What’s in a (Cat) Name?
In Westchester County N.Y where I live, the most popular pet names are Buddy, Buster, Lola, Lucy, Max, Princess and Smokey. They are familiar names with associated traits we may not be aware of. I’d like to change that.
Gris Gris (shown above) used to be called Shadow. It’s no easy task choosing the right name for a cat. What’s in a name? Destiny. Every name contains power and a unique energy. A name can impact the purrsonality and behavior of a cat.
According to numerology, every letter of the alphabet has a corresponding number from 1 to 9 with individual qualities. The practice is an ancient one dating back 10,000 years but for the past twenty-five years, I’ve practiced numerology based on the Pythagorean system from 2500 years ago.
What have a learned? Choosing or changing names is not to be taken lightly. Some names are more suitable than others whether you have two legs or four. It can make the difference between a complacent cat or a content cat.
For instance, the former Shadow, which is a #7 in numerology, came with much emotional baggage from his previous home. In his case, I sensed a name change would help his confidence and socialization skills. A new name equals a new life with new possibilities and for him, a psychological break with his painful past. The number seven is a mystical number steeped in deep learning, spirituality and mystery.
Sevens are more solitary than other cats, discerning and quiet. They know what you’re thinking before you do. Being a seven suited Shadow’s intrinsic nature so I didn’t want a name with a new vibration. That meant finding another #7 name. Not only did it have to be a #7 but it need to have meaning, be interesting and sound harmonious when said out loud (and repeatedly).
After much research, I came up with Gris Gris (pronounced Gree Gree) the French Voodoo word for lucky amulet. I consulted with him and he agreed. It suited him and it’s been a lucky #7 for him.
It’s a serious decision to change a cat’s name and I don’t recommend doing it without some thought. Some cats adopted from shelters are happy with their old names, while others are not. Cats who don’t like their names may choose not to respond when called or even resort to behavioral issues.
Similar sounding names like Lola and Lulu couldn’t be more different. You may or may not want to change Lola, a stable, home-loving and loyal #4 and change it to an a gregarious, social bug like Lulu, a #3 who prefer not being an only pet.
There are a number of factors in finding the right name and it may require testing a few names over a few days until one feels right for both of you. I recommend not using names that are difficult to pronounce or with too many syllables.
Take care to choose a name with traits suited to a cat’s appearance. No cat wants to be called Stinky or Lardball. Sometimes the name comes before the cat. After being catless for two years, I knew my next cat would be a Merlin. The moment I met Merlin (who had another name) I knew I’d met my Merlin, a powerful leader and philosopher #8.
Layla Morgan Wilde provides numerology naming consultations. Email [email protected]
15 Comments
Pam Horne
I have a new kitten who is solitary — the only
Kitten in the liitter. I want to name him something
that indicates one or solitude, something like
that. Any suggestions?
Pam Horne
Salisbury, NC
Linda
I enjoyed the article very much. I also had the name in mind way before I adopted her. Yes she is a female, althou I have been told its a male name??
Abby
When I adopted Abby that was her name and I just could not change it. I knew she had been uprooted from the home she had lived in for 3 years and she was mad enough about that, I knew if I tried to change her name, she would never forgive me.
🙂
purrs
>^,,^<
♥Abby♥Boo♥Ping♥Jinx♥Grace♥
boomermuse
We’re glad you had the good sense to know Abby was the name she liked. She’s a sociable and lovely #3!
@Tinch, thanks. That’s interesting when names have numbers in them. Devil is believe it or not a spiritual #7 and D-2 is a home loving #6. Jonquil is18 lbs? I remember a photo of a tiny kitten!
Tinch
Yeah, Layla, you can say D-2 is a home lover. He wanders all over the neighborhood and several neighbors have told me he stops by and eats THEIR cat’s food. However, he’s here first thing in the morning and at four in the evening for his meals! He also spends a lot of his time sleeping in his bed on the patio. And Jonquil (that tiny kitten) really is 18 pounds. I’ve weighed him. He’s like picking up an 18-pound sofa cushion!
Tinch
Very interesting. Great post.
My three are D-2, Jonquil, and Emily.
D-2 (Little Black Devil)is all black. He’s my second black cat. So, he’s Devil the Second. My first devil was named by my grandmother. His mother, Astarte, had eight kittens. One died. The seven (all black)that survived, once they left their birth box and started roaming around the house, used to go into the living room and get in a clump in the middle of the rug. One of them used to leave the pack, crawl across the floor, and climb into my grandmother’s lap. I would come home from work and my grandmother would say, “Do you know what that little black black devil did today?” Why I called him Devil is obvious!
