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Here are 200 names for black cats, split into ten lists of twenty: classic (Midnight, Onyx), spooky (Salem, Hex), mythology (Bastet, Loki), food (Espresso, Oreo), night and space (Luna, Nova), famous black cats (Binx, Jiji), regal (Duchess, Baron), ironic (Snowball, Casper), and separate boy and girl lists. If you want one rule before you scroll: pick two syllables ending in a vowel or an \"ee\" sound. Cats respond to high, short, bright sounds, so Oreo beats Bartholomew every time.
How to pick a name your cat responds to
- Two syllables — long enough to be distinct, short enough to call across a room.
- End on a vowel or \"ee\" — Luna, Ozzy, Kiki. The rising pitch sounds like the high tones cats use with each other.
- Avoid command sounds — a name that rhymes with no, sit or stay muddies training.
- Say it out loud ten times — you will say it thousands. If it feels silly on the tenth, drop it.
- Match the cat, not the coat — a bold, chatty cat can carry Loki; a shy one suits Willow.
- Check the nickname — Persephone becomes Percy. Make sure you like both.
Still stuck after the lists? The cat names collection covers every coat color, and the Name Generator can riff on a theme you already like.
Classic and spooky names
Classic black cat names
- Midnight — the all-time favorite
- Shadow — follows you everywhere
- Jet — one syllable, sharp and glossy
- Onyx — sleek black gemstone
- Ebony — dark polished wood
- Raven — clever, glossy bird
- Coal — for a stocky cat
- Sable — soft, luxurious fur
- Inky — cute and easy to call
- Smokey — softer than pure black
- Slate — cool, modern, minimal
- Ash — short and quiet
- Domino — great for white-chinned cats
- Boots — if the paws are white
- Cinder — warm and a little fairy-tale
- Sooty — a British nursery classic
- Panther — for the big prowler
- Blackie — old-school and honest
- Noir — French for black, film-ready
- Bombay — the all-black cat breed
Spooky and Halloween names
- Spooky — says it outright
- Boo — one syllable, cats love it
- Hocus — pair with a second cat, Pocus
- Pocus — the other half
- Phantom — appears, vanishes, reappears
- Ghost — ironic for a black cat
- Goblin — for the mischievous one
- Vampira — dramatic and glamorous
- Morticia — Addams Family matriarch
- Wednesday — deadpan and beloved
- Hex — short, witchy, modern
- Voodoo — for the cat with a stare
- Omen — a little ominous, very cool
- Banshee — for the loud one
- Ghoul — a nightly haunt
- Widow — as in black widow
- Crypt — sleeps under the bed
- Cobweb — Shakespeare's fairy too
- Grim — the reaper, shortened
- Elvira — mistress of the dark
Mythology, food and night-sky names
Mythology and folklore names
- Bastet — Egyptian cat goddess
- Hecate — Greek goddess of witchcraft
- Loki — Norse trickster, fits perfectly
- Hades — lord of the underworld
- Persephone — queen of the underworld
- Anubis — jackal-headed guide of souls
- Morrigan — Irish goddess, shape-shifts to crow
- Nyx — Greek personification of night
- Erebus — primordial darkness
- Freya — Norse goddess whose chariot cats pull
- Circe — enchantress of the Odyssey
- Merlin — the wizard, for a wise cat
- Odin — all-father, one-eyed cats especially
- Osiris — Egyptian god of the afterlife
- Kali — Hindu goddess of time and destruction
- Sekhmet — lion-headed warrior goddess
- Lilith — night demon of folklore
- Cerberus — three-headed guard dog, ironically
- Mephisto — the elegant devil
- Puck — mischievous fairy
Food and drink names
- Espresso — dark, strong, keeps you awake
- Oreo — for a black-and-white cat
- Licorice — glossy black and chewy
- Pepper — peppy and short
- Mocha — dark brown-black in sunlight
- Cocoa — warm and sweet
- Truffle — the fancy black fungus
- Guinness — black with a white top
- Olive — the black kind
- Kalamata — the fancier black olive
- Bean — tiny, round, adorable
- Raisin — small and wrinkly kitten
- Blackberry — sweet with thorns
- Pumpernickel — dense dark bread, shortens to Nick
- Nori — black seaweed sheet
- Molasses — slow-moving, sticky sweet
- Stout — for a heavy, dark cat
- Cola — fizzy and dark
- Brownie — dark and cuddly
- Java — coffee, short and bright
Night and space names
- Luna — the moon, hugely popular
- Nova — a star that explodes brightly
- Eclipse — when darkness covers light
- Nebula — cloud of stardust
- Orion — the hunter constellation
- Galaxy — for a cat with green eyes
- Comet — fast, then gone
- Cosmo — friendly and cosmic
- Twilight — the hour cats wake up
- Dusk — one syllable, moody
- Starlight — for a gentle cat
- Vega — bright star, short name
- Stella — Latin for star
- Pluto — the demoted planet
- Andromeda — a galaxy and a princess
- Sirius — the dog star, ironically
- Zenith — the highest point
- Aurora — dawn and northern lights
- Umbra — the darkest part of a shadow
- Nocturne — a night piece of music
Famous, regal and funny names
Famous black cats and characters
- Salem — Sabrina's talking cat
- Binx — Thackery Binx from Hocus Pocus
- Jiji — Kiki's cat in Kiki's Delivery Service
- Bagheera — the panther from The Jungle Book
- Pluto — Poe's story The Black Cat
- Felix — the silent-film cartoon cat
