Looking for a cat name with a little passport stamp on it? This list has more than 850 cat names from six parts of the world: France, Germany, Italy, Egypt, Hawaii and Russia. Each section has names for female and male cats, everyday words that make sweet names, food names, and names from each country's history and stories, with the meaning beside many of them. It is part of our cat names collection.
Our quick take: a name from another language is only fun if the meaning is right, so we checked the meanings against dictionaries and name references, and left out the ones we could not confirm. Pick a name you can say easily, try it out loud for a few days, and use it at mealtimes. A 2019 study in the journal Scientific Reports found that pet cats can tell their own name apart from other words.
France has a long love affair with cats. The Chartreux, a blue-gray breed that French farmers prized as a hunter, comes from here, and the Birman was first recognised in France in 1925. President Charles de Gaulle had a Chartreux called Gris-Gris, and the writer Colette put one in her 1933 novel La Chatte. In October 1963 a Parisian cat called Félicette became the first cat in space, and she came back safely.
Pedigree kittens in France even get a letter of the year. Under the rule used by LOOF, the French pedigree cat registry, a kitten's registered name starts with the letter for its birth year: 2025 was A, 2026 is B and 2027 will be C. Everyday names are less formal. According to I-CAD, which keeps France's national pet identification register, the top names given to cats identified in 2025 were Nala, Simba, Athena, Tigrou, Aiko, Minette, Mimi, Luna, Vanille and Arya.
French words that make cute cat names
Minou (kitty)
Minette (kitty, for a girl)
Chaton (kitten)
Mistigri (an informal French word for a cat)
Chaussette (sock: for a cat with white paws)
Bijou (jewel)
Noisette (hazelnut)
Réglisse (liquorice: for a black cat)
Cannelle (cinnamon)
Vanille (vanilla)
Neige (snow)
Flocon (snowflake)
Étoile (star)
Papillon (butterfly)
Plume (feather)
Chouchou (favorite)
Doudou (a child's cuddly toy or comfort blanket)
Câlin (cuddle)
Filou (little rascal)
Coquin (mischievous)
Tigrou (the French name for Tigger)
Belle (beautiful)
Beau (handsome)
Chérie (darling)
Fleur (flower)
Lune (moon)
Soleil (sun)
Poivre (pepper)
Gingembre (ginger)
Gris-Gris (the name of Charles de Gaulle's Chartreux)
French food names
Éclair
Croissant
Brioche
Macaron
Crêpe
Madeleine
Praline
Nougat
Caramel
Truffe (truffle)
Soufflé
Camembert
Brie
Baguette
Champagne
Cognac
Escargot (snail: for a cat who never hurries)
Suzette (as in crêpes Suzette)
Miel (honey)
Cerise (cherry)
Mirabelle
Ratatouille
Female French cat names
Amélie
Anaïs
Aurélie
Brigitte
Camille
Céline
Chloé
Claudine
Clémentine
Colette (the French writer and famous cat lover)
Delphine
Élodie
Éloïse
Fifi (a pet form of Joséphine)
Gabrielle
Geneviève (the patron saint of Paris)
Gigi
Giselle
Jolie
Joséphine
Juliette
Lilou
Manon
Margot
Marianne (the symbol of the French Republic)
Mireille
Monique
Noëlle
Océane
Odette
Odile
Paulette
Renée
Simone
Sylvie
Yvette
Coco (after Coco Chanel)
Félicette (the first cat in space, 1963)
Saha (the Chartreux in Colette's novel La Chatte)
Choupette (designer Karl Lagerfeld's Birman)
Madame
Mademoiselle
Male French cat names
Alphonse
Antoine
Bastien
Baptiste
Benoît
Claude
Clément
Didier
Émile
Étienne
Gaston
Gaspard
Henri
Jacques
Jean-Luc
Laurent
Lucien
Louis
Marcel
Mathis
Maurice
Napoléon
Olivier
Pascal
Pierre
Philippe
Raoul
Rémy
René
Sébastien
Tristan
Valentin
Xavier
Yves
Lafayette
Monsieur
Marquis
Names from French books, art and places
The cats of Disney's The Aristocats live in Paris in 1910. You will find them in our separate list of Aristocats names.