A neighbor (hearing-impaired)saw this tiny kitten in the middle of a busy street and rescued him. He brought the kitten to me with a note saying how he found it and since I had other cats, would I take him. I took one look at his face and… Jonquil is a long-haired orange and white tabby. As a tiny kitten, his face looked just like a flower. Again, obvious why I named him Jonquil. At this time, he now weighs 18 pounds!
Emily is a tortie, mostly black. She’s a small cat. I met her in a pet shop as a rescue kitten. I fell for it! I was trying to think of a name for her when my great aunt Emily came to mind. She had a way of looking at you, and somehow Emily the tortie has that look, too!
Sally Bahner
And don’t forget that Eliot said that cats have three names: the daily name, the fancier name, and the name known unto him/herself.
The name of each of our cats has a story. One of my faves, Cinders for short. As a registered Russian Blue, his name was Alexander Cindernitsyn of Dvinskaja. I love it!
boomermuse
Sally, I love Cinder’s full name! Cinders btw is a lovely humanitarian #9.
Marg, you do it naturally!
Marg
I never thought about the cats names. I usually just name them whatever comes to mind when I meet the various cats, since they are all feral cats and so I just call them what ever when they are tiny little kittens and it usually has something to do with their color. The names that I spend more time on come out a little better, like Magnolia (Maggie). But as long as they learn their name which all of mine do with the exception of one, poor thing.
Cheysuli
Very pragmatically, the Woman is certain that cats will live up or down to their names. Gemini was a name chosen because she appeared the day after the woman had lost the second of two elderly cats in ten days. The Male used a program to scramble the letters of their names and Gemini was the name the Woman liked best. However, Soiling Demon was also on the list and the Male liked that–the Woman worried what would happen if she named a cat Soiling Demon! I came with my name as did the Siamese who came before–she really hasn’t ever had the interest in changing names–although we all have our nicknames. Even Georgia came with her name–although the lady at the apartment building had called her George!
Fern Beauchamp Slack
I have always thought that names are meaningful. There’s a reason why, in so many cultures, your real name is a secret – because people who know it have power over you. That may be metaphorical, but speaks to the concept.
I named my orphan cat Iggy – long deceased now but still alive in my heart — after weeks of baby kitten namelessness. Curled up in bed with him, I had a wonderful dream of Yggdrasil, the Tree of Life. It had all sorts of life and stars and planets and angels up in the branches, and innumerable snakes and worms and gophers and devils dancing down in the roots. But the trunk was a solitary figure in a wide, empty green field of gently waving grass; and curled up next the to the trunk, asleep, was my tiny black and white kitten.
So when I woke up, I knew his name.
I always tell my clients that if you are silent, and listen, the name will come to you.
boomermuse
Fern, thank-you for sharing your dream/story.
@Caren, I love long comments!
@Carolyn, that’s interesting about car makes. Maybe a U.K. thing.
@Ingrid, no holiday game but could it be a fun board game?
@Liz, he’s the poster boy for “less adoptable” cats *s*.
caren gittleman
I have always been enthralled with all things mystical from numerology, astrology, etc.
My first cat, (Bobo) was named Bobo because when my ex husband and I found him he was a CLONE of a cat my husband had when he was a child that was struck and killed by a car. I was convinced that he had been reincarnated as the new “Bobo” since he FOUND US, hence his name. He was silly and clown-like, as well as loving…I always associated his “clown-like” qualities with his “clown-like” name!
When I adopted Cody, his name was “Prince” (I often refer to him as the cat formally known as “Prince.” He loves to sit on regal chairs, and in high places, my husband swears we should have left his name “Prince” When I told the woman at the rescue I was changing his name to “Cody” she shrieked “Ohhhh nooooooo!!! Every Cody I have known has been INSANE!” lol. Well, I changed it…he not only maintained his former “prince-like” qualities but yes…he DID become rather crazy and “insane!”
Eagerly awaiting the arrival of your book!!
Sorry for this long comment but I ADORE this topic!
Carolyn
Very interesting! Austin was named by the rescue centre and I saw no need to change it. Neither did he! It is not really terribly common for a cat to be named after a make of car lol. He knows his name and answers to it. Our visiting cat who we call Tigger, does not answer to anything except the sound of the food bowl!!
Ingrid King
Wonderful post! I guess T.S. Eliot had it right: the naming of cats is a difficult matter, it isn’t just one of your holiday games!