Literary Inspired Cat Names

Introduction

One of the most meowtastic places cat lovers can go to find a name for their new fur baby is the world of literature. Cats have been beloved figures in stories, books, and plays for centuries, and people with a literary bent are likely to use characters’ names for their adopted kittens or cats. Many authors have had a love for their own cats as well, and it’s possible to draw from their kitties’ monikers when we’re searching for the right name for our feline family members. Even some human literary characters’ names evoke a feline spirit or appearance.

We’ve made a list of literary-inspired cat names to help you find the pawfect literary-inspired name for your new feline pal.

Did we miss your furvorite literary cat name? Be sure to share it and its story below and tag #wagwalking on Twitter for a chance to be featured!

Literary Cat Names Spotlight

Literary Inspired Cat Names

Cheshire

Cheshire is the name of a county in the northwest area of the UK between Wales and the city of Manchester. It’s one of the places in England where the Industrial Revolution resulted in dramatic population growth, but prior to that, the rural area provided little entertainment for children save what they came up with in their imaginations. Lewis Carroll grew up there as one of seven children born to a pastor of the Church of England.

As an adult, Carroll attempted to have a family of his own, but ultimately gave up on the search for a suitable wife and instead formed close relationships with the children around him by telling them fascinating stories. One of the children, Alice Liddel, was the inspiration for the Adventures of Alice in Wonderland's main character.

While Cheshire Cat naturally evokes the Lewis character, in this area of England, Cheshire Cat examples preceded his novel. Famous Cheshire Cheese was sometimes molded in the form of a cat, and an ancient carving of a smiling cat appeared on the tower of St. Nicolas church. There were many instances of smiling cat imagery and Carroll no doubt synthesized his childhood memories into the form of the Cheshire Cat in his Alice novel. The cat’s mystique, with a special ability to disappear and reappear without warning, along with his enigmatic smile, and sardonic personality made him one of the most memorable characters in literature.

Thought by some to be a villain, the Cheshire Cat also took opportunities to help and counsel Alice in navigating Wonderland safely and returning home. Some scholars studying Victorian “nonsense” fiction see Alice as a child trying to make sense of an adult world. In the process, Alice invents various inhabitants of Wonderland to explain confusing adult behavior. The Cheshire Cat embodies the changing nature, mysteries, and behavior of humans and their cats.

If your new cat is mischievous, sometimes sly, and can disappear from sight and reappear in a wink, Cheshire or Ches may be the absolutely purrfect name for them!

Literary Cat Names Considerations

Everyone has their own furvorite literary characters, whether from childhood books, Shakespeare’s plays or anything in between. Cats inhabit many stories as main or side characters, while others may provide background menace. And some of our most beloved human characters often inspire names for our furry pals too!

Love poetry? You may want to name your brooding, but loving kitty Byron or Shelley. Got a talkative tiger? How about Twain? Into famous chic lit? Bronte or Emma are perfect for regal female cats. Love music and literature? Combine the two with Liszt inspired by the cat in the book Edward the Conquerer by Dahl who is believed to be a reincarnation of the famous composer. With all these furbulous characters, matching your new furry pal's pawsonality with a literary name can be fun and truly inspiring!

