by Michelle Caward

Created on: February 08, 2009

As T.S. Eliot's Old Possum states "the naming of cats is a difficult matter..." Anyone who has stared into the eyes of a kitten or newly adopted cat is painfully aware of the dilemma they face. Do you name it according to what it looks like, it's personality, after someone or something you happen to like, or do you give it a name that is an inside joke? Everyday thousands of kitties nationwide are in need of a new name and their new owners are faced with the question of what that name will behere are some ideas to help that choice along.

Popular Female Cat Names

Lucy

Molly

Tigger

Chloe

Shadow

Popular Male Cat Names

Tigger

Tiger

Max

Smokey

Sam

Unusual Cat Names

Lipstick

Puff Kitty

Skull-N-Crossbones

Kit Kat

Jailbait

How you can generate ideas of your own for unique cat names:

Your favorite characters in literature are an old standby and how can you resist naming a stubborn, independent male cat Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights? Or a quiet sensitive one Darcy from Pride and Prejudice?

Gods from Greek, Roman, Egyptian and other ancient cultures like Isis, Odin or Apollo would be ideal names for our feline companions who already believe that they should be worshipped.

People names are frequently used and utilizing sites designed for naming children can certainly help in this area as not only are the names usually listed but also the meaning or a characteristic of the name, for example, David means Beloved.

Naming your cat after a celebrity is certainly an option and some celebrities themselves have named their pets after some of the greats like Frank Sinatra and Dusty Springfield.

There is the music scene as inspiration. Big Bopper, Prince, Pink to start but also the names of songs or albums: Candyman by Christina Aguilera or Circus by Britney Spears come to mind. Then there is Hip Hopso many rappers, so few household cats to name.

If you are looking for the latest and greatest in cat names, however, you will need to look to your favorite high end lines of products: Prada, Rolex, Benetton and Jimmy Chou have been gaining in usage recently.

Of course, given the current state of the economy you might prefer to be just a little more frugal in your choices and go for something along the lines of eBay, Yahoo, Tic Tac, or T.J. Maxx.

Then lastly there is the old sci-fi writer's trick for naming alien species or charactersflip though the local phone book and randomly take the first three letters of one last name and mix it with the first three or four letters of another which gives you names like Barcuc, Piefitz, or Crepay.

One thing is for sure, whatever you choose to name your furry little companion, you will have years of joy and entertainment added to your home.

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