by Heather Kindberg

Created on: February 09, 2009

An ancient Chinese proverb proclaims: "The beginning of wisdom is to call things by their right names." Notice that this isn't any old proverb; it's Chinese and it's very, very old. So rather than committing a witless gaffe, it is certainly worth putting in the time and effort to find just the "right" name for your cat.

POPULAR CAT NAMES

Cat names tend to fall into four general categories.

1. The look: Boots, Shadow, Patch.

2. The personality: Lucky, Tigger, Princess.

3. How the owner feels about the cat: Precious, Buddy, Baby.

4. Humanization: Max, Sam, Missy.

These categories are a good, very general starting point when considering a name for your cat. The sample names above are some of the currently most popular cat names in the United States. Following are a few more:

Popular male cat names: Jake, Rocky, Buster, Cody, Duke.

Popular female cat names: Lady, Maggie, Daisy, Lucy, Ginger.

Popular gender neutral names: Oreo, Kitty, Whiskers, Midnight, Pumpkin.

Warning: Giving cats one of these names will ensure their need to identify themselves with their last initial too (i.e. Lucky K.). Now if none of these popular names seem "right," it's time to get creative.

GENERATE IDEAS FOR UNIQUE CAT NAMES

If a name doesn't jump out at you while you're gazing upon your feline, here are some ideas for brainstorming names that may have personal meaning for you:

Hobbies

For inspiration, look to subjects that are important and fun in your life. Do you enjoy sports? Frisbee might be the name that fits, or Hoops, or Blade. Look to your favorite literature and celluloid: Sifting through J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit will keep you sounding out names for quite awhile, or summon the memories of those Saturday morning cartoons - appellations abound.

Feel-good Words

Flip open a dictionary (or click on one) and conjure those words that make you feel great, words with sounds that slide succulently off of your tongue (because you will be saying it for a long time to come!): How about Cinder or Whisper or Harmony? Brawn, Sage or Oracle?

Thesaurus

Another great source for inspiration is a thesaurus. If you tap into some words that describe you or your cat, or that convey who you are, you will have many synonyms to choose from that may have just the sound and the meaning you're looking for.

Name Generators

In your search engine, type in "cat name generator" or "cat name database." Many sites list cat names alphabetically, by gender, and/or by subject. Some sites will also generate random names for you to consider. Others will ask for information about your cat's appearance before suggesting names. Even visiting baby-name sites will give you untold options and food for thought.

Some Final Idea Generators

Here are some additional overarching subjects that you may want to tap for a name: Crayon colors, place names (countries, cities), ingredients, flora and fauna, outer space, song lyrics, street names, and your heroes.

Now go forth and cultivate your cat-nomenclature possibilities! You will do the ancient Chinese civilization proud.

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