Cats can have such complex personalities that capturing their essence in a single word is rarely possible. Fortunately, countless characters throughout the ages have come to embody all kinds of personality types, and there’s likely one that will fit your kitty to a tee.
History buffs aren’t the only ones who will appreciate comparisons between their cat and the planet’s most notable figures. We’ll help you find one name that perfectly reflects your cat’s complex character as we explore these historical names for cats.
20th Century History Figures
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Recent history is the most relevant to us, and its figures tend to feel the most relatable. From WWI to the internet age, plenty of people have made indelible marks on the course of humanity in the past century. Is there one in the bunch that highlights everything you love about your cat?
Ali: Heavyweight boxing champion and civil rights figure
Beatrix (Potter): English children’s author, illustrator, and scientist
Benazir (Bhutto): First female prime minister of Pakistan
Billie Jean (King): Champion tennis player and social activist
Bugsy (Siegel): American mobster and Las Vegas developer
Capone: Chicago crime boss
Churchill: Britain’s prime minister during World War II
Coco (Chanel): Legendary French fashion designer
Desmond (Tutu): South African apartheid opposer and Nobel Peace Prize winner
Diana: Princess of Wales and noted humanitarian
Einstein: German physicist and Nobel Prize winner
Elvis (Presley): Singer, actor, and the “King of Rock ‘n’ Roll”
Eva (Peron): Activist and influential First Lady of Argentina
Frida (Kahlo): Portrait artist and Mexican cultural icon
Georgia (O’Keefe): American modernist artist known for natural, abstract paintings
Golda (Meir): Israeli prime minister and a central figure in the nation’s founding
Hawking: English physicist and cosmologist
Hepburn: Audrey or Katharine, both famed actresses
Indira (Gandhi): India’s first and only female prime minister
Jobs: Tech pioneer and founder of Apple and Pixar
Kofi (Annan): Former United Nations Secretary-General
Lennon: Lead member of the Beatles
Malcolm (X): American civil rights leader
Mandela: Anti-apartheid activist and South African president
Maya (Angelou): American poet, storyteller, and civil rights figure
Nehru: Indian nationalist leader and the country’s first prime minister
Nixon: 37th American president
Orwell: English novelist and social critic
Patton: U.S. Army general in World War II
Pele: Brazilian football star
Picasso: Influential Spanish painter and sculptor
Reagan: American actor and 40th U.S. president
Rosa (Parks): Civil rights hero
Salvador (Dali): Mustachioed Surrealist artist
Teddy (Roosevelt): 26th U.S. president and the youngest to take office
Tesla: Inventor and electrical engineer
Woodrow (Wilson): American president during World War I
Zelda (Fitzgerald): American writer, artist, and socialite
18th and 19th Century Names for Cats
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Science, technology, and global politics made significant strides in the last 300+ years. Here are some of the central figures who drove change and coincidentally also have names well-suited for feline family members.
Beethoven: German pianist and composer
Bram (Stoker): Author of Dracula
Byron: English romantic poet
Chester (A. Arthur): 21st U.S. president
Darwin: Naturalist and evolutionary biologist
Dickens: Victorian writer and critic
Edison: Prolific American inventor
Florence (Nightingale): English nurse and social reformer
Franklin: American Founding Father, author, and scientist
Hamilton: Founding Father and first Treasury secretary
Harriet (Tubman): Abolition movement leader
Jefferson: Founding Father and third U.S. president
Karl (Marx): German philosopher and founder of Marxism
Lincoln: 16th American president
Louis (XIV): King of France for 72 years
Marie (Antoinette): Executed wife of King Louis XVI
Monet: French impressionist painter
Mozart: Austrian classical music composer
Newton: Mathematician noted for his laws of gravity and motion
Nietzsche: German philosopher and critic
Oscar (Wilde): Irish wit, poet, and playwright
Poe: American short-story writer and poet
Robespierre: Leader of the French Revolution
Shelley: Author of Frankenstein
Ulysses (S. Grant): Civil War general and 18th U.S. president
Voltaire: French philosopher, critic, and satirist
Walt (Whitman): American poet and essayist
Wilhelm: German kaiser and Prussian king
Wordsworth: Poet and founder of English Romanticism
Greek and Roman History Names for Cats
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Roman and Greek names can be quite the mouthful, often making them impractical for cat names. But a select few are short enough to be a suitable handle for your pet. Give your cat a memorable name that has truly stood the test of time with these classic options.
Brutus: Politician and one of Caesar’s assassin
Caesar: Roman general and dictator
Constantine: First Christian Roman emperor
Nero: Fifth emperor of Rome
Plato: Greek philosopher, writer, and student of Socrates
Socrates: Pioneering Greek philosopher
Spartacus: Roman slave and rebellious gladiator
Final Thoughts
How far back do you have to look to discover the perfect choice for your pet? Historical figures have put mountains of meaning behind simple names, allowing you to capture your cat’s unique personality in a single label. Take inspiration from these historical names for cats, and find the figure that best represents all the distinct traits you love about your pet.
Nicole is the proud mom of 3 rescue fur babies, Baby, a Burmese cat; Rosa, a New Zealand Huntaway; and Mac, a Lab/Mastiff. A Canadian expat, Nicole now lives on a lush forest property with her Kiwi husband and new baby daughter in New Zealand. She has a strong love for all animals of all shapes and sizes (and particularly loves a good interspecies friendship) and wants to share her animal knowledge and other experts' knowledge with pet lovers across the globe....Read more
