Luna and Oliver Top Most Popular Cat Names of 2016

Diana Faria
by Diana Faria
Finding the right name for your ferocious feline is tough. To make finding the purr-fect moniker a bit easier, check out 2016’s most popular cat names.


Rover.com makes finding a sitter for your dog easy – it’s sort of like AirBnb, but for pets! But that’s not all they do; they also routinely compile lists of the most popular cat and dog names. This time around, Rover has made a list of the most desired kitty names of 2016!

Pet names reflect on their owners – what television or book character they fall head-over-heels for, if they’re inspired by nature or even by food! To help you make the right choice when naming your kitty, here are a few of the most popular names this year.


Claiming the top of the list for the most popular male cat names is Oliver, followed closely by Leo, Charlie (who was number one last year), Milo and Max (although my bird would have to disagree on that last one!). Interestingly enough, the names that also made the cut for the top dog names of 2015 include Charlie, Max and Jack (who came in at number six on the top male cat names).


Related: Top 10 Cute Dog Names Trends For 2016


Last year, the number one female cat name was Lily, but this year, Luna takes the cake! Next is Chloe, then Bella, Lucy and coming in fifth is none other than Lily. This list also sees a lot of crossovers with the list for Top Dog names of 2016, with dogs being names Chloe, Bella and Lucy as well as Sophie and Lola, who came in the Top cat name of 2016 list as sixth and seventh, respectively.


It’s evident that kitty parents like to label their felines with human monikers – in fact, over half (52 percent) of cats have a human name this year! That’s up from 22 percent in 2014. Cats that enjoy basking in the spotlight with their celebrity-like names include Khaleesi, Yoda, Bellatrix and even Bieber ( I feel for all the American cats named that last one.).


Cat names that are inspired by food include Olive, Ginger, Oreo, Mochi and Pepper. Tiger, Panda, Teddy, Monkey and Wolfie are the top six kitty names inspired by other animals and Lily, Smokey, Daisy, Midnight and Rocky make up the names inspired by the great outdoors.


Related: Top 10 Wackiest Pet Names of 2015


According to Rover’s data, a whopping 45 percent of people who have cats also own a dog. Well, every royal feline needs their trusty jester, so surely we can’t blame them! States with the highest ratio of cats to dogs are Washington D.C., Washington, Mississippi, Oregon, and Massachusetts. The city with the most cats overall is Seattle.


We’ve saved the best for last… the most hilarious cat names of 2016 are Tyrion Cattister, Captain Gingerbeard and Nachocat. Cat owners sure can be creative!

Diana Faria
Diana Faria

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