Naming a pet is a deeply personal experience and reflects both the owner’s taste and the cat’s individual personality. Whether you have an exotic breed or your cat just thinks it’s a wild jungle beast, here are our picks for the best 109 exotic and wild cat names for your fierce feline.
Exotic Cat Names Inspired by Africa
Africa is home to some of the most famous big cat species, including the lion, leopard, and cheetah. Several unique names are inspired by African words or mythology, channeling a bit of the wild cats native to the continent.
Adroa: Sky god and supreme creator of the Lugbara people
Anansi: Trickster spider in West African lure
Annipe: Daughter of the Nile in Egypt
Anubis: Egyptian god of the afterlife
Azizi: Swahili word for “precious treasure”
Bumba: Creator god of the Democratic Republic of Congo
Kaang: Creator god of the San people
Lencho: Spirit of the lion in Ethiopian
Mami Wata: Water deity in Nigerian folklore
Siri: Tiger in Nigerian
Takhar: Demi-god and protector in the Serer religion in Senegal
Though you may need to learn how to pronounce them, the indigenous groups of the Americas and the Pacific Islands lend some unique and exotic names for your cat.
Ao: Personification of light in Māori mythology
Buluc Chabtan: Maya god of war and death
Chalchiuhtlicue: Aztec goddess of running water and all elements
Coatlicue: Mother of gods and mortals in Aztec mythology
Haere: Personification of the rainbow in Māori mythology
Huitzilopochtli: Father of the Aztecs and supreme god
Ikatere: Fish god in Māori mythology
Illapa: God of climate in Incan mythology
Inti: Sun god of Incan mythology
Itzamná: God of the sky and founder of Maya culture
Ix Chel: Maya moon goddess
Kahukura: War god in Māori mythology
Kamapua’a: God of wild boars in Hawaiian mythology
Kane: God of forests and wild food in Hawaiian mythology
Kiwa: Divine guardian of the ocean in Māori mythology
Ku: God of war in Hawaiian mythology
Kukulcán: Feathered serpent deity in Maya mythology
Laka: Goddess of beauty and love in Hawaiian mythology
Lilinoe: Goddess of mist in Hawaiian mythology
Lono: God of peace, music, and learning in Hawaiian mythology
Mama Coca: Goddess of health and happiness in Incan mythology
Mama Quilla: Goddess of the moon in Incan mythology
Mama Sara: Goddess of corn and food in Incan mythology
Maru: God of freshwater in Māori mythology
Na-maka-o-Kaha’i: Goddess of water and the sea in Hawaiian mythology
Pacha Mama: God of sustenance and nature in Incan mythology
Pele: Goddess of fire and volcanoes in Hawaiian mythology
Poli’ahu: Goddess of snow in Hawaiian mythology
Quetzalcoatl: God of wins and rain, self-reflection, and intelligence in Aztec mythology
Ranginui: Primordial sky father in Māori mythology
Rehua: Star god with the power of healing in Māori mythology
Rongo: God of crops and peace in Māori mythology
Rongomātāne: God of cultivated foods in Māori mythology
Tangaroa: God of the ocean and aquatic creatures in Māori mythology
Te Uira: Personification of lightning in Māori mythology
Tezcatlipoca: God of nocturnal sky and ancestral memory in Aztec mythology
Tlaloc: God of rain in Aztec mythology
Tonatiuh: Sun god in Aztec mythology
Uenuku: God of war and the rainbow in Māori mythology
Urutengangana: God of the light in Māori mythology
Viracocha: Creator god of Incan mythology
Whiro: Lord of darkness and evil in Māori mythology
Xipe Totec: Aztec god of agriculture
Get Inspiration for a Name as Exotic and Unique as Your Cat
Names like “Fluffy” and “Mittens” won’t cut it when you have an exotic cat breed—or a unique cat that defies tradition. Let these exotic names derived from a foreign language and an enduring myth inspire you to come up with a truly one-of-a-kind name for your special companion.
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
