Pet Names · Cat Names
By Sophie Kihm · Updated September 2026
Across 6 pages
of 6
Literary animal name
Tigger is the bouncing not-a-tiger from Winnie the Pooh , a symbol of buoyancy and resilience. As Tigger says in the books, he's "the only one", and it should probably stay that way when it comes to…
Word name, English
"ruler who represents the king"
A new one for the ever-growing collection of royal baby names.
Place-name
The Alhambra, which means "red city," is in Granada, Spain. British writer Ali Smith used it for a character in her novel The Accidental .
Latin, from Greek, variation of Xanthos
"golden-haired"
Spelt Xanthos in Greek, this alternate name for Apollo has a noble sound (pronounced ZHAN-thus) and can always be shortened to Xan.
Japanese
"red"
The color red was considered to have magical properties in early Japanese culture, with the power to cure blood and other illnesses. Pronounced ah-kah-ko.
Fruit name
Mango might be cute as a short form of a related name like Manuel, or for a pet name. But we're not feeling it as a full baby name for a child of any gender.
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.
Greek
"nobody"
One of the best known early Nemos was the captain in Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea , while the more familiar modern one is the animated little orange fish in the Disney movie. Unusual name…
Fruit and color name
No babies of any gender were named Orange in the US in the most recent year counted. But that doesn't mean, in this era of anything-goes baby names, that it couldn't happen. In fact, Orange did…
Latin
"golden"
A bird name from the same Latin root as Aurelia, Oriole is extremely rare as a name: No babies were given the name in the US in 2022. But most people are aware of the Oriole bird, which makes this…
Hindi, variation of Kalinda
"sun"
Kalindi is a lovely, rhythmic name refers to one of the seven sacred rivers of India.
English fruit name
Unlike the other fruit names that are just coming onto the baby name menu, Peaches is an old-timey nickname previously reserved for spangled showgirls, and now would be considered an outrageous --…
Welsh
Most closely associated with Australia's iconic progressive Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam, this name is a great choice for politicos or parents wanting to honor their Welsh heritage in naming a…
Native American, Blackfoot,or Greek, "golden eagle, or rock, stone"
"golden eagle, or rock, stone"
Too tightly tied to the acronym for the activist group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
English
"covered with gold"
Gilda, although related to the words gold and gilded, has definitely tarnished. It once shimmered with the seductive image of Rita Hayworth in the film Gilda, then was associated with the beloved…
"red cliff"
Harvard's sibling.
"son of the red-haired"
Inventive way to honor a redheaded ancestor, though most people would mispronounce it reeding, making it sound to some kids like a school assignment: Redding is a preferable spelling.
Place name and Spanish from Latin
"flowery"
Lacks the cachet of some newer place-names.
Irish
"red-haired"
Roone is a lively, attractive and unusual redhead entry brought into the mix by the late TV sports and news executive Roone Arledge, who seemed to own it as a one-person name when he was alive. Roone…
Flanna is an uncommon name for a red-haired girl, not as familiar -- or some would say, as pretty -- as its nickname, Flannery.