Male Male Literary Cat Names

Votes	Name	Vote
0	Hobbes Hobbes is the imaginary cat from the Calvin and Hobbes stories who believes he's a lion.
0	Mr. Mistoffeles The Original Conjuring Cat from the musical "Cats" was based on a character from TS Eliot’s book Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats.
0	Behemoth An enormous, demonic black cat who speaks, walks on two legs, and can transform into human form from the classic Russian novel The Master and Margarita.
0	Atticus The stalwart lawyer character in To Kill a Mockingbird who combines love of family, intelligence, and an ability to express themselves. Just like your new adopted cat!
0	Puck Puck is Shakespeare’s memorable character from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and purrfect for a mischievous, clever feline with a sense of humor.
0	Aslan From CS Lewis’s The Book of Narnia, The Great Lion is the creator and one true king of Narnia. He's often seen as a representation of all that is good. A purrfect name for your well-behaved but powerful Maine Coon.
0	Oliver From the book Oliver the Cat, this mischievous feline likes to hide in many different places.
0	Henry From Shakespeare’s play Henry V, this would be the pawrfect name for a brave, goal-driven cat who loves to play with the family dog and wins every time.
0	Cat Simply and to the point, this title character from the Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss loves to play and make tons of fun out of everyday objects like yarn, balls and hats!
0	Stanley Lessons from Stanley the Cat is a little book of insights and suggestions from Stanley, the author’s cat, translated into snippets about how to live in the world and be content.
0	Boris Boris is one of author Francesco Marciuliano’s cats who inspired him to write I Could Pee on This and Other Poems by Cats. The poems capture attitudes and behaviors of our furvorite kitties.
0	Crookshanks Featured in the Harry Potter book series, Crookshanks had an eye for suspicious characters. His flattened nose and ginger-colored fur might resemble your own discerning ginger Persian kitty.
0	Rum Tum Tugger Another character from The Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, Rum Tum Tugger loves to be the center of attention and is a bit of a rebel. Know any cats like that?
0	Mackerel The cat in the novel The Wind-Up Bird by Murakami who goes missing, causing a long search that ends in many revelations for the main characters.
0	Pixel Pixel is the Cat Who Walks Through Walls from Robert A. Heinlein’s novel of the same name. Pixel could be the name of your magical, inquisitive feline.
0	Sprockets Sprockets is the name of a stowaway feral kitten who becomes a mascot for the spaceship in Gordon Dickson’s novel Mission to Universe.
0	Pluto Pluto is the narrator’s cat in Edgar Allan Poe’s story The Black Cat.
0	Greebo In Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series, a one-eyed, bad-tempered tom cat named Greebo often takes center stage. Greebo’s cat parent thinks he’s the sweetest, but he’s not.
0	Maurice A conniving, tricky cat from another Terry Pratchett book, The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents.
0	Hemingway Ernest Hemingway was known to love cats. He owned many over the years, all descendants of the 6-toed feline he received as a gift from a sea captain in the 1930s.
0	Newton Isaac Newton’s name belongs here because the discoverer of gravity also invented the cat door. Also pawfect for a cat who seems to defy the natural law.
0	Bagheera In The Jungle Book, Bagheera was the sleek black panther who befriended, mentored, and protected Mowgli, the man-cub at the center of the story.
0	Tybalt In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Tybalt is known as the “Prince of Cats.” Any regal feline ready to defend their pride would be ideal for this name.
0	Churchill Churchill is the family cat from Stephen King’s Pet Cemetery who tragically died, was buried in the pet cemetery. and came back a very different cat.
0	Tigger Winnie the Pooh’s friend, traveling companion, and co-philosopher is Tigger, a bouncy, flouncy, one-of-a-kind tiger.
0	Bambino Famous writer Mark Twain’s very large, beloved black cat which was gifted to him by his daughter Clara.
0	Romeo The romantic, doomed lover from Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet. A cat named Romeo would be a purrfect snuggle bug for a lucky human.
0	Thor Thor and his famous hammer, Miolner, feature in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem The Challenge of Thor. A strong, somewhat aggressive tom might be the ideal fit for this name.
0	Cheshire An orange or pale yellow shorthair might proudly carry the name of the English counties that produce some of the world’s most famous cheese, or the ambiguous Cheshire Cat from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
0	Skippyjon Jones The cat from the children’s book of the same name is a Siamese with huge ears perched on an unusually large head, with a smaller-than-usual tail on the opposite end. He thinks he’s a chihuahua, and has imaginary friends called Los Chimichangos.

