Cat names by letter

Naming a cat is harder than it sounds: it has to please the whole household and, above all, it has to work when said out loud twenty times a day. Starting from a letter makes the choice easier.

Many breeders give each litter a letter, and the kittens from that litter are named accordingly. In France it is compulsory for cats registered with the LOOF — the name must begin with the letter of the birth year. There is no such rule in the UK or Ireland.

What actually matters: cats respond better to short names of one or two syllables, and to names ending in a bright vowel — «y» or «a» — because those carry over background noise.

Which letter for which year

France turns this habit into a rule: a cat registered with the LOOF must be named after the letter of its birth year, and 2027 is the year of C. It is the birth date that counts, not the paperwork — a kitten born on 31 December 2026 keeps the B.

Six letters never come up: K, Q, W, X, Y and Z are left out, because they offer too few usable names. Twenty letters remain, hence a twenty-year cycle — the B of 2026 had not come round since 2006.

No UK or Irish registry asks for any of this, and those six letters are yours to use. The table is still worth knowing if your kitten comes from a French pedigree, or if your breeder keeps the same habit. And if you want a long C list rather than an A–Z index, we have one: 180 cat names starting with C for 2027, male and female, with the B list for 2026 and the A list for 2025.

Cat names from A to Z

A

Males: Alfie, Arlo, Ash, Apollo, Atlas
Females: Amber, Aria, Alba, Aura, Abby

B

Males: Biscuit, Bailey, Bruno, Boots, Bandit
Females: Bella, Bonnie, Bluebell, Breeze, Betsy

C

Males: Charlie, Chester, Caspar, Cosmo, Clover
Females: Coco, Cleo, Cassie, Cora, Cinnamon

D

Males: Dexter, Dusty, Django, Diesel, Dash
Females: Daisy, Delta, Dora, Dixie, Dawn

E

Males: Ember, Elvis, Eddie, Echo, Enzo
Females: Ellie, Esme, Elsa, Eva, Erin

F

Males: Felix, Finn, Figaro, Frankie, Fox
Females: Freya, Fern, Flora, Fiona, Fudge

G

Males: Gizmo, Gus, Garfield, Gandalf, Ghost
Females: Gracie, Ginger, Greta, Gaia, Goldie

H

Males: Hobbes, Hugo, Hunter, Horus, Hank
Females: Hazel, Holly, Honey, Hera, Hattie

I

Males: Indy, Inca, Iggy, Icarus, Ivan
Females: Ivy, Iris, Isla, India, Indie

J

Males: Jasper, Jinx, Jet, Jonah, Jango
Females: Jess, Juno, Jade, Josie, Joy

K

Males: Kobe, Kit, Kai, Kuro, Koda
Females: Kira, Kaia, Kiwi, Kenzie, Kelsey

L

Males: Loki, Leo, Louie, Lucky, Lynx
Females: Luna, Lola, Lily, Lacey, Lyra

M

Males: Milo, Mittens, Moose, Merlin, Mack
Females: Maisie, Mia, Molly, Misty, Mabel

N

Males: Nero, Nico, Nash, Noah, Nutmeg
Females: Nala, Nell, Nova, Nina, Noodle

O

Males: Oreo, Oscar, Otis, Onyx, Ollie
Females: Olive, Opal, Orla, Oakley, Ola

P

Males: Pepper, Percy, Patch, Pumpkin, Pluto
Females: Poppy, Pearl, Piper, Pixie, Penny

Q

Males: Quincy, Quartz, Quentin
Females: Queenie, Quinn, Quilla

R

Males: Rocky, Rufus, Riley, Rascal, Ranger
Females: Ruby, Rosie, Rayna, River, Robin

S

Males: Simba, Smokey, Sushi, Shadow, Scout
Females: Sadie, Stella, Sky, Suki, Sage

T

Males: Tigger, Toby, Tofu, Thor, Teddy
Females: Tilly, Tara, Tess, Tilda, Trixie

U

Males: Ulysses, Umber, Uno, Ulric
Females: Una, Ulla, Uma, Ursa

V

Males: Vinnie, Viggo, Vito, Vader, Vulcan
Females: Vera, Violet, Venus, Vida, Vixen

W

Males: Wasabi, Watson, Winston, Wolf
Females: Willow, Winnie, Wanda, Wren

X

Males: Xander, Xeno, Xavi
Females: Xena, Xenia, Xara

Y

Males: Yoshi, Yuki, Yogi
Females: Yara, Yuna, Yuma

Z

Males: Zeus, Ziggy, Zorro, Zane
Females: Zoe, Zara, Zuri, Zelda

Making sure the cat knows it

A name is learned by association, not by repetition: said at feeding time, during a stroke or at play, it sticks within days. Used for telling the cat off, it stops working.