Pet Names · Cat Names
By Pamela Redmond · Updated September 2026
Across 7 pages
of 7
Cherokee
"black fox"
Perky Cherokee boy name with a great meaning. Foxes symbolize cleverness and playfulness in Cherokee culture.
German surname
"blacksmith"
Eisele was originally a nickname for the Old German given name Isenhart, which derived from Isenlin — a nickname for a blacksmith. Despite the authentic German pronunciation of EYE-suh-luh, in the US…
English word name
"twilight; darkening"
Variation of Dougal, Scottish
"dark stranger"
A Scottish variant of Dougal, Dugald is also a Harry Potter name. In fact, there are not one but two characters name Dugald in the Harry Potter books. Dugald McPhail is a former Minister of Magic and…
Irish
"dark"
This Irish surname packs a lot of attitude, projecting an image of spunk and sass. The Welsh singer Duffy, born Aimee Anne Duffy, is best known for her songs Mercy and Warwick Avenue.
Scottish
Heard in the Scottish highlands, and much more in tune with the present times than the dated Douglas — for which it could make a perfect tribute name. Dougal was the Scottish nickname for…
Egyptian
"(she who) tightens the throat, (she who) causes the throat to breathe"
Also spelled Selqet, Serket and Serqet, Selket was the Ancient Egyptian goddess of the scorpions and of magic. She was a helpful goddess and protected souls on their journey to the afterlife. She is…
"dark hero"
A common Irish surname that's seldom heard as a first name, but has an appealing meaning.
Word name
It has a variety of associations from Smokey Robinson to Smokey the bear, but Smokey still feels a bit comical for a baby.
"dark brave one"
Makes Donna into a cool twenty-first-century unisex Irish surname.
"dark fighter"
This genial Irish surname feels much more current than Donald.
Spanish
"devil"
Diablo Cody, self-named (she's really Brook Busey) screenwriter of Juno, singlehandedly helped popularize not just her heroine's name and her own but all o-ending names for girls. You don't need us…
English
"knight's attendant"
Old-fashioned, conjuring up an ardent suitor in a bow tie and straw boater.
"dark one"
A distinctive alternative to Conan.
Now that the Irish Ciaran and Ciara -- aka Kieran and Kiera -- are becoming more popular beyond their native shores, the short and strong Ciar might find some favor. As of now, more than 160 baby…
African
"dark tree"
Would you really want to name your child after a Japanese anime movie called Tamala 2010: A Punk Cat in Space.
"dark, black"
A unisex name in the same vein as Casey, Cassidy, and Kelly, Carey and its alternative spelling Cary were familiar choices for boys in the first half of the 20th-century, and became popular in the…
Literary name
"Daughter of the twilight / nightingale"
Lúthien Tinúviel is an elf princess in J. R. R. Tolkien’s legendarium, who falls in love with a mortal human, Beren, and chooses to become mortal herself rather than to live without him. Tinúviel is…
Nature name
"blackberry shrub"
Related to blackberry plants and more colloquially to any thorny shrub, Bramble has history as an English surname. Cozy in sound but spiky in feel, it could even get you nickname Bram.
Word name or nickname
Boo may have started out as a nickname for the male character Arthur "Boo" Radley in To Kill A Mockingbird and these days may be closely associated with another male Boo, the "world's cutest dog" or…
