When I adopted my very first cat, Bascha, I spent a lot of time researching cat names, including what makes a cat name magical. These are the principles I used then and they have guided us with naming The Triplets today.
First, Get to Know Your Cat
Sometimes this happens very quickly. It’s almost like your intuition tells you “Hotspur” or “Miss Mittens.” This often happens to me when I meet Cats in the Hood. For example, I’m sure you can see why I named this guy “The Emperor.”
But cats can be subtle creatures and it may take a while for them to reveal themselves to you. Give yourself a chance to see them in different situations and moods. If you’ve just brought them home, give them a while to adjust. Their seemingly tentative nature may give way to something entirely different once they feel at home.
Trippingly off the Tongue
Make it a name that you enjoy saying, something that’s delicious to your mouth. This is where our personality is the magic ingredient. Some of us like sweet tiny bonbons while others enjoy savoury treats. Try saying “Piu-Piu” or “Salamander” or “Harvey”. Notice how different each feels? You’ll be saying this name a lot. Let it be soupcon of delight.
Sweet Nothings
Choose a name that is rich in sounds that are easily discernible to your cat. With Bascha it was the “sh” sound. With Jinx, the “ks”. If you’re unsure, try the name a few times and watch for a hint of movement in the cat, especially in the ears. If you find they keep turning their ear towards you when you use the name, you’ve got a winner.
PS You can tune the names you’ve chosen for a cat’s ear and we naturally tend to do that by adding a bit of rhythm or a sing-song quality to how we say it. I can still hear how my sister Shannon would call out to her sweet Gobo. His name had a melody all its own.
Try It On for Size
Spend a day using the name. See how you feel about it and how your new-found friend likes it too. A name that feels good to both you & your cat will become a word of love magically bonding the two of you throughout your lifetime.
Re-Introducing the Triplets
We’ve been going through this process with the triplets. We knew it was time because their “names for now” were starting to stick. After much contemplation, conversation and experimentation, we have found names we just love for Big Brother, Little Sister and Grey.
Scout (aka Big Brother): This was the one name we all knew immediately was exactly right. He’s the explorer, the first to jump up and over and behind – but only if there are no people nearby. He’s also the most distant so far, the one who has the most to learn about being around us humans.
Escher (aka Grey): Escher is a gentle, contemplative cat. We thought the name of the Dutch artist whose meticulous works are thoughtful and mysterious and feature “velvety dark greys and blacks” would suit him just right.
Shibumi (aka Little Sister): This is a subtle Japanese word describing a of beauty and we just love the sound of it, especially the “boom” in the middle. I heard this word over a year ago and have been carrying it in my heart. One look at Little Sister and we knew it was hers.
kismet.
i was laying on the floor while he went exploring around the living room. he had disappeared into the depths of sofa and chairs. i called out names. damiel was one … i forget some of the others … but when called kismet, he chirpped, came running and head butted me then flopped and purred.
i was not planning on getting another cat at the time. but he chose me and his enteringmy life just at that time was certinly fate.
Oh!! What a beautiful story. Thank you for sharing it. I’m still smiling.
Great names! I have a Scout kitty, too (sister kitties – Boo and Scout). <3
How cool is that! And, you know, in our family, we call my sister Shannon Boo ;)
My baby (now the oldest of our animals) is named October. He’s a black cat and I named him after a plushie I had as a kid XD. Then we have Maurice, who we call Moose, because he’s a big kitty. And finally we have Sasha. She was a stray that came up to me when I saw her outside. Her name just came to me.
Oh, what a family you have! Wonderful names and wonderful stories. Thank you for sharing!
My children named all cats (and dogs) that have found their way to our home and hearts – Back Pumpkin was a tiny black cat that we found – after many vet trips and tender care, he did not make it – he was followed by an orange cat (Pumpkin) and another black cat (another Black Pumpkin) – a dog (Hot Dog) – But I regress – my cats today (named by youngest daughter) Simon – Angel and Helena (we call her Bainer) – dogs – Bailey – Sasha and Fergie – The first dog I ever loved was Jigger – He was so tiny and the owner was going to put him down so my dad took him – He could fit in Jigger so that was his name – I was 3 and my dad set the bar on how animals were to be treated –
Nice photos. Name anything is an art of own sense. At this time I’m working on an “pagan” name. I know I need the word “Rock” in mine.
Coffee is on
Great names Jamie.
I have Isis and Osiris, they are sister and brother, and as kittens they were sleek and often sat like an Egyptian sphinx. They also adored each other, much like the Egyptian Goddess and God.
My 2 semi-wild outdoor boys are Phantom and Shadow. Phantom got his name because he would appear out of no where when he was hungry, and then when Shadow realised I was feeding Phantom, he would follow him to ensure he too was fed. They are the best of friends and they’re never too far from each other.
We had several cats with names with i (french, said -e) and ou, Grisou, Kinou… Two of the cats we have now are from a shelter. The tuxedo is Mixou. We choose the name before knowing the cat, because of the i ou… And he was the cat meant for us. The calico choosen us . Her name is Miranda. It was also her name at the shelter. Now we say more often Mimi. We kept their names from the shelter because this time is part of their history. The third came as a stray kitten. We named him Pilou because he looked exactly the same as a cat with this name in a book my brother loved as a child. And it’s a name with i ou! All the three know their name and come running when we call them.
I have never ever had a cat. But I am a dog-lover. atm I have 7 dogs (well one is my brothers and two are my sons – but they are with me more time than with their owners, i feed them, bath them and look after them when they are sick). The males are named Bear, Tweak and Jaiva. The females are :Lucy (from Peanuts), Bonny, Shadow and Grace.
love their names especially Shibumi !!!