Cosette (Les Misérables)
Éponine (Les Misérables)
Fantine (Les Misérables)
Gavroche (the street boy in Les Misérables)
Esmeralda (The Hunchback of Notre-Dame)
Quasimodo (The Hunchback of Notre-Dame)
Djali (Esmeralda's pet goat)
D'Artagnan (The Three Musketeers)
Athos
Porthos
Aramis
Chat Botté (“Puss in Boots”, as Charles Perrault called his 1697 tale)
Babar
Céleste
Monet
Renoir
Degas
Matisse
Cézanne
Seurat (the painter of dots: for a spotted cat)
Chanel
Dior
Paris
Lyon (it sounds like “lion”)
Marseille
Cannes
Bordeaux
Provence
Versailles
Riviera
Seine
Eiffel
German cat names
German has some of the best cat words of any language. A house cat is a Stubentiger, a joking word that means roughly “living-room tiger”, or a Samtpfote, a “velvet paw”. A tomcat is a Kater, which is also the German word for a hangover. E. T. A. Hoffmann even wrote a novel, The Life and Opinions of the Tomcat Murr, as the memoirs of a cat who had taught himself to write.
What do Germans really call their cats? The German pet registry TASSO publishes the most popular names every year. For 2025 the top female cat names were Luna, Nala, Lilly, Lucy, Mia, Coco, Mimi, Mila, Bella and Maja. The top male names were Simba, Leo, Charly, Milo, Balu, Findus, Loki, Sammy, Felix and Mogli. Luna has been number one for six years in a row.
German cat words and nicknames
Katze (cat)
Kater (tomcat)
Kätzchen (kitten)
Mieze (kitty)
Miezekatze (pussycat)
Stubentiger (a joking word for a house cat)
Samtpfote (“velvet paw”)
Schnurri (from schnurren, to purr)
Murr (the tomcat who writes his memoirs in Hoffmann's novel)
Schatzi (sweetie, darling)
Liebling (darling, favorite)
Krümel (crumb)
Keks (cookie)
Flocke (flake)
Stern (star)
Mond (moon)
Wolke (cloud)
Schnee (snow)
Schatten (shadow)
Blitz (lightning)
Donner (thunder)
Hummel (bumblebee)
Knopf (button)
Zwerg (dwarf)
Fuchs (fox)
Löwe (lion)
Glück (luck, happiness)
Liebe (love)
Güte (kindness)
Kaiser (emperor)
Kaiserin (empress)
Königin (queen)
Prinz (prince)
Herzogin (duchess)
Graf (count)
Retter (rescuer)
German color names
Schwarz (black)
Weiß (white)
Grau (gray)
Braun (brown)
Rot (red)
Silber (silver)
Kupfer (copper)
Blau (blue)
Lila (purple)
Rosa (pink)
German food names
Schnitzel
Bratwurst
Currywurst
Sauerkraut
Spätzle (soft egg noodles)
Knödel (dumpling)
Kartoffelpuffer (potato pancake: for a cat who lies flat all day)
Eintopf (a one-pot stew)
Brezel (pretzel)
Strudel
Lebkuchen (honey-sweetened Christmas cookies)
Stollen (Christmas fruit bread)
Bienenstich (“bee sting” cake)
Zimtstern (cinnamon star cookie)
Streusel (crumb topping)
Pumpernickel
Marzipan
Krapfen (jam doughnut)
Dampfnudel (steamed dumpling)
Butterkäse (“butter cheese”)
Female German names and what they mean
Adele (noble)
Bertha (bright)
Frieda (peace)
Gertrud (spear of strength)
Greta (short for Margareta, “pearl”)
Griselda (possibly “gray battle”)
Hedwig (from two old words for battle)
Helga (holy, blessed)
Heidi (a pet form of Adelheid, “noble”)
Hilda (battle)
Ida (possibly “work”)
Irma (whole, great)
Klara (clear, bright)
Liesel (a pet form of Elisabeth)
Mathilda (strength in battle)
Ursula (little bear)
Lotte (short for Charlotte)
Elke (a pet form of Adelheid)
Leni (short for Helene or Magdalena)
Luise (famous in battle)
Anke (a pet form of Anna)
Minka
Gretel
Marlene
Hannelore
Fräulein
Male German names and what they mean
Conrad (brave counsel)
Emil (from a Latin word for “rival”)
Friedrich (peaceful ruler)
Fritz (a pet form of Friedrich)
Gunther (from old words for “war” and “army”)
Hans (short for Johannes)