- Behemoth — the demonic cat in The Master and Margarita
- Church — Pet Sematary's returning cat
- Trim — Matthew Flinders' seafaring cat
- Kuro — Japanese for black
- Mistoffelees — the magical cat in Cats
- Greebo — Nanny Ogg's terror in Discworld
- Lucifer — Cinderella's stepmother's cat
- Scratchy — the Simpsons cartoon cat
- Snowball II — the Simpsons' actual black cat
- Toothless — the dragon behaves like a cat
- Isis — the black cat in classic Star Trek
- Sabrina — the witch herself
- Catwoman — for the cat burglar
- Selina — Catwoman's real name
Elegant and regal names
- Duchess — for the cat who owns the sofa
- Countess — a step more dramatic
- Baron — short, formal, a bit villainous
- Duke — one syllable, easy to call
- Empress — rules the whole house
- Sultan — lounges on cushions all day
- Pharaoh — Egyptians worshipped cats, after all
- Cleopatra — shortens to Cleo
- Athena — wise and watchful
- Victoria — not amused, ever
- Sebastian — refined, shortens to Seb
- Alistair — Scottish and distinguished
- Genevieve — French elegance, calls as Gigi
- Valentina — glamorous and warm
- Octavia — Roman and stately
- Lucius — sleek, a little sinister
- Maximus — for a large cat
- Regina — Latin for queen
- Winston — dignified and stubborn
- Beatrix — literary and sharp
Funny and ironic names
- Snowball — the classic joke
- Casper — the friendly ghost, in reverse
- Blizzard — pure white, obviously
- Marshmallow — fluffy, sweet, not white
- Vanilla — the flavor, not the color
- Whitey — for a bold owner
- Sunny — for a cat who hides from the sun
- Daisy — bright name, dark cat
- Cotton — soft and misleading
- Powder — fresh snow, allegedly
- Chalk — very much not chalk
- Ivory — the opposite of ebony
- Milky — for a tuxedo cat, just barely
- Coconut — dark outside, white inside
- Frosty — the snowcat
- Snowflake — unique and not white
- Cloud — a storm cloud, then
- Lemon — sour and bright yellow, supposedly
- Blondie — the cat is not blonde
- Goldie — for a cat worth gold
Boy and girl black cat names
Boy black cat names
- Jasper — gentle and old-fashioned
- Bruno — sturdy and warm
- Diesel — for a loud purr
- Rocco — tough little guy
- Zeus — king of the gods
- Ozzy — prince of darkness, ends in ee
- Jax — short and sharp
- Bandit — steals food off plates
- Rebel — ignores every rule
- Ninja — silent, appears from nowhere
- Dexter — clever with a dark side
- Hugo — soft and literary
- Rufus — scruffy charm
- Milo — friendly, very popular
- Otis — laid-back and cool
- Finn — bright and quick
- Thor — for the biggest cat
- Gus — grumpy but lovable
- Bear — for a fluffy black cat
- Bolt — zoomies at 3 a.m.
Girl black cat names
- Bella — beautiful, always popular
- Zoe — Greek for life
- Willow — graceful and calm
- Ivy — climbs everything
- Poppy — cheerful and bouncy
- Mabel — vintage and sweet
- Nala — the lioness
- Layla — Arabic for night
- Ziva — Hebrew for radiance
- Jade — for green eyes
- Iris — flower and the eye
- Hazel — for gold eyes
- Violet — dark purple-black sheen
- Minnie — tiny and bold
- Sadie — friendly and easygoing
- Kiki — the witch, ends in ee
- Roxy — a little rock-and-roll
- Piper — chatty and musical
- Mystique — mysterious shape-shifter
- Cleo — short for Cleopatra
Black cat superstitions, good and bad
The \"bad luck\" reputation is mostly a Western, post-medieval invention. Elsewhere, black cats are lucky.
- Japan — a black cat crossing your path is good fortune, and single women keeping one were said to attract suitors.
- Scotland — a strange black cat arriving at your door means prosperity is coming.
- England and sailors — sailors' wives kept black cats to bring husbands home safely; ships' cats were often black.
- Ancient Egypt — cats of all colors were sacred to Bastet, and harming one was a serious crime.
- Medieval Europe — the witch's-familiar myth started here and is why some shelters still see black cats adopted last.
Adopting a black cat is one of the easiest good deeds a cat person can do. They photograph badly and get overlooked, not because of anything about the cats themselves.
FAQ
What is the most common name for a black cat?
Midnight, Shadow, Luna and Salem show up most often on pet-insurance and shelter lists. If you want your cat to be the only one at the vet with that name, skip those four.
Do cats actually learn their names?
Yes. Studies from Japanese researchers have shown cats distinguish their own name from similar words, even when a stranger says it. Consistency matters more than the name itself, so pick one and use it every time.
Can I rename an adopted adult cat?
You can. Use the new name with treats and play for two or three weeks, and most cats switch over. If the cat came with a name it clearly knows, a similar-sounding new name eases the transition.
Are black cats really unlucky?
No. The superstition is a European medieval leftover. In Japan, Scotland and among sailors, black cats have long been a sign of good fortune.
What about a name for two black cats?
Pick a pair with a built-in link: Hocus and Pocus, Salt and Pepper, Espresso and Mocha, Luna and Nova, Loki and Thor. Keep both names to two syllables and give them different vowel sounds so the cats can tell them apart.