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240+ Bookish Cat Names: Find a Literary Name That Fits Your Cat

Browse literary cat names from famous cats in books, memorable characters, and celebrated authors, then use simple criteria to find a name that suits your cat.

By Animalso Team 9 min read

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Literary cat names can come from famous cats in books, memorable characters, authors, or the atmosphere of a favorite story. The best choice depends on what you want the name to say: a mischievous character may suit a curious kitten, while a short author-inspired name can be easier to call across the room. The ideas below separate actual fictional cats from broader bookish inspirations, so you can choose a name with the kind of literary connection you mean.

Some names are tied to a specific cat character; many others are suggestions inspired by authors or characters who are not cats. Use the source cues to find a direction, then say your shortlist aloud and check that the name feels comfortable for everyday use.

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How do I choose a literary name for my cat?

Start with the connection you want: a cat from a book, a character whose personality reminds you of your pet, or an author’s name that simply sounds right. Literary naming can be playful, but the name still needs to work when you call it at home or at the veterinary clinic.

  1. Choose a source or mood. Decide whether you want a recognizable book reference, a subtle author nod, or a name that fits a quality such as mischief, elegance, or curiosity.
  2. Check the association. A name can carry a character’s history as well as its sound. Read a little about the character if you want to avoid choosing a name whose story feels wrong for your cat.
  3. Try the sound and length. Say the full name and any likely nickname aloud. A long name may be charming on paper but less convenient in ordinary conversation.
  4. Make sure it is distinct at home. Consider whether it sounds like another pet’s name or a frequently used cue.
  5. Pick the name you enjoy using. There is no need to match your cat’s personality perfectly; a literary connection can be meaningful simply because you love the book.

These are practical naming considerations, not claims about which names cats respond to best. Eliot’s poem “The Naming of Cats” makes a joke of the subject’s importance: “When I tell you, a cat must have THREE DIFFERENT NAMES.” The line appears in the text of “The Naming of Cats”.

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Which names come from books that actually feature cats?

These are direct options from works with feline characters, rather than names borrowed from authors or non-cat characters. Eliot’s collection is a particularly rich place to begin: Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats was published by Faber and Faber in 1939, and its verse explores feline behavior and social order.

The Academy of American Poets’ collection page lists the following characters:

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  • Macavity — the elusive “Mystery Cat,” for a cat who vanishes when you look for them.
  • Mistoffelees — Mr. Mistoffelees, the magical, theatrical cat.
  • Skimbleshanks — the railway cat, a jaunty choice for a cat who patrols the house.
  • Deuteronomy — Old Deuteronomy, a dignified name for a senior or stately cat.
  • Gumbie — from The Old Gumbie Cat, for a home-loving feline.
  • Tugger — from The Rum Tum Tugger, suited to an opinionated, attention-seeking cat.
  • Mungojerrie — one half of the mischievous Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer duo.
  • Rumpleteazer — the other half of that lively pair; a distinctive longer name.
  • Gus — short for Gus: The Theatre Cat, a gentle choice with stage associations.
  • Bustopher — from Bustopher Jones: The Cat About Town, for a cat with a grand air.

Other well-known literary cat ideas include:

  • Cheshire — the Cheshire Cat in Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland; a fit for a mysterious or grin-prone cat.
  • Tom — Tom Kitten in Beatrix Potter’s The Tale of Tom Kitten; simple and classic.
  • Pluto — the cat in Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Black Cat”; memorable, though the story has a dark tone.
  • Dinah — Alice’s cat in Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
  • Cat — the Cat in Dr. Seuss’s The Cat in the Hat, for a bold, comic choice.
  • Crookshanks — Hermione Granger’s cat in J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books; a long name with a natural “Crook” nickname.
  • Mrs. Norris — Argus Filch’s cat in the Harry Potter series; an amusingly formal option.
  • Church — the family cat in Stephen King’s Pet Sematary; suited to readers who like gothic fiction.
  • Snowbell — the cat in E. B. White’s Stuart Little; an ironic name for a cat of any color.
  • Gobbolino — the title character of Ursula Moray Williams’s Gobbolino, the Witch’s Cat, a black kitten with a magical premise.