Heinrich (home ruler)
Hugo (mind, spirit)
Jonas (dove)
Karl (man)
Klaus (short for Nikolaus, “victory of the people”)
Kurt (a short form of Konrad)
Leon (lion)
Levin (dear friend)
Maximilian (greatest)
Max (short for Maximilian)
Sigmund (victory and protection)
Theo (short for Theodor, “gift of God”)
Tobias (“God is good”)
Wolfgang (wolf and path)
Otto (wealth, fortune)
Bruno (brown, or armor)
Felix (Latin for “lucky”)
Moritz (the German form of Maurice)
Axel
Dieter
Names from German places and culture
Berlin
Hamburg
Bremen (the Brothers Grimm tale The Town Musicians of Bremen stars a donkey, a dog, a cat and a rooster)
Dresden
Rhine
Bach
Beethoven
Brahms
Goethe
Faust
Grimm
Hansel
Rapunzel
Einstein
Italian cat names
In Italian a cat is a gatto and a kitty is a micio. Rome is famous for its cats: the Torre Argentina Cat Sanctuary, set among the ancient ruins of Largo di Torre Argentina, looks after around 150 of them.
Many Italians are traditionally named after saints, which gives cat owners some lovely options. Francesco or Francesca honors St Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals. Geltrude honors St Gertrude of Nivelles, who in recent decades has become known, unofficially, as the patron saint of cats. And film fans can thank a real stray for one of cinema's best-known cats. The cat on Marlon Brando's lap in the opening scene of The Godfather was not in the script: director Francis Ford Coppola found it wandering the studio lot that morning.
Italian words that make sweet cat names
Gatto (cat)
Gattino (kitten)
Micio (kitty)
Baffi (whiskers)
Birba (little rascal)
Briciola (crumb)
Polpetta (meatball)
Nuvola (cloud)
Neve (snow)
Ombra (shadow)
Stella (star)
Luna (moon)
Fiore (flower)
Tesoro (treasure, darling)
Bacio (kiss)
Tenero (tender)
Sonno (sleep: for a champion napper)
Lupo (wolf; the Italian wolf is the country's unofficial national animal)
Mafalda (ribbon pasta named after Princess Mafalda of Savoy)
Rotelle
Ravioli
Gnocchi
Tortellini
Linguine
Lasagna
Pesto
Risotto
Focaccia
Biscotti
Cannoli
Gelato
Tiramisù
Panna Cotta
Espresso
Cappuccino
Mozzarella
Ricotta
Parmesan
Prosecco
Bellini
Amaretto
Pistacchio
Limoncello
Female Italian cat names
Alessandra
Aurora
Beatrice (Dante's muse)
Carlotta
Caterina
Chiara (clear, bright)
Elena
Fiorella
Francesca (after St Francis, patron saint of animals)
Gemma (gem)
Gioconda (La Gioconda is the Italian name of the Mona Lisa)
Giovanna
Giulia
Isabella
Lucia
Lucrezia
Marcella
Martina
Nicoletta
Paola
Raffaella
Serafina (from the seraphim, “fiery ones”)
Serena
Sofia (after Sophia Loren)
Valentina
Viola
Artemisia (after the Baroque painter Artemisia Gentileschi)
Geltrude (after the unofficial patron saint of cats)
Agnese
Donatella
Ginevra
Bettina
Tosca
Signorina
Male Italian cat names
Aldo (from an old word for “old”)
Alfredo
Angelo
Carlo
Dante (short for Durante, “enduring”)
Enzo
Fabrizio
Federico
Francesco
Giorgio
Giovanni
Giuseppe
Guido
Leonardo (brave lion)
Lorenzo
Luca (the Italian form of Luke)
Luigi
Marcello
Marco
Mario
Massimo
Matteo
Nico
Paolo
Pietro
Renzo
Roberto
Romeo
Salvatore
Sergio
Stefano
Tito
Uberto (after St Hubert, patron saint of hunters)
Vincenzo
Vito (as in Vito Corleone)
Felice (the Italian form of Felix, “lucky”)
Names from Italian art, music, film and places
Michelangelo
Donatello
Raffaello
Botticelli
Caravaggio (the painter famous for strong light and dark: a clever pick for a black and white cat)
Titian (a shade of red hair is named after this painter: for a ginger cat)
Galileo
Vivaldi
Verdi
