Pet Names · Cat Names
By Sophie Kihm · Updated September 2026
Across 122 pages
of 122
Slavic
"someone who achieves glory or fame"
A long-haired classical conductor name, which could appeal to parents looking for a Laszlo-like appellation. A name of Slavic origin, it has a powerful and uplifting meaning. Stanislav has a variety…
Latin
"Star and moon"
Stella and Luna are stylish night sky name for girls , from the Latin words for star and moon. The two names were smooshed together by children's book author Janell Cannon in 1993. Cannon gave the…
English, diminutive of Theresa, Greek
"to reap, gather"
With Tillie a new favorite of avant-garde parents, the British music-hall Tessie might conceivably follow.
Norwegian, Finnish, German, and Dutch variation of Timothy
"honoring God"
Popular in its own right in Germany and definitely makes a more intriguing and grownup short form of the classic Timothy than Timmy or even Tim.
German, pet form of names such as Waldemar
"to rule"
Its jaunty o-ending makes this name more appealing than most of its Germanic brothers, and we hope we're beyond the constant response to his name being "Where's Waldo?" The weighty reputation of…
Word name
Asking for trouble.
Diminutive of Zelda, Yiddish, English
"gray fighting maid"
Cute and quirky Zeldy adds some extra zip to Zelda — which is making its way back up the charts after decades out of the Top 1000.
English word, Old English
"an inlet of the sea where the land curves inward; berry"
One of the most usable of the pleasant, newly adopted nature/water names (like Lake and Ocean), especially in middle position. It's gentle, slightly whimsical, but grounded by its similarity to May…
English
"noble friend; friend of the elves"
Archie, Albie, and Alfie are coming back into style, so naturally, we think Alvie could be next. Alternate spelling Alvy was used by Woody Allen for his character in Annie Hall .
Italian variation of Benedicta, Latin
"blessed"
The saintly Italian form of the saintly Latin Benedicta.
Finnish variation of Andrew, English from Greek
"strong, manly"
The Finnish form of Andrew is featured in mythology as Antero Vipunen, a giant in Finland's national legend the Kalevala
English, French, Latin
"waxing or waning moon; increasing, growing, springing forth"
Crescent is an intriguing word name with a pretty sound and links to the moon. Used to describe a curved shape more generally, it is heavily associated with the lunar calendar, with the moon forming…
Greek
"supreme power"
Cyrene was a mythical nymph and huntress who was beloved by the god Apollo. He founded a city named after her in what is now Libya and made her the queen. Derived from Greek and pronounced with three…
French surname
"noble strength"
Loose, lean, and lanky cowboy-sounding names have become a recent trend, but how about the name of a real one--the Singing Cowboy Gene. Autry might be thought of as a masculine spin on the…
"from Doris"
A male name occasionally borrowed by the girls, as in Dorian Cramer, a long-running female character on the soap One Life to Live and famous midcentury model Dorian Leigh.
Flower name, from German
"noble white"
Edelweiss, made famous by the Rogers and Hammerstein song in "The Sound of Music", is a rare female name. In German 'edel' means 'noble' and 'weiss' means 'white'. Edelweiss is the colloquial name…
"wealthy"
Edina is an infectious-sounding Minnesota place-name, featured in the British cult hit TV show "Absolutely Fabulous." Edina is also a poetic name for Edinburgh and is a common name in contemporary…
English variation of Barnabas, Aramaic
"son of consolation"
Barnaby, a genial and energetic name with an Irish-sounding three-syllable lilt, is an ancient appellation that manages to be both unusual and highly attractive and deserves to be used more than it…
Variation of Barnabas
"son of comfort"
The name Barney is hot among hip Londoners and it has been above the Top 500 in the UK since 2012. You can see why - it's got a friendly happy sound and a lovely meaning and is more easily worn than…
Nature name
If not for Motown founder Berry Gordy, this name would now be totally in the girl group.
