawson (named for her father), who gave it a big dollop of glamour.
Bird name from German
"night singer"
Charming nature name made even more appealing by the connection to iconic nurse and statistician Florence Nightingale.
German musical name
A daring middle name possibility for classical concertgoers. Alternatives are Wolfgang and Amadeus.
English
"cookie"
Cookie is most often used as a dog name, and it should stay that way.
Muffin originated as an English word for a small, dome-shaped baked good before transitioning into use as a pet name or term of endearment, particularly in British and American culture. As a female…
Color and food name
Do everyone a favor and spell it Coco, an up-and-coming choice.
Nature name
As a name, it's linked to Sir Mulberry Hawk, a character in Charles Dicken's Nicholas Nickleby.
French and Spanish nickname name
The most famous male Coco was Britain's beloved Coco the Clown, whose proper name was Nicolai. An adorable informal pet name not recommended for the birth certificate.
Modern invented name
Australian writer Wendy Orr put this name on the map with her hit Nim's Island " series of children's books, about a smart young girl who lives on an island in the South Pacific. Abigail Breslin…
African, Nigerian-Igbo
"blessing"
Dynamic and creative; common in Africa, challenging here. Pronunciation isn't as difficult as you'd guess, but everyone will have to ask. Many favor n-GO-zee, but a native speaker tells us that it is…
Latin nature name
"dark cloud"
Nimbus is a word from nature for a type of cloud that has occasionally -- very occasionally -- been used for a human. But it's evocative and upbeat and certainly makes an intriguing and stylish…
Irish
"ruddy-faced"
Corky was a sitcom moniker of the fifties, Corcoran a better fit for these times.
French, Breton
"tempest, hurricane"
Corentin is an intriguing saint's name fashionable in France but virtually unknown here-- which you may consider a big plus. St. Corentin possessed a magical fish that regenerated itself each night,…
Greek mythology name
Remember, the Muse is passive: someone else's inspiration.
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.
Flower name, from Greek
"mouse's ear; forget-me-not"
The name of a genus of flowering plants commonly known as "forget-me-not", deriving from a Greek word meaning "mouse's ear", because of the shape of the plant's leaves. The Spanish form Miosoti is…
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.