Puccini
Pavarotti
Fellini
Figaro (Geppetto's kitten in Disney's Pinocchio)
Pinocchio
Geppetto
Corleone
Roma
Milano
Venezia
Firenze
Napoli
Capri
Siena
Verona
Vesuvio
Amalfi
Como
Toscana
Egyptian cat names
No country is more closely linked with cats than Egypt. The ancient Egyptian word for cat was miu, which sounds like a meow, and the Egyptian Mau breed takes its name from it. Cats were sacred to the goddess Bastet, whose home city was Bubastis, and huge numbers of cats were mummified. The Greek historian Herodotus wrote that when a house cat died, everyone in the household shaved off their eyebrows in mourning.
We even know the names of a few real ancient Egyptian cats. The earliest named cat on record is Nedjem, meaning “sweet” or “pleasant”, who lived during the reign of Thutmose III (1479 to 1425 BC). Ta-Miu, “she-cat”, belonged to Crown Prince Thutmose and was buried in her own limestone sarcophagus. Two things you may read elsewhere are not true, though. There is no historical record that Cleopatra had a cat called Tivali, and the hairless Sphynx is not an Egyptian breed: it began in Toronto, Canada, in 1966.
Real ancient Egyptian cat names and cat words
Nedjem (“sweet”: the earliest named cat on record)
Ta-Miu (“she-cat”: the pet of Crown Prince Thutmose)
Miu (cat)
Miut (female cat)
Mau (after the Egyptian Mau, a naturally spotted breed)
Pami (a pharaoh whose name means “he who belongs to the cat”)
Egyptian gods and goddesses
Bastet (the cat-headed goddess of the home, fertility and protection, first shown as a lioness)
Sekhmet (lioness-headed goddess of war and medicine)
Mafdet (an early feline goddess who protected against snakes and scorpions)
Maahes (lion-headed god of war)
Pakhet (a lioness goddess whose name means “she who scratches”)
Tefnut (lioness-headed goddess of moisture)
Ra (the sun god; in the Book of the Dead he appears as a cat killing the serpent Apep)
Osiris (god of the afterlife)
Isis (the wife who put Osiris back together)
Anubis (jackal-headed god of mummification)
Thoth (ibis-headed god of wisdom and writing)
Horus (falcon-headed god of the sky)
Hathor (goddess of love, music and joy)
Bes (the dwarf god who protected homes, mothers and children)
Nut (goddess of the sky)
Geb (god of the earth)
Shu (god of the air)
Khonsu (god of the moon)
Ma'at (goddess of truth and justice)
Ammit (the “devourer of the dead”)
Sobek (the crocodile god)
Taweret (the hippo goddess who protected mothers in childbirth)
Ptah (creator god of Memphis)
Seshat (goddess of writing)
Neith
Nephthys
Amun
Set
Queens, pharaohs and famous Egyptians
Cleopatra (Greek for “glory of the father”)
Cleo
Nefertiti (“the beautiful one has come”)
Nefertari (“the most beautiful”)
Hatshepsut (“foremost of noble women”; one of the few women to rule Egypt as pharaoh)
Sobekneferu (the earliest confirmed woman to rule Egypt)
Tiye
Ankhesenamun
Meritaten
Merneith
Sitamun
Henuttawy
Nofret
Kawit
Kemsit
Mutemwiya
Ahhotep
Hypatia (Greek for “highest”: the great scholar of Alexandria)
Imhotep (“he comes in peace”; credited with designing the step pyramid at Saqqara)
Tutankhamun (“living image of Amun”)
Tut
Ramses (“born of Ra”)
Akhenaten (“effective for Aten”)
Ahmose
Amenhotep
Thutmose
Seti
Khufu
Sneferu
Djoser
Narmer
Horemheb
Senenmut (Queen Hatshepsut's steward)
Nebamun (an official whose tomb painting, now in the British Museum, shows his cat catching birds)
Meketre
Mereruka
Kagemni
Pharaoh
Arabic names used in Egypt today
Modern Egyptians mostly have Arabic names, and many of them suit a cat well.
