If you’ve recently adopted a cat and are looking for the perfect name, get ready to have some fun. There are many ways to choose a name for your companion. You can let one simply come to you or pick one that reflects something striking about your cat’s personality or appearance.
Popular culture, food and wine, sports, and hobbies can provide numerous ideas. Looking at the choices that have proven popular among pet parents can be a fun way to get started, and reading about the history behind some of the options can be a source of inspiration. Whether you’re looking for something short and sweet or gracious and elegant, you can keep reading to discover more about the 23 most popular names that start with M.
The 23 Most Popular Cat Names That Start With M
1. Milo
Milo is one of the most popular names for male cats! The name Milo started gaining popularity in the early 2000s. Milo was one of the lead characters in the popular 1980s film The Adventures of Milo and Otis.
2. Max
Max is the fifth most popular male cat name overall and the second most common option that starts with M. Max is short for Maximus, a Latin name that means the greatest. It also has a few solid popular culture references. Maximus was the hero of the blockbuster movie Gladiator, and who could forget about the classic dystopian film Mad Max?
3. Mochi
Mochi is one of the top names for both male and female cats! It comes in at number 53 for male cats, but it’s a bit more popular for female kitties. Mochi are sweet rice cakes that feature interesting flavors. They’re originally from Japan, where they’re often eaten during New Year celebrations.
4. Merlin
Merlin is the 61st most popular name for male cats. It’s a storied option with plenty of history behind it. The name is given to a character who appears in several versions of Arthurian legends. He’s often depicted as a wizard in movies such as King Arthur: Legend of the Sword and The Green Knight.
5. Momo
Momo is another gender-neutral name that pet parents commonly give to male and female cats. It was the 64th most popular choice for male cats, and it came in at number 98 for female cats. Momo is steamed with savory fillings and is part of traditional Tibetan and Nepali cuisine.
6. Mango
This food-inspired name is 66th on the list of the most popular names for male cats, but it works just as well for cats of any gender. Mangos are originally from southern parts of Asia, but there are several mango varieties that are popular around the world.
7. Murphy
Murphy is right below Mango on the list and is the 67th most popular name for male cats. It’s a gender-neutral name that gained popularity thanks to the long-running television show Murphy Brown. It’s also a traditional Irish surname; Cillian Murphy, star of Peaky Blinders, was born in Cork, Ireland.
8. Moose
The powerful name Moose comes in at number 83 on the list of most popular names for male cats. The gorgeous animals are related to deer and can be found in the northernmost parts of North America and Asia. The largest of the magnificent creatures are generally found in Alaska and Siberia; really big males can weigh close to 1,300 pounds.
9. Mac
Mac is the 89th most popular name for male cats, but it works for female cats as well! It’s a prefix that’s added to names in Irish Gaelic and Scottish that translates to son. In case you were wondering, McDonald’s famous Big Mac first appeared in the late 1960s.
10. Midnight
Midnight is another one of those classic names that made the list of the most popular male and female cat names. It’s a versatile option and can refer to a cat’s appearance, personality, or something fun, like the time of their birth. There was a character named Midnight the Cat who appeared on Andy’s Gang, which was a children’s television show that ran during the 1950s.
11. Mickey
Mickey comes close to the bottom of the list of most popular names for male cats; it’s firmly entrenched at number 96. Disney’s Mickey Mouse is perhaps one of the best-known cartoon characters on earth, and more than 100 cartoon shorts have featured the world-famous mouse in the lead.
12. Mia
Mia is the most common name for female cats that starts with M and comes in 19th on the list of most popular names for female cats. The lead character in The Princess Diaries, a popular movie from 2001, is named Mia Thermopolis. Mia Hamm is a soccer player who appeared in four FIFA Women’s World Cups as part of the United States Women’s National Team.
13. Molly
Molly is a tried and true traditional name that appears at number 22 on the list of the most popular female cat names. It’s the second most common name for female cats that starts with the letter M. Molly Ringwald was an iconic teen actress in the 1980s who appeared in the television series The Facts of Life and the movie The Breakfast Club.
14. Millie
Millie comes in at number 28 on the list of most popular names for female cats. It’s related to traditional choices such as Millicent and Mildred. Julie Andrews played Mille Dillmount, the lead character in the 1960s movie Thoroughly Modern Millie. The movie also starred Mary Tyler Moore and Carol Channing.
15. Maggie
Maggie is right behind Millie on the list of most popular names for female cats. It can be a diminutive of the name Margaret or a given name. Margaret Thatcher, otherwise known as the Iron Lady, was the first woman to serve as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
16. Minnie
No collection of popular cat names containing a Mickey could be complete without the name Minnie. Minnie Mouse is Mickey Mouse’s long-term girlfriend in the Disney universe. She’s generally depicted wearing a frilly red dress featuring polka dots and sporting a big red bow in front of her ears.
17. Missy
Missy is the 51st most popular name for female cats. Several Melissas go by the diminutive, but it’s also a popular given name in its own right. Missy Elliott was the first female rapper to be tapped for the Songwriters’ Hall of Fame. She was inducted in 2019 along with singer Cat Stevens.
18. Mittens
The name Mittens needs no introduction. It’s as tried, true, and traditional as it gets when it comes to cat names. It’s number 54 on the list of most popular names for female cats. A Turkish Angora cat named Mittens was once nominated for New Zealander of the Year.
19. Misty
Misty is the 58th most popular name for female cats. While it’s often used as a name, the word can also be used to describe slightly foggy weather conditions. Misty Copeland is a ballet dancer from the US, and Misty Knight is a character in several Marvel Comics.
20. Mimi
The name Mimi comes in at number 60 on the list of most popular names for female cats. It’s most likely related to the name Miryam. Mimi Marquez is the name of one of the characters in the popular musical Rent, which is a re-imagining of La bohème, Giacomo Puccini‘s 1896 opera.
21. Mila
Mila is the 84th most popular name for female cats. Mila Kunis is an actress who starred in That ‘70s Show. She appeared in Forgetting Sarah Marshall and The Book of Eli with Denzel Washington. She was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for her work in the movie Black Swan.
22. Maya
Maya comes in at number 88 on the list of most popular names for female cats. Maya Angelou is a writer from the US who wrote the classic autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. She won the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011.
23. Mama
Mama is the 95th most popular name for female cats. Similar choices include Mamma, which means mother in Swedish and Norwegian, and Mam, which is a way of saying mom in Welsh.
Other Great Names That Start With M
Conclusion
So there you have it, the most popular male and female names for cats that start with the letter M! If none of the names resonate with you, consider expanding your search. When it comes to naming your cat, the sky truly is the limit; you can opt for something that highlights one of your buddy’s most notable physical characteristics or personality traits, or you can select a name that’s related to a hobby, place, or time that’s particularly meaningful to you.
Featured Image Credit: New Africa, Shutterstock