Female Male Literary Cat Names

Votes	Name	Vote
0	Mimi This cat from Haruki Murakami’s fanciful novel named Kafka on the Shore helps humans search for Goma, a missing tortoiseshell cat.
0	Mog This title character from Mog the Forgetful Cat lives with the Thomas family, and causes them daily frustration with her forgetfulness. One day, however, the trait enables her to thwart a burglar!
0	Ophelia Hamlet’s love from William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet who went crazy and met a tragic end. Simply purrfect for the overdramatic feline in your life.
0	Bathsheba Name your beautiful dark-haired feline after the much sought-after Bathsheba Everdene, the heroine from George Eliot’s Far from the Maddening Crowd
0	Isabella This name comes from the Twilight series of books about a young girl who falls in love with a vampire.
0	Buttercup The cat owned by Primrose Everdeen who survived all 3 installments of the Hunger Games books may be just right for your orange or yellow kitty.
0	Dinah Dinah is Alice's adorable kitten from Alice in Wonderland who loves to hunt. Your little stalker kitty is a pawfect match for this name!
0	Ginger Literature loves redheads! Loosely termed “gingers,” any one of them could be the inspiration for your orange or red cat.
0	Kitsa The Indian in the Wardrobe book's housecat named Kitsa is fierce, disobedient and independent. Does this describe your adorable cat?
0	Mehitabel Created in 1916 and featured in newspaper columns and books, this alley cat’s best furiend was poet cockroach Archy.
0	Moppet Beatrix Potter’s The Story of Miss Moppet introduces a kitten who engages in some not-so-fun back-and-forth teasing with a mouse.
0	Moxie This feline character from The Subtle Knife novel is a brave, resourceful cat who knows the best route to anywhere.
0	Bombalurina Introduced in T.S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, and later a character in the musical "Cats," Bombalurina The Red Queen would be a pawsome name for a flirtatious red cat.
0	Jennyanydots Another remarkable feline from Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, she sleeps during the day and wrangles rats, mice, and cockroaches at night.
0	Kitty Little House on the Prairie’s housecat has a cute name that will fit any female feline.
0	Eureka Dorothy Gale’s talking kitten in the fifth Oz book, Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz, might be the inspiration for your newly discovered stray.
0	Catterina Edgar Allan Poe’s beloved feline Catterina was a constant in his tormented life, often perching on a shoulder while he wrote. Do you have a cat who wants to watch you at work?
0	Zelda F. Scott Fitzgerald’s wife Zelda was a writer in the early 1900s, and with her husband, embodied the Flapper ideal of the 1920s. Your playful, carefree cat will love the name!
0	Emilia So many original cat names have come from Shakespeare’s characters, including Emilia, Iago’s wife in Othello. Emilia is outspoken and brave, like your Siamese cat.
0	Leia One of the most beloved characters in Star Wars books and the subsequent movies, Leia is a brave princess who fights for what she wants in love and war.
0	Snowball In Animal Farm, Snowball is actually a pig who tries to improve conditions for the other animals. Intelligent, assertive cats may be called Snowball because of their color, but they may also have a revolutionary soul.
0	Hermione This muggle magician from the Harry Potter novels was the smartest wizard of them all! Furrific for a cat who outsmarts their family regularly.
0	Willamena Charles Dickens had a loved cat named William. When “William” had a litter of kittens, Dickens changed her name to Willamena.
0	Tess Named after the main character in Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy, a cat of the same name may be both strong and needy, anxious for her family’s love.
0	Grimalkin In the opening scene of Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, we hear one of the three witches calling out to Grimalkin, a gray cat that is her spirit guide and familiar. A purrfect name for your Russian Blue!
0	Juliet Juliet is Romeo’s love in Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet. A cat madly in love with their humans would fit the part purrfectly.
0	Lisbeth The central character in the novel The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Lisbeth is brave and straightforward in a world of intrigue.
0	Chibi Chibi is a stray cat in the novel The Guest Cat by Takashi Hiraide, who lets herself in and out of the house of a young couple, and thereby transforms their lives.
0	Cleo In Cleo: The Cat that Mended a Family, a tiny kitten with larger-than-life ears and a small pointy chin is adopted by a family hit by hard times.
0	Cersi Cersi from the Game of Thrones novels is a beautiful and cunning queen, or cat who is mischievous but charms with her beauty.