Aisha (alive)
Layla (night)
Amira (princess)
Habiba (beloved)
Jamila (beautiful)
Nour (light)
Zahra (flower; shining)
Yasmin (jasmine)
Farah (joy)
Amal (hope)
Aida (“returning, visitor”; also the heroine of Verdi's opera set in ancient Egypt)
Khalid (eternal)
Karim (generous)
Malik (king)
Aziz (powerful, beloved)
Asad (lion)
Omar (flourishing, long-lived)
Hakim (wise)
Faruq (one who can tell right from wrong)
Kamal (perfection)
Names from Egypt's places and treasures
Cairo
Giza
Luxor
Memphis
Nile
Aswan
Karnak
Thebes
Sinai
Alexandria
Sahara
Nubia
Sphinx
Ankh (the symbol of life)
Scarab (a symbol of rebirth)
Lotus (a symbol of the sun and rebirth)
Lapis (lapis lazuli, the blue stone the Egyptians loved)
Papyrus
Pyramid
Oasis
Hawaiian cat names
Hawaiian names are soft, musical and full of vowels. The Hawaiian alphabet has just 13 letters, and the Hawaiian word for cat is pōpoki.
Many Hawaiian “meanings” on name sites are wrong, so the word meanings in this section were checked against the standard Hawaiian Dictionary by Mary Kawena Pukui and Samuel Elbert. Where the proper Hawaiian spelling uses an ʻokina (ʻ) or a kahakō (a line over a long vowel), we show it in brackets.
Sweet Hawaiian cat names
Popoki (pōpoki: cat)
Aloha (love and affection, as well as hello)
Ohana (ʻohana: family)
Mahalo (thanks)
Makana (gift)
Nani (beautiful)
Keiki (child)
Ipo (sweetheart)
Kuuipo (kuʻu ipo: my sweetheart)
Hiwahiwa (precious, beloved)
Halia (haliʻa: a sudden fond memory of a loved one)
Nohea (handsome, lovely)
Ui (uʻi: youthful, beautiful)
Hauoli (hauʻoli: happy)
Onaona (softly fragrant; gentle and sweet)
Iki (small)
Lii (liʻi: tiny)
Nui (big)
Maka (eye; also “beloved one”)
Liko (leaf bud; a child)
Lokahi (lōkahi: unity, harmony)
Malu (shelter, peace)
Anela (ʻānela: angel)
Malie (mālie: calm)
Kalea (joy, happiness)
Hawaiian names for bold and playful cats
Koa (brave; a warrior; also a native Hawaiian tree)
Ikaika (strong)
Makoa (fearless)
Eleu (ʻeleu: lively, nimble)
Kolohe (mischievous; a rascal)
Lele (to jump or fly)
Haaheo (haʻaheo: proud)
Holokai (seafarer)
Iolana (ʻiolana: to soar like a hawk)
Hiapo (firstborn)
Alii (aliʻi: chief, royal)
Haku (lord, master)
Wahine (woman, lady)
Kane (kāne: man)
Mano (manō: shark)
Hae (wild, fierce)
Hawaiian nature names
Kai (sea)
Moana (ocean)
Nalu (wave)
Wai (water)
Mahina (moon)
Hoku (hōkū: star)
Lani (sky, heaven; royal)
Ua (rain)
Anuenue (ānuenue: rainbow)
Makani (wind)
Noe (mist)
Alaula (the light of early dawn)
Ahi (fire)
Pele (lava; also the volcano goddess)
Pua (flower)
Lei (garland)
Kiele (gardenia)
Melia (plumeria)
Pikake (pīkake: jasmine)
Maile (a fragrant vine used for lei)
Lehua (the flower of the ʻōhiʻa tree)