We once adopted an all-black stray cat. We eventually named him Sumi-e after the Japanese Zen style of brush painting. He was a very “in the moment” cat and the name fit him perfectly.
We have Lottie, Mac and Pepper. Lottie (aka Lotskins and Doodars) because it sounded as sweet as she looks, Mac was originally Mackenzie but that lasted about a day- he also goes by Macintosh, Macaroni and Macadoodle. Finally we have Pepper our stray who adopted us. At first we couldn’t get close enough to determine her sex but we thought she was a boy. We’d just seen Iron Man at the cinema and because she has a slight goatee we called her Robert. That changed to Pepper (also from the movie) when we realised she was a girl! It suits her black and white colouring. She is also Peps for short, Pepsicles and Pepsi-cola! All the kids on the street know their names. The other day Pepper was sitting on an upstairs windowledge looking down into the front garden. Some of the children spotted her and called up to her, so I hid from sight and pretended to talk to them for her. They thought that was the best thing ever – although now I have made a rod for my own back because they keep knocking at the door asking if Pepper can talk to them (I think they know it’s me now but they like the game!!).
I love that you have nicknames for your fur family. My animals always get nicknames and answer to all their names. :)
My cats are called Kiwi and Willow. We wanted two names that followed on from each other. Ie end of Kiwi, wi and start of Willow wi as Willow is kiwis kitten so they belonged together. We got them from the local cat shelter. Kiwi is a tuxedo black and white and Willow is a tabby tortoiseshell white and their names suit them perfectly. Love the names of your cats xx
Jamie, I’ve so enjoyed your journey with the kittens and love your naming process…. it is such a magical link…. perfect for each one.
All of my furry companions are rescues which meant there were established names involved. So I kept Sweetpea (a Jack Russell) and Jasper ( a Ragdoll who was considered too affectionate by his previous owners). When a young Rat Terrier showed up at the shelter and was having trouble being placed I knew he’d fit in with the other big personalities at our house but I just couldn’t abide the name he came with (Elvis) so after trying on a few experiments, he became Raffi. Finally an unsocialized silver bengal who wouldn’t allow humans to touch her or pick her up but loved dogs and other cats…..arrived without a name and was very relieved when the other critters could vouch for me…… she became Caprice. I’m always amazed by the generosity and tolerance they have shown to each other as a new member was added and how they fold together into a community in a very brief time.
When we got our first cat, a little female, I remember exactly how her name came to me. I was walking home, wondering what we were going to call her, and a song by the Boo Radleys (UK indie band) popped into my mind, a song I hadn’t listened to for at least over 10 years! That song was called ‘It’s Lulu’, so Lulu it was, it was meant to be. Our Lulu is a lovely independent funny diva, her name suits her well.
When we got our second cat, a little male, his foster family had already named him ‘Filou’, and while it would not have been my first choice, it suits him well. He’s a curious playful not-so-smart cat that always gets into trouble with other kitties, and I love him <3
Our fosters are a different story.
Our first fosters were mum and son, she was already named 'Halloween' by her previous owner, and it was perfect. A lovely calico but primarily ginger, which is not so often, and always ready for mischief. Her little one, a black cat, was named Carbone by my boyfriend. Their forever family has kept those names.
Our second foster had no name when he arrived. A lovely sweet and gentle ginger, I called him 'Jolicoeur' ("pretty heart"). His forever family has renamed him Leo and it works well too :)
Our current foster had no name either, he might have had in a previous life but we don't know. He is a big boy (who needs to put on weight though, he was found as a stray in a cemetery) and there is something regal about him, so I named him 'Oberyn' by the Game of Thrones character – I don't why this one, it was just obvious (hopefully he will have a better life now than GoT Oberyn did).
And the strays…
I named one of them 'Boulette' ("Little ball"), because she is so little and round. She's super scared of humans but knows when it's time to eat ;) She's almost our third permanent cat.
And my love Pirate, an old limping stinking one-eyed stray who was settling in last winter. Boulette was his friend. We had a great bond, I took care of him and his pierced eye, he was my 'pépère', was recognizing the name 'Pirate' I had given him, and I was going to adopt him officially, but one day three months ago he left and never came back. It's still hard for me to think about him and write this without crying.
Ok I wrote a novel here, hope you don't mind a bit of reading ;)
I love naming kitties. It is sometimes a challenge. Our Janis took a while. We had considered Janis because she was a “wild child” and sang a lot. A customer at the bank where I worked told me that he’d known Janis Joplin back in the day and they always called her JJ. (I had shown him pictures of our new kitten and mentioned her potential name.) Well, my husband liked the story and the nickname, so Janis stuck. She is often JJ or just J.
My oldest (14 next month) is Mabel because she is a semi-long haired calico with a lot of white & looks like she belongs in a Victorian painting. I’ve had her since she was 5 weeks old. My youngest (12 next month) is Tessa. She really isn’t a Tessa, but came with the name so I left it. Both are rescues.
First, I want to say I can’t thank you enough for adopting those cat babies. Thank you! Jamie , you make a good cat mommy.
Second) sending love to Emmanuele and Pirate.
Hammer and Nails arrived together as abandoned sisters. Nails was named for her accupunture abilities. She loves to give a good massage. Hammer got her name as a tag along.
Oh, thank you so much! And thanks for sharing your names. I’m still giggling at how evocative the name Nails is! :)
Thank you :)
Also, love your cats’ names! :D