For more context, the University of Chicago Press catalog for Literary Cats ranges across myths and fables, children’s books, classic literature, and contemporary novels, and names the Cheshire Cat, Tom Kitten, and Poe’s Pluto as examples. See the University of Chicago Press catalog.

What literary character names suit different cat personalities?

The following are character-inspired suggestions, not all names of fictional cats. Choose one for its sound or associations, and remember that a name’s mood is a matter of personal interpretation.

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Mischievous and curious

  • Puck — the mischievous spirit in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
  • Becky — Becky Sharp, the sharp-witted central figure of Thackeray’s Vanity Fair.
  • Trickster — a nod to trickster figures in folklore and fables.
  • Tom — Tom Sawyer, the adventurous boy in Mark Twain’s novel.
  • Huck — Huckleberry Finn, another Twain character known for adventure.
  • Bilbo — Tolkien’s resourceful hobbit in The Hobbit.
  • Matilda — Roald Dahl’s clever, book-loving heroine.
  • Jo — Jo March, spirited and independent in Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women.
  • Anne — Anne Shirley, imaginative heroine of L. M. Montgomery’s novels.
  • Scout — the observant narrator of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird.

Mysterious or gothic

  • Raven — Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “The Raven,” a dark, concise choice.
  • Lenore — a name appearing in Poe’s poems, including “The Raven.”
  • Heathcliff — the brooding figure in Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights.
  • Rochester — Edward Rochester in Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre.
  • Stoker — Bram Stoker, author of Dracula.
  • Dracula — the title character of Stoker’s gothic novel; dramatic and unmistakable.
  • Jekyll — Dr. Jekyll from Robert Louis Stevenson’s Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
  • Hyde — Mr. Hyde from the same Stevenson novella; brief and shadowy.
  • Frankenstein — the name commonly associated with Mary Shelley’s gothic novel and its creature.
  • Orlando — the shape-shifting central character in Virginia Woolf’s novel.

Regal or grand

  • Darcy — Mr. Darcy in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.
  • Elizabeth — Elizabeth Bennet, Austen’s perceptive heroine.
  • Emma — the confident matchmaker in Austen’s Emma.
  • King — a direct nod to Shakespeare’s kings and royal tragedies.
  • Lear — the king at the center of Shakespeare’s King Lear.
  • Cleopatra — Shakespeare’s dramatized Egyptian queen; “Cleo” makes a shorter everyday form.
  • Arthur — King Arthur of medieval legend and its many literary retellings.
  • Guinevere — the queen in Arthurian literature; “Gwen” is a compact option.
  • Beowulf — the heroic figure of the Old English epic poem.
  • Achilles — the Greek hero of Homer’s Iliad.

Gentle, thoughtful, or bookish

  • Winnie — Winnie-the-Pooh, A. A. Milne’s gentle bear.
  • Christopher — Christopher Robin in Milne’s Pooh stories.
  • Lucy — Lucy Pevensie, one of the children in C. S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
  • Aslan — the lion in Lewis’s Narnia books; a strong name for a calm, confident cat.
  • Frodo — Tolkien’s determined hobbit in The Lord of the Rings.
  • Samwise — Frodo’s loyal companion; “Sam” is an easy nickname.
  • Hermione — the studious witch in Rowling’s Harry Potter series.
  • Atticus — Atticus Finch in Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird.
  • Augustus — the name of a Roman emperor and a literary-sounding formal choice.
  • Sherlock — Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous detective; suitable for an inquisitive cat.

Which author-inspired names work well for cats?

An author’s name makes a literary reference without implying that your cat is named after a fictional cat character. These options can be subtle, recognizable, or shortened into an everyday call name.