Lokelani (loke lani: the small red rose that is Maui's flower)
Manu (bird)
Honu (turtle)
Naia (naiʻa: dolphin)
Pueo (the Hawaiian owl)
Mele (song)
Kani (sound: for a talkative cat)
Olelo (ʻōlelo: speech, language)
Hula
Ukulele (ʻukulele: literally “leaping flea”)
Hawaiian names by coat color
Eleele (ʻeleʻele: black)
Keokeo (keʻokeʻo: white)
Haunani (“beautiful snow”: for a white cat)
Ahinahina (ʻāhinahina: gray; also the silversword plant)
Uahi (smoke: for a gray cat)
Ehu (ʻehu: reddish, said of hair: for a ginger cat)
Alani (ʻalani: orange, the fruit)
Melemele (yellow)
Ulaula (ʻulaʻula: red)
Kiko (spot)
Kikokiko (spotted, speckled)
Hawaiian given names
Leilani (“heavenly flowers” or “royal child”)
Kalani (the heavens)
Keala (the path)
Keahi (the fire)
Kaipo (the sweetheart)
Uilani (Uʻilani: heavenly beauty)
Noelani (heavenly mist)
Kaimana (diamond; also “power of the sea”)
Kanoa (the free one)
Kainoa (“the namesake” or “sea of freedom”)
Akamu (the Hawaiian form of Adam)
Keoni (the Hawaiian form of John)
Alika (the Hawaiian form of Alex)
Lilo (the girl in Disney's Lilo & Stitch, which is set on Kauaʻi)
Hawaiian food names
Poke (from a word meaning “to slice”: the raw fish dish)
Poi (pounded taro)
Kalo (taro)
Haupia (coconut pudding)
Lilikoi (lilikoʻi: passion fruit)
Niu (coconut)
Maia (maiʻa: banana)
Kona (the leeward side of an island, and a name known for coffee)
Malasada (a Portuguese-style doughnut loved in Hawaiʻi)
Musubi
Loco Moco
Manapua
Laulau
Huli Huli (huli means “to turn”, as the grilled chicken is turned)
Names from Hawaiian legends, people and places
Maui (the trickster hero of Hawaiian legend)
Hina (goddess of the moon)
Laka (goddess of hula)
Poliahu (Poliʻahu: a snow goddess of Mauna Kea: for a white cat)
Namaka (Nāmaka: sea goddess and Pele's older sister)
Lono
Kanaloa
Kamehameha (the king who united the islands)
Liliuokalani (Liliʻuokalani: Hawaiʻi's last reigning monarch)
Kaiulani (Kaʻiulani: a Hawaiian princess)
Duke (after Duke Kahanamoku, who made surfing popular)
Iz (after the singer Israel Kamakawiwoʻole)
Hokulea (Hōkūleʻa: “star of gladness”, the Hawaiian name of a bright star and of a famous voyaging canoe)
Haleakala (Haleakalā: “house of the sun”)
Mauna Kea (“white mountain”)
Kilauea (Kīlauea: “spewing”)
Honolulu (“sheltered bay”)
Waikiki (Waikīkī: “spouting water”)
Hanalei (“crescent bay”)
Kailua (“two seas”)
Hilo
Kauai
Oahu
Lanai
Molokai
Kihei (kīhei: a cape or shawl)
Russian cat names
Russian has two everyday words for a cat: kot for a tomcat and koshka for a cat in general. The classic Russian cat names are Barsik (“little snow leopard”), Murka and Murzik (both from mur, the Russian sound of a purr) and Vaska, a pet form of Vasily.
Cats have a real job at Russia's most famous museum. In 1745 Empress Elizabeth ordered cats to be brought to her palace in St Petersburg to deal with the mice, and a colony of dozens of cats still lives at the Hermitage Museum today. Russia is also home to several cat breeds: the Russian Blue, the Siberian, the Neva Masquerade, the Donskoy, the Peterbald and the Kurilian Bobtail.
Want to go fully Russian? Russians use a first name, a patronymic made from the father's name (ending in -ovich for a son and -ovna for a daughter) and a family name. That is how the cat in one Russian folk tale comes to be called Kotofey Ivanovich.
Classic Russian cat names and cat words
Barsik (“little snow leopard”)
Murka (from mur, the sound of purring)
Murzik (the male version of Murka)
Vaska (a pet form of Vasily)
Kuzya (a pet form of Kuzma)
Kot (tomcat)
Koshka (cat)
Kotik (little cat)
Kotyonok (kitten)
Kisa (kitty)
Pushok (fluff)
Ryzhik (“ginger one”)
Snezhok (snowball)
Snezhinka (snowflake)
Dymka (haze: a classic name for a gray cat)
Ugolyok (little coal: for a black cat)
Chernysh (“blackie”)
Lapka (little paw)
Lapochka (sweetie)
Malysh (little one)
Solnyshko (little sun)
Mishka (little bear; also a pet form of Mikhail)
Russian words that make good cat names
Zvezda (star)
Zoloto (gold)
Zima (winter)
Sneg (snow)
Buran (blizzard)
Molniya (lightning)
Strela (arrow)
Dusha (soul)
Barkhat (velvet)
Biryuza (turquoise)
Medved (bear)
Oryol (eagle)
Volk (wolf)
Lisa (fox)
Sobol (sable)
Belka (squirrel)
Tigr (tiger)
Lev (lion)
Okhotnik (hunter)
Lyuty (fierce)
Barynya (lady of the manor)
Baryshnya (young lady)
Grafinya (countess)
Tsaritsa (tsarina, queen)
Tsar (from the Latin “Caesar”)
Charodeyka (enchantress)
Babushka (grandmother)
Luchik (little ray of light)
Rifma (rhyme)
Mir (peace; world)
Sputnik (“companion”; the first satellite)
Vostok (east; the spacecraft that carried Yuri Gagarin)
Male Russian names and nicknames
Russians shorten almost every name into a friendly pet form, and those short forms make great cat names.