  • Austen — Jane Austen, author of Emma and Pride and Prejudice.
  • Brontë — a nod to Charlotte, Emily, or Anne Brontë and their novels.
  • Dickens — Charles Dickens, known for novels including Oliver Twist.
  • Shakespeare — William Shakespeare; “Shakes” can be a playful nickname.
  • Eliot — T. S. Eliot, author of Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats.
  • Virginia — Virginia Woolf, author of Orlando and Mrs Dalloway.
  • Woolf — a shorter surname option for the same author.
  • Poe — Edgar Allan Poe, author of “The Black Cat.”
  • Carroll — Lewis Carroll, creator of the Cheshire Cat.
  • Potter — Beatrix Potter, author and illustrator of The Tale of Tom Kitten.
  • Seuss — Dr. Seuss, whose The Cat in the Hat is a natural cat-name reference.
  • Tolkien — J. R. R. Tolkien, author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.
  • Rowling — J. K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series.
  • Milne — A. A. Milne, creator of Winnie-the-Pooh.
  • Alcott — Louisa May Alcott, author of Little Women.
  • Montgomery — L. M. Montgomery, author of the Anne books.
  • Twain — Mark Twain, author of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.
  • Homer — the ancient Greek poet traditionally credited with the Iliad and Odyssey.
  • Virgil — the Roman poet who wrote the Aeneid.
  • Dante — Dante Alighieri, author of The Divine Comedy.
  • Ovid — the Roman poet who wrote Metamorphoses.
  • Milton — John Milton, author of Paradise Lost.
  • Blake — William Blake, poet and artist.
  • Keats — John Keats, Romantic poet.
  • Byron — Lord Byron, poet and a distinctive surname name.
  • Shelley — Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein.
  • Hawthorne — Nathaniel Hawthorne, author of The Scarlet Letter.
  • Melville — Herman Melville, author of Moby-Dick.
  • Whitman — Walt Whitman, poet and author of Leaves of Grass.
  • Thoreau — Henry David Thoreau, essayist and author of Walden.
  • Wilde — Oscar Wilde, playwright, poet, and novelist.
  • Joyce — James Joyce, author of Ulysses.
  • Kafka — Franz Kafka, author of The Metamorphosis.
  • Hemingway — Ernest Hemingway, novelist and short-story writer.
  • Faulkner — William Faulkner, novelist of the American South.
  • Steinbeck — John Steinbeck, author of The Grapes of Wrath.
  • Orwell — George Orwell, author of Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four.
  • Atwood — Margaret Atwood, author of The Handmaid’s Tale.
  • Morrison — Toni Morrison, novelist and Nobel laureate.
  • Baldwin — James Baldwin, novelist, essayist, and playwright.
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How can I narrow a long literary cat-name list?

Compare your finalists by source, association, tone, pronunciation, length, nickname options, and how distinct each name sounds in your household. A name that looks excellent in a list may feel awkward when repeated; another may become more appealing once you try its short form.

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Question What to consider
Do I want a cat character or a broader reference? Cheshire and Crookshanks refer to fictional cats; Austen and Poe are author-inspired.
What association comes with the source? Consider whether the character is comic, mysterious, heroic, gentle, or villainous—and whether that matters to you.
Is it easy to say? Try the full name and any nickname aloud. Choose the version you will actually use most.
Will it be clear at home? Check for similar-sounding names among pets and family members.

Eliot’s collection is a useful starting point, not the entire territory of literary cats. The British Library describes the poem “The Naming of Cats” as imagining group, household, and personal names, while the collection’s feline world includes figures such as Macavity, Mr. Mistoffelees, Skimbleshanks, and Old Deuteronomy. Read the British Library overview for more context.

If you want to explore beyond the names above, Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats offers Eliot’s feline verse, while the University of Chicago Press catalog’s Literary Cats describes a wider survey of cats in myths, fables, children’s books, classic writing, and contemporary novels.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is Mistoffelees a real cat’s name or a character name?

Mr. Mistoffelees is a character in T. S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats. The spelling here follows the character name listed for Eliot’s collection; if you want to use it aloud, try a familiar nickname such as Misto.

What is a literary name for a black cat?

Pluto is a direct literary cat reference from Poe’s “The Black Cat,” while Raven points to Poe’s poem. Both have gothic associations, so choose them for the literary mood as much as for your cat’s coat color.

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Can I name my cat after a book character that is not a cat?

Yes. Names such as Scout, Bilbo, Darcy, or Puck refer to characters rather than fictional cats. Labeling the distinction helps you decide whether you want a direct cat-book reference or a broader literary nod.

Where can I find more names of cats in literature?

The collection Literary Cats is described by its publisher as spanning myths and fables, children’s books, classic literature, and contemporary novels. Eliot’s collection is another concentrated source if you want names specifically from feline verse.

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