Aleksandr (defending men)
Sasha (the pet form of Aleksandr or Aleksandra)
Shurik (another pet form of Aleksandr)
Anatoly (sunrise)
Bogdan (given by God)
Boris (possibly “wolf” or “snow leopard”)
Dmitri
Dima (short for Dmitri)
Fyodor (gift of God)
Igor
Ivan
Vanya (short for Ivan)
Mikhail
Misha (short for Mikhail)
Nikita (victor; in Russia this is a man's name)
Nikolai (victory of the people)
Kolya (short for Nikolai)
Oleg
Pyotr
Petya (short for Pyotr)
Pavel
Pasha (short for Pavel)
Ruslan (the hero of Pushkin's poem Ruslan and Ludmila)
Viktor (victor)
Vladimir (“great ruler”)
Vova (short for Vladimir)
Yuri (the Russian form of George)
Aleksei
Alyosha (short for Aleksei)
Yasha (short for Yakov)
Grisha (short for Grigori)
Gleb
Vadim
Maksim
Rurik (the traditional founder of the Rurik dynasty)
Female Russian names and nicknames
Anastasia (resurrection)
Nastya (short for Anastasia)
Anya (short for Anna)
Darya
Dasha (short for Darya)
Ekaterina
Katya (short for Ekaterina)
Lyubov (love)
Lyudmila (favor of the people)
Masha (short for Maria)
Mila (gracious, dear)
Milena
Miroslava (peace and glory)
Nadezhda (hope)
Nadia (short for Nadezhda)
Natalya
Natasha (short for Natalya)
Olga
Olya (short for Olga)
Sonya (short for Sofia)
Svetlana (light)
Sveta (short for Svetlana)
Tatyana (the heroine of Pushkin's Eugene Onegin)
Tanya (short for Tatyana)
Vera (faith)
Zoya (life)
Irina
Alina
Larisa
Polina
Marina
Raisa
Names from Russian stories, space and places
Behemoth (the huge black cat in Bulgakov's novel The Master and Margarita)
Bayun (Kot Bayun, the giant storytelling cat of Russian folk tales)
Matroskin (the talking cat in the cartoon Three from Prostokvashino)
Leopold (the hero of the Soviet cartoon Leopold the Cat)
Kotofey (the cat in the folk tale “The Fox and Kotofey Ivanovich”)
Baba Yaga (the witch of Slavic folklore)
Koschei (Koschei the Deathless, a folklore villain)
Firebird (the glowing bird of folklore and of Stravinsky's 1910 ballet)
Rasputin (by legend, very hard to kill: for a cat with nine lives)
Bartok (the white bat in the 1997 animated film Anastasia)
Pushkin
Tolstoy
Chekhov
Dostoevsky
Tchaikovsky
Stravinsky
Pavlova (after the ballerina Anna Pavlova, who also gave her name to the dessert)
Gagarin (Yuri Gagarin was the first person in space, in 1961)
Laika (the first dog to orbit the Earth, in 1957)
Strelka (with Belka, she orbited the Earth and came home safely in 1960)
Baikal (the world's deepest lake)
Elbrus (the highest mountain in Russia and in Europe)
Volga
Neva
Lena
Oka
Kama
Kamchatka
Karelia
Kaluga
Taiga
Tundra
Siberia
Hermitage
Names for a Russian Blue cat
The Russian Blue is also known as the Archangel Blue, because the breed is believed to have come from the Russian port of Arkhangelsk. It has a blue-gray coat and vivid green eyes. Dymka, Barkhat and Biryuza from the lists above all suit one, and so do these:
Siniy (deep blue)
Zelyony (green: for those eyes)
Izumrud (emerald)
Archangel (after the breed's other name)
Russian food names
Blini (thin pancakes)
Pelmeni (dumplings)
Pirozhki (small stuffed buns)
Syrniki (cottage cheese fritters)
Kasha (porridge)
Solyanka (a thick sour soup)
Kvass (a fermented bread drink)
Pryanik (spiced honey gingerbread)
Medovik (honey cake)
Zefir (a soft, airy sweet)
Smetana (sour cream)
Vatrushka (a cheese-filled pastry)
Ponchik (doughnut)
Pyshka (doughnut; also a fond word for someone plump)
Grusha (pear)
Khurma (persimmon)
How to choose a name from another language
Check the meaning first. Name sites often copy each other's mistakes. We found plenty while putting this list together, so look a word up in a dictionary before you settle on it.
Say it out loud. You will use this name many times a day, at the vet and across the garden. If you stumble over it, pick the short form: Sasha is easier to call than Aleksandr.
Keep it short, or give it a nickname. Long names such as Tutankhamun or Liliuokalani are fun on paper and usually end up as Tut and Lili at home.
Match the name to the cat. A coat color (Neige, Schwarz, Nero, Eleele, Dymka), a habit (Sonno for a napper, Kolohe for a rascal) or a breed's homeland all make good starting points.
Try it for a few days. If the name still feels right after a week of saying it, and your cat is starting to look up when it hears it, you have a winner.
Bringing a new cat home? Our guide to the best cat food brands covers what to feed.
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